Readwise MCP

Overview

The Model Context Protocol (MCP) standardizes how applications provide context to Large Language Models (LLMs), ensuring a clean separation between context management and direct LLM interaction.

This project is a local MCP server designed to act as a bridge between LLM clients (such as Claude) and Readwise.

Watch a demo!

Installation in Claude

0. Please make sure you have Node installed.
1. Open Claude desktop app.
2. Navigate to Settings > Developer.
3. Click Edit Config.
4. Add the following entry to the claude_desktop_config.json file, replacing ACCESS_TOKEN value with your Readwise Access Token.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "Readwise MCP": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@readwise/readwise-mcp"
      ],
      "env": {
        "ACCESS_TOKEN": "XXXXXXXXX"
      }
    }
  }
}

Troubleshooting

For general troubleshooting guidance, please refer to the official Model Context Protocol Claude Desktop Troubleshooting section.

Below are specific solutions to common issues we've encountered and resolved.

"Could not attach to MCP server Readwise MCP"

A very likely reason for this to happen is that you have an incorrect npx/Node version set up. If you're using nvm, try running nvm use 18 in your terminal. If not, consider reinstalling Node.

Errors when calling Readwise tools

When using this MCP server, you may occasionally encounter MCP errors during your conversations with Claude. If you experience such errors, we recommend trying to switch between different Claude models (e.g., from Claude 3.5 Haiku to Claude 3.7 Sonnet) as this often resolves the issue.