Ebook-MCP vs Filesystem (Reference)

A side-by-side comparison of two Files & Storage servers — tools, transport, auth, maintenance, and copy-paste config for each.

	Ebook-MCP Chat with your EPUB and PDF books — extract metadata, table of contents, chapters, and pages as Markdown. Unverified stdio (local) No auth Python	Filesystem (Reference) Official MCP reference server for secure local filesystem read/write within allowed directories. Verified stdio (local) No auth TypeScript
Category	Files & Storage	Files & Storage
Language	Python	TypeScript
Transport	stdio (local)	stdio (local)
Auth	None	None
GitHub stars	372	74k
Last commit	5 months ago	5 months ago
Verified
Actively maintained
Install	`uv pip install -e .`	`npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem /absolute/path/to/dir`
Repo	Open	Open

Verdict

Pick Ebook-MCP if you prefer its approach (chat with your epub and pdf books — extract metadata, table of contents, chapters, and pages as markdown).

Pick Filesystem (Reference) if you want the official, vendor-maintained server, and you prefer the more popular, battle-tested option.

Add Ebook-MCP

Install / run

uv pip install -e .

Paste into ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ebook-mcp": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": [
        "--directory",
        "/Users/onebird/github/ebook-mcp/src/ebook_mcp/",
        "run",
        "main.py"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Add Filesystem (Reference)

Install / run

npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem /absolute/path/to/dir

Paste into ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "filesystem-reference": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem",
        "/absolute/path/to/dir"
      ]
    }
  }
}

FAQ

Ebook-MCP or Filesystem (Reference) — which is better?

Pick Ebook-MCP if you prefer its approach (chat with your epub and pdf books — extract metadata, table of contents, chapters, and pages as markdown). Pick Filesystem (Reference) if you want the official, vendor-maintained server, and you prefer the more popular, battle-tested option.

Can I use both Ebook-MCP and Filesystem (Reference)?

Yes — MCP clients let you enable multiple servers at once. Add both configs to your client's mcpServers and use whichever tool fits the task.

Do Ebook-MCP and Filesystem (Reference) work with Claude, Cursor and Windsurf?

Both do. Copy the per-client config below into Claude Desktop, Cursor, or Windsurf.

View Ebook-MCP →View Filesystem (Reference) →More comparisons →