Getting Started
Get up and running with the SPINES API in four steps. From account creation to your first request in under five minutes.
Create an Account
Sign up at getspines.com using Google or Facebook. Your account is free and includes API access at no extra cost.
Enable Developer Mode
Go to Settings → Profile → Advanced and toggle Developer Mode on. This unlocks the Developer Dashboard and API key management.
Generate an API Key
Open your Developer Dashboard and click Create Key. Choose the scopes your app needs. You'll get a live key (gtspn_live_...) and a test key (gtspn_test_...) for safe development.
Make Your First Request
Choose your integration method below. The REST API works with any HTTP client. The MCP server lets AI assistants like Claude interact with SPINES directly.
REST API
Use any HTTP client — curl, fetch, requests, or your favorite library.
curl "https://getspines.com/api/v1/books/search?q=sapiens" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer gtspn_live_YOUR_KEY"
{
"data": [
{
"id": "54509060-68fd-4456-...",
"title": "Sapiens",
"subtitle": "A Brief History of Humankind",
"author": "Yuval Noah Harari",
"isbn_13": "9780771038518",
"cover_image_url": "https://books.google.com/...",
"publisher": "National Geographic Books",
"published_date": "2016-05-10"
}
],
"meta": { "total": 1, "has_more": false, "next_cursor": null }
}MCP Server
Add SPINES to Claude Desktop for natural-language access to your book data.
{
"mcpServers": {
"spines": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y", "@spines/mcp-server"
],
"env": {
"SPINES_API_KEY": "gtspn_live_YOUR_KEY"
}
}
}
}"Show me all the books on my latest bookshelf and find which ones are about philosophy."