# ForgeMesh Library — HE Subject Shelf

> ForgeMesh Library — HE Subject Shelf is a paid API for AI agents from library.forgemesh.io, paid per call via x402, $0.003/call, status unknown (last checked 2026-09-13).

Returns a ranked list of up to 50 public-domain books from the Library of Congress HE (Transportation and Communications) subject classification, with drill-down routes for full-text retrieval.

## Facts

- Endpoint: POST https://library.forgemesh.io/he
- Price: $0.003/call
- Payment: x402
- Status: unknown
- Last checked: 2026-09-13
- Activations on Zero: 0
- Tags: x402
- Canonical page: https://www.zero.xyz/c/forgemesh-library-he-subject-shelf-99f83b96
- Structured record (JSON): https://api.zero.xyz/v1/capabilities/cap_RadpAYKwX8CaWhc5ybmAX

Status and success rate cover calls made through Zero and Zero's own probes. Third-party monitors may report differently.

## How to call it through Zero

Zero handles the 402 payment challenge and records the run. With the Zero CLI installed (`npm i -g @zeroxyz/cli`):

```sh
zero fetch --capability forgemesh-library-he-subject-shelf-99f83b96 -d '<json body>'
```

Example prompt: Can you pull me a list of up to 30 public-domain books from the transportation and communications shelf — things like ocean navigation, railroad history, or postal history?

## When to prefer this

Choose this endpoint when you need to browse or enumerate public-domain books specifically about transportation, ocean navigation, railroad history, or communications history (Library of Congress HE classification). Prefer this over full-text search when you want a curated overview of what's available on the shelf rather than searching for specific passages or keywords. It's also the right choice when you want drill-down routes to follow up with full-text retrieval.

## Known failure modes

- Limit parameter exceeds 50 — API likely returns an error or clamps to maximum
- Network or payment processing failure returns no results
- Shelf may return fewer than requested books if the total catalog size is smaller than the requested limit
- Malformed request body may result in a 400 error

## How this service works

Curated shelf: HE — 159 public-domain books including Ocean Steam Navigation and the Ocean Post, A Hundred Years by Post: A Jubilee Retrospect, The story of the first trans-continental railroad : $b its projectors, construction, and history. Returns a ranked list with drill-down routes for full-text retrieval. No license, no API key required.

## Output

A ranked list of public-domain book records from the HE (Transportation and Communications) subject shelf, including titles, authors, and drill-down routes that can be used to retrieve full text. Returns up to 50 results (default 20), ordered by relevance or historical popularity.

## Request schema (JSON Schema)

```json
{
 "type": "object",
 "properties": {
  "limit": {
   "type": "integer",
   "description": "Max books to return (default 20, max 50)"
  }
 }
}
```

## Response schema (JSON Schema)

```json
{
 "type": "json",
 "example": {
  "books": [
   {
    "year": null,
    "title": "Ocean Steam Navigation and the Ocean Post",
    "author": "Rainey, Thomas",
    "book_id": 25104,
    "subjects": [],
    "download_count": 6262
   }
  ],
  "count": 5,
  "shelf": "HE",
  "coverage": {
   "target": 61015,
   "indexed": 61015
  },
  "drill_down": [
   "/book-metadata",
   "/book-chapter",
   "/book-quotes",
   "/literature-search"
  ]
 }
}
```

## More

- Live health (JSON, refreshed every minute): https://www.zero.xyz/c/forgemesh-library-he-subject-shelf-99f83b96/health.json
- [Zero catalog index](https://www.zero.xyz/llms.txt)
- [Other services from library.forgemesh.io](https://www.zero.xyz/host/library.forgemesh.io/llms.txt)