Reddit MCP Server by jordanburke

Reddit MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for interacting with Reddit - fetch posts, comments, user info, and create content.

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Reddit is closing its public API

Reddit announced on 2026-09-30 that it is ending RSS feeds and its public Data API, and moving apps to its Developer Platform (r/redditdev post, r/modnews post):

Date	What Reddit does
2026-10-31	Stops accepting new requests for public API access
2026-11-13	Stops supporting RSS feeds
2027-01-12	Starts removing API access for apps and users that haven't registered or responded to Reddit's outreach
March 2027	Closes public API access for all remaining apps and users

What this server uses to keep working

The server reads from three sources and uses the best one you have:

Source	Needs	Used for	Lasts until
Reddit's API (OAuth)	REDDIT_CLIENT_ID and REDDIT_CLIENT_SECRET	Every tool, with live data (writes also need username and password)	March 2027, per Reddit
Reddit's RSS feeds	Nothing	Ranked listings (hot, top, rising, controversial) and the home feed, without credentials	2026-11-13
Arctic Shift archive	Nothing	Most read tools without credentials	No announced end. It's free, run by one volunteer, has no uptime guarantee, and gets its data from Reddit's API

Arctic Shift is a third-party copy of Reddit, not Reddit's API, though it collects its data through Reddit's API. Its scores and comment counts lag, and every result from it says so. See Keyless Mode for what each tool can do without credentials.

What it means for you

• You have OAuth credentials: every read tool works. Write tools also need REDDIT_USERNAME and REDDIT_PASSWORD. Register your app at developers.reddit.com/app-registration before 2027-01-12, or Reddit may remove its access early.
• You don't have credentials: most read tools work with no setup. Reddit no longer accepts new API access requests, so new users run in keyless mode.
• After 2026-11-13: without credentials, ranked listings for a single subreddit fall back to the archive's newest posts, because RSS is gone. The home feed and multireddits have no keyless source after that date.
• After March 2027: Reddit says public API access closes, and that is the path the OAuth tools use, so the write tools and the OAuth-only reads stop working. Arctic Shift says it collects all its data through Reddit's API, so the archive may stop getting new posts then. Keyless reads would still return what it already holds.

Features at a Glance

Feature	reddit-mcp-server	Other Reddit MCPs
Create Posts	:white_check_mark:	:x:
Reply to Posts/Comments	:white_check_mark:	:x:
Edit Posts/Comments	:white_check_mark:	:x:
Delete Posts/Comments	:white_check_mark:	:x:
Spam Protection (Safe Mode)	:white_check_mark:	:x:
Bot Disclosure Footer	:white_check_mark:	:x:
Policy Compliance Built-in	:white_check_mark:	:x:
Browse Subreddits	:white_check_mark:	:white_check_mark:
Search Reddit	:white_check_mark:	:white_check_mark:
User Analysis	:white_check_mark:	:white_check_mark:
Post Comments	:white_check_mark:	:white_check_mark:
OAuth Auth (60-100 rpm)	:white_check_mark:	:white_check_mark:
Keyless mode (zero-setup)	:white_check_mark:	:x:

Quick Start

Option 1: Claude Desktop Extension (Easiest)

Download and open the extension file - Claude Desktop will install it automatically:

Download reddit-mcp-server.mcpb

Option 2: NPX (No install required)

Add to your MCP config (Claude Desktop, Cursor, etc.). Credentials are optional: without them the server runs in keyless mode, and with them you get live data and every tool.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "reddit": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["reddit-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "REDDIT_CLIENT_ID": "your_client_id",
        "REDDIT_CLIENT_SECRET": "your_client_secret"
      }
    }
  }
}

Option 3: Claude Code

REDDIT_CLIENT_ID=your_client_id REDDIT_CLIENT_SECRET=your_client_secret \
  claude mcp add --transport stdio reddit -- npx reddit-mcp-server

Leave out the two variables to run keyless.

Features

Read-only Tools

Tool	Description
get_reddit_post	Get a specific Reddit post with engagement analysis
get_top_posts	Get top posts from a subreddit or home feed
browse_subreddit	Browse a subreddit/home feed by sort (hot, new, top, rising, controversial)
get_post_comments	Get comments from a specific post with threading
get_more_comments	Expand collapsed comments in a thread
get_user_info	Get detailed information about a Reddit user
get_user_posts	Get posts submitted by a specific user
get_user_comments	Get comments made by a specific user
get_subreddit_info	Get subreddit details and statistics
get_subreddit_rules	Get a subreddit's posting rules
search_reddit	Search for posts, subreddits, or users
get_trending_subreddits	Get currently trending subreddits (needs OAuth)
get_post_flairs	List a subreddit's available post flairs (needs OAuth)
get_me	Get your own account info (needs OAuth and user credentials)
get_my_overview	Get your own recent posts and comments (needs OAuth and user credentials)
get_my_saved	Get your saved posts and comments (needs OAuth and user credentials)
test_reddit_mcp_server	Check server status and configuration

Most read tools also work without credentials. See Keyless Mode for each tool's limits.

Write Tools (Require User Credentials)

Write tools need Reddit's API, so they need OAuth credentials plus REDDIT_USERNAME and REDDIT_PASSWORD. Reddit closes its public API in March 2027 (details).

Tool	Description
create_post	Create a new post in a subreddit
reply_to_post	Post a reply to an existing post or comment
edit_post	Edit your own Reddit post (self-text only)
edit_comment	Edit your own Reddit comment
save_content	Save a post or comment to your account
unsave_content	Remove a post or comment from your saved items
delete_post	Permanently delete your own post
delete_comment	Permanently delete your own comment

Configuration

Environment Variables

Variable	Required	Default	Description
REDDIT_CLIENT_ID	No	-	Reddit app client ID (omit for keyless mode)
REDDIT_CLIENT_SECRET	No	-	Reddit app client secret
REDDIT_USERNAME	No	-	Reddit username (for write operations)
REDDIT_PASSWORD	No	-	Reddit password (for write operations)
REDDIT_USER_AGENT	No	Auto-generated	Custom User-Agent string
REDDIT_AUTH_MODE	No	auto	Authentication mode: auto, authenticated (anonymous deprecated)
REDDIT_SAFE_MODE	No	standard	Write safeguards: off, standard, strict
REDDIT_BOT_DISCLOSURE	No	off	Bot disclosure footer: auto, off
REDDIT_BOT_FOOTER	No	Built-in	Custom bot footer text (when disclosure is auto)
REDDIT_CACHE	No	on	In-memory caching of read requests: on, off
REDDIT_CACHE_MAX_MB	No	50	Cache size cap in MB (LRU eviction beyond this)
REDDIT_MAX_RETRIES	No	3	Retries on HTTP 429 with Retry-After backoff (0 to disable)

Credentials are optional. See Keyless Mode for what works without them.

Full MCP Config Example

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "reddit": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["reddit-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "REDDIT_CLIENT_ID": "your_client_id",
        "REDDIT_CLIENT_SECRET": "your_client_secret",
        "REDDIT_USERNAME": "your_username",
        "REDDIT_PASSWORD": "your_password",
        "REDDIT_SAFE_MODE": "standard"
      }
    }
  }
}

Safe Mode (Spam Protection)

Protect your Reddit account from spam detection and bans with built-in safeguards. Enabled by default (standard mode) per Reddit's Responsible Builder Policy.

Why Use Safe Mode?

Reddit's spam detection can flag accounts for:

• Rapid posting or commenting
• Duplicate or similar content
• Posting the same content across multiple subreddits
• Non-standard User-Agent strings

Safe Mode helps prevent these issues automatically.

Mode Options

Mode	Write Delay	Duplicate Detection	Use Case
off	None	No	Explicit opt-out only
standard	2 seconds	Last 10 items + cross-sub	Default, recommended
strict	5 seconds	Last 20 items + cross-sub	For cautious automated posting

Disable Safe Mode

Safe mode is enabled by default. To explicitly disable:

export REDDIT_SAFE_MODE=off
npx reddit-mcp-server

What Safe Mode Does

1. Rate Limiting: Enforces minimum delays between write operations
2. Duplicate Detection: Blocks identical content from being posted twice
3. Cross-Subreddit Detection: Prevents posting the same content to multiple subreddits (per Reddit policy)
4. Smart User-Agent: Auto-generates Reddit-compliant User-Agent format when username is provided

Bot Disclosure

Reddit's Responsible Builder Policy requires bots to disclose their automated nature. Enable automatic bot footers on all posted content:

export REDDIT_BOT_DISCLOSURE=auto
npx reddit-mcp-server

When enabled, a footer is appended to all posts, replies, and edits:

---
🤖 I am a bot | Built with reddit-mcp-server

Customize the footer with REDDIT_BOT_FOOTER:

export REDDIT_BOT_DISCLOSURE=auto
export REDDIT_BOT_FOOTER=$'\n\n---\n^(🤖 Custom bot footer text)'

Authentication

⚠️ Reddit API Changes (2026)

Reddit's unauthenticated API no longer works. As of mid-2026, Reddit blocks unauthenticated API requests with HTTP 403, so reading Reddit's API needs OAuth credentials. REDDIT_AUTH_MODE=anonymous still exists, but it is now an alias for keyless mode.

Reddit is closing its public API. See Reddit is closing its public API for the dates and what this server does about them.

Reddit closed self-service OAuth app creation in November 2025, and as of 2026-10-31 it accepts no new requests for public API access. Existing OAuth credentials keep working until March 2027 if the app is registered by 2027-01-12. Reddit starts removing access for unregistered apps on that date.

Getting Credentials

If you already have a Reddit app (created at /prefs/apps before November 2025, or approved through Reddit's Developer Support): use your existing client ID and secret. They still work at 60-100 req/min. Register the app at developers.reddit.com/app-registration before 2027-01-12.

If you don't have credentials: Reddit no longer accepts new requests for public API access, so use keyless mode.

Mode Comparison

Mode	Rate Limit	Setup Required	Tools Available	Best For
auto (default)	60-100 req/min	OAuth credentials	All tools	Most users
authenticated	60-100 req/min	OAuth credentials	All tools	Explicit mode
auto (no creds)	Shared, free	None	Most read tools (Keyless Mode)	New users
anonymous	Shared, free	None	Same as auto without credentials	Legacy alias

If Reddit rejects your credentials at startup, auto logs a warning and starts anyway, and each tool call reports the error. authenticated exits instead.

Keyless Mode

Without OAuth credentials, reads come from two free sources:

• Reddit's RSS feeds for ranked listings (hot, top, rising, controversial, and the home feed). Reddit retires RSS on 2026-11-13. When a feed fails for a named subreddit, the server falls back to the archive's newest posts and says ranking is unavailable.
• The Arctic Shift archive, a free third-party copy of Reddit run by one volunteer. It is not Reddit's API and has no uptime guarantee.

Tool	Keyless source	Limits
browse_subreddit (new)	Arctic Shift	One subreddit; no multireddits
browse_subreddit (other), get_top_posts	RSS, then Arctic Shift	Archive fallback is newest-first, not ranked
get_reddit_post	Arctic Shift
get_post_comments	Arctic Shift	Recent comments may be missing; no sort
get_more_comments	Arctic Shift
get_user_info	Arctic Shift	Account age estimated from first activity; status flags unknown
get_user_posts, get_user_comments	Arctic Shift	Newest first only
get_subreddit_info, get_subreddit_rules	Arctic Shift
search_reddit	Arctic Shift	Posts need subreddit; type=sr matches name prefixes; no type=user

Archive caveats: scores and comment counts lag, and are often 0 or 1 on recent posts. Keyword search on large subreddits is slow, and the archive throttles it. The server waits up to 10 seconds and retries once. If that fails too, the error says when to retry. Every archive result ends with a note naming the source.

Still needs OAuth: get_trending_subreddits, get_post_flairs, get_me, get_my_overview, get_my_saved, search_reddit with type=user, and all write tools.

Read-Only Access (OAuth)

{
  "env": {
    "REDDIT_CLIENT_ID": "your_client_id",
    "REDDIT_CLIENT_SECRET": "your_client_secret"
  }
}

Write Operations (OAuth + User Credentials)

To create posts, reply, edit, or delete content, add your Reddit username and password:

{
  "env": {
    "REDDIT_CLIENT_ID": "your_client_id",
    "REDDIT_CLIENT_SECRET": "your_client_secret",
    "REDDIT_USERNAME": "your_username",
    "REDDIT_PASSWORD": "your_password",
    "REDDIT_SAFE_MODE": "standard"
  }
}

Development

Commands

pnpm install        # Install dependencies
pnpm build          # Build TypeScript
pnpm dev            # Rebuild on every change
pnpm inspect        # Build and open the MCP inspector
pnpm validate       # Format, lint, typecheck, test and build
pnpm test           # Run tests
pnpm lint           # Lint code
pnpm format         # Format code

CLI Options

npx reddit-mcp-server --version         # Show version
npx reddit-mcp-server --help            # Show help

HTTP Server Mode

For Docker deployments or web-based clients, use HTTP transport:

TRANSPORT_TYPE=httpStream PORT=3000 node dist/index.js

• The MCP endpoint is Streamable HTTP at /mcp. Version 2.0 removed the legacy SSE endpoint (/sse) and /ready.
• The server binds 127.0.0.1 unless you set HOST. The Docker image sets HOST=0.0.0.0.
• /health answers {"name":"reddit-mcp-server","status":"running"} and needs no token.

With OAuth Protection

export OAUTH_ENABLED=true
export OAUTH_TOKEN=$(openssl rand -hex 32)
TRANSPORT_TYPE=httpStream node dist/index.js

If OAUTH_TOKEN is unset or empty, the server generates one and prints it at startup. Make authenticated requests:

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $OAUTH_TOKEN" \
     -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
     -H "Accept: application/json, text/event-stream" \
     -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"tools/list","params":{}}' \
     http://localhost:3000/mcp

A request with no token gets 401, and a wrong token gets 403.

Docker

Quick Start

# Pull and run
docker pull ghcr.io/jordanburke/reddit-mcp-server:latest

docker run -d \
  --name reddit-mcp \
  -p 3000:3000 \
  -e REDDIT_CLIENT_ID=your_client_id \
  -e REDDIT_CLIENT_SECRET=your_client_secret \
  -e REDDIT_SAFE_MODE=standard \
  ghcr.io/jordanburke/reddit-mcp-server:latest

Leave out the two credential variables to run the container keyless.

Docker Compose

services:
  reddit-mcp:
    image: ghcr.io/jordanburke/reddit-mcp-server:latest
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"
    environment:
      - REDDIT_CLIENT_ID=${REDDIT_CLIENT_ID}
      - REDDIT_CLIENT_SECRET=${REDDIT_CLIENT_SECRET}
      - REDDIT_USERNAME=${REDDIT_USERNAME}
      - REDDIT_PASSWORD=${REDDIT_PASSWORD}
      - REDDIT_SAFE_MODE=standard
      - OAUTH_ENABLED=${OAUTH_ENABLED:-false}
      # Unset or empty: the server generates a token and prints it at startup
      - OAUTH_TOKEN=${OAUTH_TOKEN}
    restart: unless-stopped

Build Locally

docker build -t reddit-mcp-server .
docker run -d --name reddit-mcp -p 3000:3000 --env-file .env reddit-mcp-server

Reddit Responsible Builder Policy

This server is designed with Reddit's Responsible Builder Policy in mind:

• Safe mode on by default — rate limiting and duplicate detection prevent spam
• Cross-subreddit duplicate detection — blocks identical content across subreddits
• Bot disclosure support — optional automated footer for transparency
• No voting/karma manipulation — upvote/downvote tools are intentionally excluded
• No private messaging — DM tools are intentionally excluded
• Policy-aware AI instructions — MCP server instructions remind AI assistants of data usage restrictions

Credits

• Fork of reddit-mcp-server by Alexandros Lekkas
• Inspired by Python Reddit MCP Server by Arindam200