Reddit Search MCP Server

A small self-hosted server that lets Claude search Reddit directly from chat. You host this; Claude's servers call it over HTTPS once you add it as a custom connector.

No Anthropic API key required — this server only talks to Reddit via PRAW. Claude is the caller, not the other way around.

What it exposes

Two tools, callable from any Claude chat once connected:

• search_reddit — search by keyword, optional subreddit/sort/time filter, returns posts + their top comments.

• get_reddit_thread — fetch one specific thread by URL in more depth (useful as a follow-up after search_reddit).

Related MCP server: MCP Reddit Server

1. Get Reddit API credentials

Reddit tightened this in 2026 — self-service app creation at reddit.com/prefs/apps is no longer sufficient on its own for new apps. You now need to request access first:

1. Submit Reddit's Data API access request (non-commercial): https://support.reddithelp.com/hc/en-us/requests/new?ticket_form_id=14868593862164 Reddit's form will first point you to Devvit — that's for apps that run inside Reddit (bots, subreddit widgets, moderation tools). This server does the opposite: it's an external service that pulls Reddit search results out to be used elsewhere (in a Claude chat). Devvit has no general external query API for that, so this is the "my use case isn't supported by Devvit" case the form is filtering for — say so plainly in the ticket.

2. Describe the use case honestly: a personal, non-commercial Reddit search tool for your own use, low volume (well under the 100 queries/minute free-tier cap).

3. Once approved, go to https://www.reddit.com/prefs/apps and create an app of type script — this is where you'll actually get the client_id (under the app name) and client_secret values.

4. Don't use Reddit's Developer Platform (developers.reddit.com / Devvit) — that's for apps that run inside Reddit itself (bots, subreddit tools), not for external read access like this server needs.

Approval isn't instant the way it used to be, so budget some lead time before you can actually run this.

2. Configure

cp .env.example .env
# edit .env and fill in REDDIT_CLIENT_ID, REDDIT_CLIENT_SECRET,
# REDDIT_USER_AGENT, and a random MCP_AUTH_TOKEN

Generate a random token for MCP_AUTH_TOKEN, e.g.:

python3 -c "import secrets; print(secrets.token_urlsafe(32))"

3. Run it

Locally (for testing)

pip install -r requirements.txt
export $(cat .env | xargs)   # or use python-dotenv / your shell's method
python server.py

It listens on http://0.0.0.0:8000/mcp by default.

With Docker

docker build -t reddit-mcp-server .
docker run -p 8000:8000 --env-file .env reddit-mcp-server

4. Running on Unraid

Option A — Compose Manager plugin (recommended)

1. In Community Applications, install Compose Manager (by dcflachs) if you don't have it already.

2. Create a new stack, e.g. /mnt/user/appdata/reddit-mcp-server/, and drop docker-compose.yml, server.py, requirements.txt, Dockerfile, and your filled-in .env (including TUNNEL_TOKEN — see step 5) in there.

3. In Compose Manager, point it at that folder and hit Compose Up. It'll build the reddit-mcp-server image locally and pull cloudflared, then start both.

Option B — plain Docker via the Unraid terminal

cd /mnt/user/appdata/reddit-mcp-server
docker build -t reddit-mcp-server .
docker run -d --name reddit-mcp-server --restart unless-stopped \
  --env-file .env reddit-mcp-server
docker run -d --name reddit-mcp-cloudflared --restart unless-stopped \
  --env-file .env --link reddit-mcp-server cloudflare/cloudflared:latest tunnel run

(Compose is genuinely easier here since it wires the two containers' internal networking together automatically — Option A is worth the extra plugin.)

5. Expose it via Cloudflare Tunnel

Your NPM is internal-only, so it can't publish this to the internet — Cloudflare Tunnel is the actual path here, not just an alternative. Full walkthrough in CLOUDFLARE_TUNNEL.md, short version:

1. Cloudflare Zero Trust dashboard → Networks → Tunnels → create one

2. Add a public hostname pointing at reddit-mcp-server:8000 (the Compose service name — cloudflared reaches it over the internal Compose network, no port mapping needed)

3. Copy the tunnel token into .env as TUNNEL_TOKEN=...

4. docker compose up -d

Your public URL for the connector will be whatever hostname you chose, e.g. https://reddit-mcp.yourdomain.com/mcp.

6. Add it to Claude as a custom connector

In Claude.ai: Settings → Connectors → Add custom connector.

• URL: your public HTTPS URL from the tunnel (e.g. https://reddit-mcp.yourdomain.com/mcp)

• Add a custom header:

  • Name: Authorization

  • Value: Bearer <your MCP_AUTH_TOKEN>

Once connected, ask Claude to search Reddit and it'll call search_reddit directly — no more relying on general web search, which doesn't surface Reddit reliably.

Security notes

• MCP_AUTH_TOKEN gates every tool call. Don't skip setting it — without it, anyone with your URL can use your Reddit API quota.

• This is read-only (PRAW read_only=True); it can't post, vote, or modify anything on Reddit even if someone got past auth.

• Reddit API rate limits apply (roughly 60 requests/min per app) — fine for interactive chat use, but don't put this behind something that hammers it in a loop.