Redmine MCP server

The Redmine MCP Server enables interaction with Redmine projects and issues directly through the Cline VS Code extension, providing a seamless experience for managing your Redmine workflow without leaving your development environment.

Prerequisites

Before installing the Redmine MCP Server, ensure you have:

• Node.js: Version 18 or newer
• Redmine Instance: A running Redmine instance with REST API enabled
• Redmine API Key: Available in your Redmine account settings under "My Account" → "API access key"
• Cline: The Cline VS Code extension installed and configured

Installation

Clone and Set Up

Clone the repository and install dependencies:

git clone https://github.com/ilask/Redmine-MCP.git
cd Redmine-MCP
npm install

Configure Environment

Create a .env file in the project root directory with your Redmine credentials:

REDMINE_HOST=your-redmine-host.com
REDMINE_API_KEY=your-redmine-api-key

Note: The .env file contains sensitive information and should not be committed to version control.

Integrating with Cline

Add the Server to Cline

1. Open VS Code and navigate to the Cline extension
2. Go to the MCP Server tab
3. Click "Edit MCP Settings" to open the cline_mcp_settings.json file
4. Add the following entry to the mcpServers object:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "redmine-server": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["C:\\Users\\yourusername\\path\\to\\Redmine-MCP\\server.js"],
      "disabled": false,
      "autoApprove": []
    }
  }
}

Important: Use double backslashes (\) in Windows paths and provide the absolute path to the server.js file.

5. Save the file - Cline should automatically detect the changes and start the server

Using the Redmine MCP Server

Accessing Project Resources

You can access Redmine project details using the access_mcp_resource tool in Cline:

<access_mcp_resource>
<server_name>redmine-server</server_name>
<uri>redmine://projects/123</uri>
</access_mcp_resource>

Replace 123 with a valid project ID from your Redmine instance.

Creating Issues

Create new Redmine issues directly from Cline using the create_issue tool:

<use_mcp_tool>
<server_name>redmine-server</server_name>
<tool_name>create_issue</tool_name>
<arguments>
{
  "project_id": "456",
  "subject": "My New Issue",
  "description": "This is a test issue created via Cline."
}
</arguments>
</use_mcp_tool>

Replace 456 with a valid project ID. This will create a new issue in the specified project and return the issue details as JSON.

Troubleshooting

If you encounter problems with the Redmine MCP Server:

• Connection Errors: If you see "MCP error -1: Connection closed", verify your REDMINE_HOST and REDMINE_API_KEY environment variables and ensure your Redmine instance is accessible
• Server Logs: Check the VS Code terminal for error messages from the server
• API Access: Confirm that your Redmine API key has appropriate permissions for the operations you're attempting

How to add this MCP server to Cursor

There are two ways to add an MCP server to Cursor. The most common way is to add the server globally in the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file so that it is available in all of your projects.

If you only need the server in a single project, you can add it to the project instead by creating or adding it to the .cursor/mcp.json file.

Adding an MCP server to Cursor globally

To add a global MCP server go to Cursor Settings > MCP and click "Add new global MCP server".

When you click that button the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file will be opened and you can add your server like this:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "cursor-rules-mcp": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "-y",
                "cursor-rules-mcp"
            ]
        }
    }
}

Adding an MCP server to a project

To add an MCP server to a project you can create a new .cursor/mcp.json file or add it to the existing one. This will look exactly the same as the global MCP server example above.

How to use the MCP server

Once the server is installed, you might need to head back to Settings > MCP and click the refresh button.

The Cursor agent will then be able to see the available tools the added MCP server has available and will call them when it needs to.

You can also explictly ask the agent to use the tool by mentioning the tool name and describing what the function does.