Xiaohongshu MCP server

RedNote MCP is a specialized tool that allows you to search and retrieve content from the Xiaohongshu (Red Book) platform through the Model Context Protocol. It provides intelligent content extraction with automatic login management and parallel processing capabilities for efficient content retrieval.

Features

• Smart Search: Keyword-based content search on Xiaohongshu
• Auto Login: Automatic cookie management and login handling
• Parallel Processing: Efficient concurrent content retrieval
• Rich Data Extraction: Note titles, content, author information, interaction metrics, images, hashtags, and direct links

Installation

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+
• pnpm package manager

Setup

1. Clone the repository:

git clone <repository-url>
cd rednote-mcp

2. Install dependencies:

pnpm install

3. Install Playwright browsers:

pnpm exec playwright install

4. Build the project:

pnpm build

Usage

Running the MCP Server

To start the MCP server:

pnpm start

Development Mode

For development with auto-reload:

pnpm dev

MCP Client Configuration

Claude Desktop

Add the following configuration to your Claude Desktop config file:

Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

For Windows:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "rednote-mcp": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": [
        "C:\\ABSOLUTE\\PATH\\TO\\rednote-mcp\\build\\index.js"
      ]
    }
  }
}

For macOS/Linux:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "rednote-mcp": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": [
        "/absolute/path/to/rednote-mcp/build/index.js"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Replace the path with your actual project directory.

Tool Usage

Once configured, you can use the search tool in your MCP client to search for content on Xiaohongshu. For example, you can search for "food recommendation" and the tool will return structured data including titles, content, author information, and images.

Data Structure

The tool returns data in the following structure:

interface RedBookNote {
  title: string;        // Note title
  content: string;      // Note content
  author: string;       // Author name
  authorDesc?: string;  // Author description
  link: string;         // Note URL
  likes?: number;       // Like count
  collects?: number;    // Favorite count
  comments?: number;    // Comment count
  tags?: string[];      // Hashtag list
  images?: string[];    // Image URLs (WebP format)
}

Important Notes

• First Run: Manual login to Xiaohongshu is required on first use
• Performance: Initial searches may take 30-60 seconds due to browser startup and content loading
• Rate Limiting: Concurrent requests are limited to 3 to avoid platform restrictions
• Image Format: Images are provided in WebP format
• Cookie Management: Login state is automatically saved and reused

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

• Login Required: If you see login prompts, delete the cookies/ directory and restart
• Timeout Errors: Increase the MCP client timeout settings
• Browser Not Found: Run pnpm exec playwright install to install browsers
• Permission Errors: Ensure the project directory has proper read/write permissions

How to install this MCP server

For Claude Code

To add this MCP server to Claude Code, run this command in your terminal:

claude mcp add-json "rednote-mcp" '{"command":"node","args":["/path/to/rednote-mcp/build/index.js"]}'

See the official Claude Code MCP documentation for more details.

For 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 > Tools & Integrations and click "New MCP Server".

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

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "rednote-mcp": {
            "command": "node",
            "args": [
                "/path/to/rednote-mcp/build/index.js"
            ]
        }
    }
}

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 explicitly ask the agent to use the tool by mentioning the tool name and describing what the function does.

For Claude Desktop

To add this MCP server to Claude Desktop:

1. Find your configuration file:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
• Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

2. Add this to your configuration file:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "rednote-mcp": {
            "command": "node",
            "args": [
                "/path/to/rednote-mcp/build/index.js"
            ]
        }
    }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect