RedNote

RedNote MCP provides a lightweight server that lets you access RedNote content through MCP clients. It authenticates, caches your session, and lets you search notes or open notes directly by URL, enabling seamless integration with your MCP workflow.

How to use

You run RedNote MCP as a local service and connect to it from your MCP client (Cursor, CLI, or another MCP-enabled tool). Start by initializing login to create a persistent session, then configure MCP servers to talk to the local process. Once set up, you can search for notes by keyword and open individual notes by their URLs.

Initialization and basic usage steps: 1) initialize login to create a persistent session, 2) configure the MCP client to communicate with the RedNote MCP server, and 3) perform searches or open notes via URLs.

How to install

Prerequisites you need before installing: Node.js (version 16 or newer) and npm (version 7 or newer). You also need Playwright installed to enable automated browser tasks used during login.

npx playwright install

Option A: Install via Smithery for Claude Desktop integration (auto-install)

npx -y @smithery/cli install @JonaFly/rednote-mcp --client claude

Option B: Global NPM installation (recommended for broader usage)

# Global install
npm install -g rednote-mcp

# Initialize login; cookies will be saved to ~/.mcp/rednote/cookies.json
rednote-mcp init

Option C: Install from source and run in development mode

# Clone the project
git clone https://github.com/ifuryst/rednote-mcp.git
cd rednote-mcp

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Global install (optional, for easier CLI usage)
npm install -g .

# Or run directly, e.g., to initialize login
npm run dev -- init

Configuration and usage notes

Configure the MCP client to connect to the RedNote MCP server via a standard stdio setup. You will point the client to run the RedNote MCP process with the appropriate arguments to enable stdio-based communication.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "RedNote MCP": {
      "command": "rednote-mcp",
      "args": [
        "--stdio"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Security and maintenance

First-time login creates a session by launching a browser window to complete authentication. The resulting cookies are stored at ~/.mcp/rednote/cookies.json. Treat this file as sensitive; protect it to prevent unauthorized access. Regularly refresh cookies to maintain an active session and minimize the risk of expiration.

Troubleshooting and tips

If you encounter login failures or cookie expiration, re-run the initialization process to refresh the session. Ensure Playwright is installed and that Node.js is available in your environment. If the MCP server cannot start, verify that the configured command and arguments are correct and that the cookies file exists at the expected path.

Development notes

Development requires Node.js >= 16 and npm >= 7. Typical workflow includes installing dependencies, building, running in development mode, and executing tests. You can debug using an MCP Inspector tool to observe requests and responses when running the MCP server.

Examples and usage patterns

Two common ways to start the MCP server for integration with a client are shown here. The first uses a globally installed binary, the second uses npx to run the package without a global install.

# Option 1: Global binary (after npm install -g rednote-mcp)
rednote-mcp --stdio

# Option 2: Run via npx without global install
npx rednote-mcp --stdio

Available tools

init

Initializes login and persists session cookies to ~/.mcp/rednote/cookies.json.

searchNotes

Performs keyword-based searches of RedNote notes via the MCP server.

openNoteByUrl

Opens and retrieves a note content using a direct URL.