MCP Server (AI Integration)

redisctl includes a built-in Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that enables AI assistants like Claude to manage your Redis deployments through natural language.

Overview

The MCP server exposes redisctl functionality as tools that AI systems can discover and invoke. This allows you to:

• Ask an AI to “list all my Redis databases”
• Request “create a new 256MB database called cache-db”
• Query “what’s the status of my cluster nodes”

All operations use your existing redisctl profiles for authentication.

Installation

macOS (Homebrew)

brew install redis-developer/homebrew-tap/redisctl

Linux/Windows

Download from GitHub Releases or use Docker:

docker pull ghcr.io/redis-developer/redisctl

See the Installation Guide for all options.

Setting Up Credentials

Before using the MCP server, configure a profile with your Redis credentials:

Redis Cloud

# Interactive setup (prompts for API keys)
redisctl profile add my-cloud-profile --cloud

# Or provide keys directly
redisctl profile add my-cloud-profile --cloud \
  --api-key YOUR_API_KEY \
  --secret-key YOUR_SECRET_KEY

Get your API keys from the Redis Cloud Console under Account > API Keys.

Redis Enterprise

# Interactive setup
redisctl profile add my-enterprise-profile --enterprise

# Or provide credentials directly
redisctl profile add my-enterprise-profile --enterprise \
  --url https://your-cluster:9443 \
  --username admin@redis.com \
  --password YOUR_PASSWORD \
  --insecure  # if using self-signed certs

Verify Your Profile

# Test Cloud connection
redisctl -p my-cloud-profile cloud account get

# Test Enterprise connection
redisctl -p my-enterprise-profile enterprise cluster get

Quick Start

# Start the MCP server (read-only mode, safe for exploration)
redisctl -p my-profile mcp serve

# Enable write operations (create, update, delete)
redisctl -p my-profile mcp serve --allow-writes

# List available tools
redisctl mcp tools

Configuring Claude Desktop

Add the following to your Claude Desktop configuration file:

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

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "redisctl": {
      "command": "/path/to/redisctl",
      "args": ["-p", "my-profile", "mcp", "serve"]
    }
  }
}

For write operations:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "redisctl": {
      "command": "/path/to/redisctl",
      "args": ["-p", "my-profile", "mcp", "serve", "--allow-writes"]
    }
  }
}

Configuring Claude Code

Add to your project’s .mcp.json or global MCP settings:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "redisctl": {
      "command": "redisctl",
      "args": ["-p", "my-profile", "mcp", "serve", "--allow-writes"]
    }
  }
}

Configuring Cursor

Add to your Cursor MCP configuration file:

macOS: ~/.cursor/mcp.json Windows: %USERPROFILE%\.cursor\mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "redisctl": {
      "command": "/path/to/redisctl",
      "args": ["-p", "my-profile", "mcp", "serve", "--allow-writes"]
    }
  }
}

After saving, restart Cursor or use the command palette to reload MCP servers.

Configuring Windsurf

Add to your Windsurf MCP configuration:

macOS: ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json Windows: %USERPROFILE%\.codeium\windsurf\mcp_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "redisctl": {
      "command": "/path/to/redisctl",
      "args": ["-p", "my-profile", "mcp", "serve", "--allow-writes"]
    }
  }
}

Restart Windsurf after updating the configuration.

Configuring VS Code with Continue

If you’re using Continue in VS Code, add to your Continue configuration:

Config location: ~/.continue/config.json

{
  "experimental": {
    "modelContextProtocolServers": [
      {
        "transport": {
          "type": "stdio",
          "command": "/path/to/redisctl",
          "args": ["-p", "my-profile", "mcp", "serve", "--allow-writes"]
        }
      }
    ]
  }
}

Configuring Zed

Add to your Zed settings (~/.config/zed/settings.json on Linux/macOS):

{
  "context_servers": {
    "redisctl": {
      "command": {
        "path": "/path/to/redisctl",
        "args": ["-p", "my-profile", "mcp", "serve", "--allow-writes"]
      }
    }
  }
}

Available Tools

Redis Cloud Tools (17 tools)

Account & Infrastructure

Pro Subscriptions

Essentials Subscriptions

Database & Task Operations

Redis Enterprise Tools (48 tools)

Cluster Operations

Database Operations

Node Operations

Shard & Alert Operations

User & Access Management

Other Operations

Total: 65 tools (17 Cloud + 48 Enterprise)

Example Conversations

Once configured, you can interact naturally with your Redis infrastructure:

You: What databases do I have in my enterprise cluster?

Claude: uses enterprise_databases_list You have 2 databases:

• default-db (uid: 1) - 1GB, active
• cache-db (uid: 2) - 256MB, active

You: Create a new database called session-store with 512MB

Claude: uses enterprise_database_create Created database session-store (uid: 3) with 512MB memory. Status: active.

You: Show me any active alerts

Claude: uses enterprise_alerts_list No active alerts in your cluster.

You: What Essentials plans are available on AWS?

Claude: uses cloud_essentials_plans_list with provider: AWS Here are the available Essentials plans on AWS:

• 250MB Cache ($5/month) - us-east-1
• 1GB Cache ($18/month) - us-east-1
• 250MB Persistence ($6/month) - us-east-1 …

You: Create a new Essentials subscription with the 250MB plan

Claude: uses cloud_essentials_subscription_create Created Essentials subscription my-cache with plan 250MB. Task ID: abc123. Use cloud_task_get to monitor progress.

Security Considerations

Read-Only Mode (Default)

By default, the MCP server runs in read-only mode. This prevents any destructive operations and is recommended for:

• Exploring your infrastructure
• Monitoring and reporting
• Learning about your deployments

Write Mode

Use --allow-writes only when you need to create or modify resources. Consider:

• Using separate profiles for read-only vs write access
• Running write-enabled servers only in development environments
• Reviewing AI-suggested changes before confirming

Profile-Based Authentication

The MCP server uses your existing redisctl profiles, which means:

• Credentials are never exposed to the AI
• You control which environments are accessible
• Standard profile security applies (keyring support, etc.)

Troubleshooting

Server won’t start

# Check your profile works
redisctl -p my-profile enterprise cluster get

# Verify MCP feature is enabled
redisctl mcp tools

Claude can’t find the server

1. Ensure the path to redisctl is absolute in your config
2. Restart Claude Desktop after config changes
3. Check Claude’s MCP logs for connection errors

Operations timing out

The MCP server inherits redisctl’s timeout settings. For slow operations:

# Enterprise operations may need longer timeouts
redisctl -p my-profile mcp serve --allow-writes

Protocol Details

The MCP server uses:

• Transport: stdio (standard input/output)
• Protocol Version: 2024-11-05
• Capabilities: Tools only (no resources or prompts currently)

For MCP protocol details, see the MCP Specification.