Install

Install and configure the Redis MCP server.

The MCP server runs separately from Redis, so you will need a Redis server for it to connect to. See Redis Cloud or Redis Open Source to learn how to get a test server active within minutes.

When you have a Redis server available, use the instructions below to install and configure the Redis MCP server.

Quick Start with PyPI

The easiest way to use the Redis MCP Server is with uvx, which lets you run it from its PyPI package (see the uv installation instructions for more information.)

# Run with Redis URI
uvx --from redis-mcp-server@latest redis-mcp-server --url redis://localhost:6379/0
# Run with Redis URI and SSL 
uvx --from redis-mcp-server@latest redis-mcp-server --url "rediss://<USERNAME>:<PASSWORD>@<HOST>:<PORT>?ssl_cert_reqs=required&ssl_ca_certs=<PATH_TO_CERT>"
# Run with individual parameters
uvx --from redis-mcp-server@latest redis-mcp-server --host localhost --port 6379 --password mypassword
# See all options
uvx --from redis-mcp-server@latest redis-mcp-server --help

Run from GitHub

Running from PyPI is the recommended way to use the Redis MCP server, but you can also run it from a GitHub branch or a tagged release with uvx:

# Run with Redis URI
uvx --from git+https://github.com/redis/mcp-redis.git redis-mcp-server --url redis://localhost:6379/0
# Run with Redis URI and SSL 
uvx --from git+https://github.com/redis/mcp-redis.git redis-mcp-server --url "rediss://<USERNAME>:<PASSWORD>@<HOST>:<PORT>?ssl_cert_reqs=required&ssl_ca_certs=<PATH_TO_CERT>"
# Run with individual parameters
uvx --from git+https://github.com/redis/mcp-redis.git redis-mcp-server --host localhost --port 6379 --password mypassword
# See all options
uvx --from git+https://github.com/redis/mcp-redis.git redis-mcp-server --help

Install the server from source

You can also run Redis MCP from source, which may be useful if you want to contribute to the project.

Clone Redis MCP from the Github repository using the following command:

git clone https://github.com/redis/mcp-redis.git

You will also need the uv packaging tool to set up the server. See the uv installation instructions for more information.

When you have installed uv, go to the mcp-redis folder that you cloned and enter the following commands to initialize the MCP server code:

cd mcp-redis
uv venv
source .venv/bin/activate
uv sync
# Run with CLI interface
uv run redis-mcp-server --help
# Or run the main file directly (uses environment variables)
uv run src/main.py

Install using Docker

You can use the mcp/redis image to run Redis MCP with Docker. Alternatively, use the following command to build the Docker image with the Dockerfile in the mcp/redis folder:

docker build -t mcp-redis .

Configuration

The default settings for MCP assume a Redis server is running on the local machine, with the default port and no security arrangements. You can use environment variables to change these settings (see Environment variables below for the full list). For example, for a bash shell, use

export REDIS_USERNAME="my_username"

from the command line or the .bashrc file to set the username you want to connect with.

Alternatively, you can use a .env file in your project folder to set the environment variables as key-value pairs, one per line:

REDIS_HOST=your_redis_host
REDIS_PORT=6379
 .
 .

See the .env.example file in the repository for the full list of variables and their default values.

You can also set the configuration using command-line arguments, which may be useful if you only want to change a few settings from the defaults (see Command line options below for the full list of options).

# Basic Redis connection
uvx --from redis-mcp-server@latest redis-mcp-server \
 --host localhost \
 --port 6379 \
 --password mypassword
# Using Redis URI (simpler)
uvx --from redis-mcp-server@latest redis-mcp-server \
 --url redis://user:pass@localhost:6379/0
# SSL connection
uvx --from redis-mcp-server@latest redis-mcp-server \
 --url rediss://user:[email protected]:6379/0
# See all available options
uvx --from redis-mcp-server@latest redis-mcp-server --help

Environment variables

The full set of environment variables is shown in the table below. The REDIS_ENTRAID_XXX variables (used for EntraID authentication to Azure Managed Redis) are described in the EntraID authentication section.

Command line options

The full set of command line options is shown in the table below:

EntraID authentication

The Redis MCP Server supports EntraID (Azure Active Directory) authentication for Azure Managed Redis, enabling OAuth-based authentication with automatic token management. This uses redis-py's redis-entra-id library to offer:

• Automatic token renewal - Refreshes tokens in the background with no manual intervention
• Graceful fallback - Falls back to standard Redis authentication when EntraID is not configured
• Multiple auth flows - Supports Service Principal, Managed Identity, and Default Azure Credential
• Enterprise capabilities - Designed for Azure Managed Redis with centralized identity management

Use the REDIS_ENTRAID_XXX environment variables to configure EntraID authentication. Some common configurations are:

• Local development with Azure CLI:

  # Login with Azure CLI
  az login
  # Configure MCP server
  export REDIS_ENTRAID_AUTH_FLOW=default_credential
  export REDIS_URL=redis://your-azure-redis.redis.cache.windows.net:6379
  

• Production usage with Service Principal:

  export REDIS_ENTRAID_AUTH_FLOW=service_principal
  export REDIS_ENTRAID_CLIENT_ID=your-app-client-id
  export REDIS_ENTRAID_CLIENT_SECRET=your-app-secret
  export REDIS_ENTRAID_TENANT_ID=your-tenant-id
  export REDIS_URL=redis://your-azure-redis.redis.cache.windows.net:6379
  

• Azure-hosted application with Managed Identity:

  export REDIS_ENTRAID_AUTH_FLOW=managed_identity
  export REDIS_ENTRAID_IDENTITY_TYPE=system_assigned
  export REDIS_URL=redis://your-azure-redis.redis.cache.windows.net:6379
  

Redis Cloud MCP

A separate MCP server is available for Redis Cloud. This has features specific to Redis Cloud, including subscription management and billing details. For example, you can use questions and instructions like the following:

• "Create a new Redis database in AWS"
• "What are my current subscriptions?"
• "Help me choose the right Redis database for my e-commerce application"

You will need Node.js installed to run Redis Cloud MCP. Clone the GitHub repository using the following command:

git clone https://github.com/redis/mcp-redis-cloud.git

Go into the mcp-redis-cloud folder and install the dependencies:

npm run build

The server is now ready for use.

You can also deploy Redis Cloud MCP using Docker. Build the image using the Dockerfile in the repository folder with the following command:

docker build -t mcp/redis-cloud .

Next steps

When you have installed the server, you will need a MCP client to connect to it and use its services. See Configure client apps for more information.