redmine-mcp-connector

Redmine MCP Server

stdio-based Model Context Protocol server that wraps a Redmine instance through its REST API (*.json endpoints). It runs as a separate Node.js process; no changes to the Redmine Rails app are required.

Requirements

• Node.js 20+
• A Redmine user with an API access key (My account → Show API access key)
• Network access from this process to your Redmine REDMINE_BASE_URL

Install

No install needed for normal use — coding agents launch it on demand via npx:

npx -y redmine-mcp-connector

See CONNECTING.md for exact setup instructions for Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, Cline, VS Code, Zed, and any other MCP client, plus a local-build and Docker alternative.

To hack on the server itself, clone this repo instead:

npm install
npm run build

Configuration

Environment variables (see .env.example):

Variable	Required	Description
REDMINE_BASE_URL	yes	Base URL, e.g. https://redmine.example.com (no trailing slash)
REDMINE_API_KEY	yes	X-Redmine-API-Key value
REDMINE_IMPERSONATE_USER	no	Sets X-Redmine-Switch-User (admin-only in Redmine)
REDMINE_READONLY	no	If true / 1, blocks all mutating HTTP methods
REDMINE_ALLOW_RAW_REQUEST	no	If true / 1, registers the redmine_request escape-hatch tool
REDMINE_HTTP_TIMEOUT_MS	no	Default 15000
REDMINE_MAX_PAGES	no	Max pages when using fetch_all on list tools (default 20)
REDMINE_MAX_DOWNLOAD_BYTES	no	Cap for redmine_attachment_download (default 5 MiB)

Run

REDMINE_BASE_URL=https://your-redmine.example.com REDMINE_API_KEY=secret npm start
# or during development:
REDMINE_BASE_URL=... REDMINE_API_KEY=... npm run dev

Connecting to a coding agent

Full per-client instructions (Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, Cline, VS Code, Zed, and generic MCP clients) live in CONNECTING.md. Quick example (Claude Desktop / Cursor / Windsurf all share this shape):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "redmine": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "redmine-mcp-connector"],
      "env": {
        "REDMINE_BASE_URL": "https://redmine.example.com",
        "REDMINE_API_KEY": "your_api_key_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

MCP resources (read-only)

URI	Description
redmine://projects	GET /projects.json (first 100)
redmine://me	GET /users/current.json
redmine://me/issues	GET /issues.json?assigned_to_id=me (limit 100)
redmine://projects/{id}	GET /projects/:id.json

Tools overview

Naming: redmine_<resource>_<action>.

Issues: redmine_issues_list, redmine_issue_get, redmine_issue_create, redmine_issue_update, redmine_issue_add_comment, redmine_issue_delete (requires confirm: true), watchers add/remove, relations list/add/remove.

Projects: redmine_projects_list, redmine_project_get, create/update/archive/unarchive/delete (confirm for delete).

Users: redmine_current_user, redmine_users_list, redmine_user_get, create/update/delete (confirm for delete).

Time entries: list/get/create/update/delete (confirm for delete).

News: list/get/create/update/delete (confirm for delete).

Wiki: list pages, get page, create/update (PUT), delete (confirm).

Versions & categories: versions CRUD (confirm on delete), issue categories CRUD (confirm on delete).

Queries & metadata: redmine_queries_list, redmine_enumerations_list, redmine_trackers_list, redmine_issue_statuses_list, redmine_roles_list, redmine_role_get, redmine_custom_fields_list.

Groups (read-only): redmine_groups_list, redmine_group_get.

Memberships: list/create/update/delete (confirm on delete).

Attachments & search: redmine_search, attachment get/update/delete/upload/download (download returns base64, size-capped).

Repository (limited REST in stock Redmine): redmine_repository_revision_link_issue, redmine_repository_revision_unlink_issue (confirm). Listing repositories/revisions over JSON is not exposed by core Redmine; use redmine_request if you enable it, or plugins.

Escape hatch: redmine_request — only if REDMINE_ALLOW_RAW_REQUEST=true; DELETE requires confirm: true.

Safety

• Destructive tools require explicit confirm: true where noted.
• Set REDMINE_READONLY=true for read-only deployments.
• API keys are never logged by this server.

Docker

Build a local image:

docker build -t redmine-mcp-server:local .

Run it (stdio MCP server):

docker run --rm -i   -e REDMINE_BASE_URL="https://redmine.example.com"   -e REDMINE_API_KEY="your_api_key_here"   redmine-mcp-server:local

Use this image in MCP config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "redmine": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run", "--rm", "-i",
        "-e", "REDMINE_BASE_URL",
        "-e", "REDMINE_API_KEY",
        "docker.io/<docker-user>/redmine-mcp-server:latest"
      ],
      "env": {
        "REDMINE_BASE_URL": "https://redmine.example.com",
        "REDMINE_API_KEY": "your_api_key_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Publish to Docker Hub Catalog

• Login:

docker login

• Create and use a buildx builder (one-time):

docker buildx create --name redmine-mcp-builder --use --bootstrap

• Build and push multi-arch image:

export IMAGE=docker.io/<docker-user>/redmine-mcp-server
export TAG=1.0.0

docker buildx build   --platform linux/amd64,linux/arm64   -t $IMAGE:$TAG   -t $IMAGE:latest   --push .

• In Docker Hub, set your repository description from this README and mark it as public for catalog discovery.

Development

npm run lint
npm test

Contributing

Contributions are welcome.

• See CONNECTING.md for detailed client setup instructions.
• Read CONTRIBUTING.md for local setup, coding expectations, and PR workflow.
• Follow CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md to keep collaboration respectful and inclusive.
• Use SUPPORT.md for help channels and what details to include.
• Report vulnerabilities privately following SECURITY.md.
• For public distribution templates (Docker + MCP directories), see REGISTRY_PUBLISHING.md.

License

GPL-2.0-or-later (same family as Redmine).