What Is the ThreadSnoop Reddit MCP Server?

MCP (Model Context Protocol) is an open standard that lets an AI assistant call external tools and data sources through one common interface, instead of every assistant needing its own custom integration code for every service. The ThreadSnoop Reddit MCP server is a read-only implementation of that standard for Reddit: it exposes search, comment-tree, subreddit, and user-lookup tools to any MCP-aware client — Claude, Cursor, Codex, and others — over one connection. Read-only means exactly that: none of its tools can post, vote, comment, or DM. Ever.

Why does Reddit access need MCP at all?

Without a shared protocol, giving an AI assistant access to Reddit means writing integration code specific to that assistant — a plugin for one, a custom tool definition for another, glue code for a third. MCP replaces all of that with one server and one config block: point any MCP-aware client at the same server, and it gets the same tools without you writing anything assistant-specific. That's the whole value of the protocol — not new capabilities, just one integration instead of N.

What is the ThreadSnoop Reddit MCP server?

A hosted MCP server at https://api.threadsnoop.com/mcp, authenticated the same way as the REST API — an x-api-key header with a key from /developer. It's stateless: every request authenticates fresh, there's no session to keep alive or expire, and nothing about one call depends on a previous one. It's also read-only by design, not just by current limitation — there is no tool in this server, and there will not be one, that posts, votes, comments, or messages on Reddit. Every tool reads; nothing writes.

What tools does it expose?

Seven tools, six of them metered the same as a REST API call:

• search_posts — search Reddit posts by subreddit and/or author, or fetch specific posts by id, with an optional exact-phrase q= filter. 1 credit.
• search_comments — same shape, for comments. 1 credit.
• get_comment_tree — the full comment tree for a post, including a real comment count for posts still inside Reddit's ~36-hour fresh-post blackout. 1 credit.
• search_subreddits — find subreddits whose name or prefix matches a query. 1 credit.
• get_subreddit_rules — a subreddit's posted rules. 1 credit.
• get_user_profile — a Reddit user's profile aggregate (karma, post/comment counts, activity dates) by exact username. 1 credit, charged even on a miss — a nonexistent username still made a real lookup, so it still costs the credit; it comes back as an empty result, not an error.
• check_credits — your remaining balance and rate limit. Free, always 0 credits.

How does billing work?

Exactly like the REST API, because it is the REST API underneath — same key, same account, same credit balance. A tool call over MCP debits your balance the same way a REST request would; there's no separate MCP pricing or a second balance to track. Reads are $1.50 per 1,000 at the base rate, as low as $1.00/1,000 in bulk, and new accounts start with $0.50 of free credit — 333 reads — no card required.

What are the rate limits?

The same uniform limit as every key on the REST API: 2 requests per second sustained, burst of 10. It's enforced per key, not per tool, so a burst of MCP tool calls and a burst of REST calls share the same budget if you're making both with the same key.

How do I connect to it?

Claude Code, one command:

claude mcp add --transport http threadsnoop https://api.threadsnoop.com/mcp \
  --header "x-api-key: YOUR_KEY"

Any other MCP client that supports streamable HTTP with custom headers uses the same shape:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "threadsnoop": {
      "url": "https://api.threadsnoop.com/mcp",
      "headers": { "x-api-key": "YOUR_KEY" }
    }
  }
}

Full walkthroughs with worked prompts and client-specific config (Claude Desktop's mcp-remote bridge included): giving Claude access to Reddit. Prefer skipping MCP entirely and calling the API straight off its OpenAPI spec from Claude Code's shell? giving Claude Code access via an OpenAPI spec covers that path instead. For the broader question of which connection method fits which tool: how to search Reddit with AI.

Frequently asked questions