MCP Server for Redpanda Documentation

Redpanda provides a remote Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that lets you access authoritative Redpanda documentation directly from your IDE or AI tool, such as Cursor, VS Code, ChatGPT, or Claude.

The MCP server is hosted at: https://docs.redpanda.com/mcp. You can add this endpoint to any AI agent that supports MCP.

Set up

  • Cursor

  • VS Code

  • ChatGPT Desktop

  • Claude Desktop

Add the following to your .cursor/mcp.json file:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "redpanda": {
      "url": "https://docs.redpanda.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}

For more information about MCP in Cursor, see the Cursor documentation.

Prerequisites: VS Code 1.102+ with GitHub Copilot enabled.

Create an mcp.json file in your workspace .vscode folder:

.vscode/mcp.json
{
  "servers": {
    "redpanda": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://docs.redpanda.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}

To configure globally for all workspaces:

  1. Open Command Palette (Cmd+Shift+P / Ctrl+Shift+P)

  2. Run MCP: Open User Configuration

  3. Add the same JSON configuration

Using MCP in VS Code:

  1. Open the Chat view (Ctrl+Cmd+I / Ctrl+Alt+I).

  2. Select Agent mode from the dropdown.

  3. Click the Tools button to see available MCP tools.

  4. Ask questions about Redpanda and the AI automatically uses the documentation.

For more details, see the VS Code MCP documentation.

ChatGPT Desktop supports MCP servers in developer mode. To enable:

  1. Open ChatGPT Desktop.

  2. Go to Settings > Features.

  3. Enable Developer mode.

  4. Navigate to Settings > MCP Servers.

  5. Click Add Server and enter:

For more information, see the ChatGPT Desktop MCP documentation.

To add Redpanda’s MCP server to Claude Desktop:

On macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

On Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

Add this configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "redpanda": {
      "url": "https://docs.redpanda.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop for changes to take effect.

For more details, see the Claude Desktop documentation.

Other AI tools

Any tool that supports MCP servers can connect using the following URL:

https://docs.redpanda.com/mcp
MCP support varies by tool and version. Check the specific tool’s documentation for MCP setup instructions.

What you can do

Once connected, you can ask context-aware questions about Redpanda from within your editor:

  • "How do I configure Redpanda for production?"

  • "What are the instructions for running Redpanda in a local Kind cluster?"

  • "What are the best practices for topic partitioning in Redpanda?"

  • "What are Redpanda’s security features and authentication methods?"

  • "How do I monitor Redpanda cluster performance?"

  • "What’s the difference between Redpanda Cloud and self-hosted deployment?"

Usage limits

To ensure fair use and performance, the server enforces a rate limit of 60 questions per 15-minute window.

If you exceed the limit, you receive an HTTP 429 response. Wait a few minutes before retrying.

Expected response
HTTP 429 Too Many Requests

Troubleshooting

Server not connecting

  • Verify the URL is exactly: https://docs.redpanda.com/mcp.

  • Check your internet connection.

  • Ensure your AI tool supports HTTP-based MCP servers.

  • Restart your AI tool after adding the configuration.

VS Code specific issues

  • Ensure you have VS Code 1.102 or later.

  • Verify GitHub Copilot is installed and enabled.

  • Try running MCP: Reset Cached Tools from the Command Palette.

  • Check the Output panel (View > Output > MCP) for error messages.

Other issues

Check the MCP GitHub repository for additional troubleshooting guidance or report an issue with our documentation.