dvcrn Reddit Insights MCP
Semantic search across millions of Reddit posts. Unlike keyword search, this understands intent and meaning.
Setup
1. Get API Key (free tier available)
- Sign up at https://reddit-insights.com
- Go to Settings → API
- Copy your API key
2. Install MCP Server
For Claude Desktop - add to claude_desktop_config.json:
{
"mcpServers": {
"reddit-insights": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "reddit-insights-mcp"],
"env": {
"REDDIT_INSIGHTS_API_KEY": "your_api_key_here"
}
}
}
}
For Clawdbot - add to config/mcporter.json:
{
"mcpServers": {
"reddit-insights": {
"command": "npx reddit-insights-mcp",
"env": {
"REDDIT_INSIGHTS_API_KEY": "your_api_key_here"
}
}
}
}
Verify installation:
mcporter list reddit-insights
Available Tools
| Tool | Purpose | Key Params |
|---|---|---|
reddit_search |
Semantic search across posts | query (natural language), limit (1-100) |
reddit_list_subreddits |
Browse available subreddits | page, limit, search |
reddit_get_subreddit |
Get subreddit details + recent posts | subreddit (without r/) |
reddit_get_trends |
Get trending topics | filter (latest/today/week/month), category |
Performance Notes
- Response time: 12-25 seconds (varies by query complexity)
- Simple queries: ~12-15s
- Complex semantic queries: ~17-20s
- Heavy load periods: up to 25s
- Best results: Specific products, emotional language, comparison questions
- Weaker results: Abstract concepts, non-English queries, generic business terms
- Sweet spot: Questions a real person would ask on Reddit
Best Use Cases (Tested)
| Use Case | Effectiveness | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Product comparisons (A vs B) | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Reddit loves debates |
| Tool/app recommendations | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | High-intent discussions |
| Side hustle/money topics | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Engaged communities |
| Pain point discovery | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Emotional posts rank well |
| Health questions | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Active health subreddits |
| Technical how-to | ⭐⭐⭐ | Better to search specific subreddits |
| Abstract market research | ⭐⭐ | Too vague for semantic search |
| Non-English queries | ⭐ | Reddit is English-dominant |
Query Strategies (Tested with Real Data)
✅ Excellent Queries (relevance 0.70+)
Product Comparisons (best results!):
"Notion vs Obsidian for note taking which one should I use"
→ Relevance: 0.72-0.81 | Found: Detailed comparison discussions, user experiences
"why I switched from Salesforce to HubSpot honest experience"
→ Relevance: 0.70-0.73 | Found: Migration stories, feature comparisons
Side Hustle/Money Topics:
"side hustle ideas that actually make money not scams"
→ Relevance: 0.70-0.77 | Found: Real experiences, specific suggestions
Niche App Research:
"daily horoscope apps which one is accurate and why"
→ Relevance: 0.67-0.72 | Found: App recommendations, feature requests
✅ Good Queries (relevance 0.60-0.69)
Pain Point Discovery:
"I hate my current CRM it is so frustrating"
→ Relevance: 0.60-0.64 | Found: Specific CRM complaints, feature wishlists
"cant sleep at night tried everything what actually works"
→ Relevance: 0.60-0.63 | Found: Sleep remedies discussions, medical advice seeking
Tool Evaluation:
"AI tools that actually save time not just hype"
→ Relevance: 0.64-0.65 | Found: Real productivity gains, tool recommendations
❌ Weak Queries (avoid these patterns)
Too Abstract:
"business opportunity growth potential"
→ Relevance: 0.52-0.58 | Returns unrelated generic posts
Non-English:
"学习编程最好的方法" (Chinese)
→ Relevance: 0.45-0.51 | Reddit is English-dominant, poor cross-lingual results
Query Formula Cheat Sheet
| Goal | Pattern | Relevance |
|---|---|---|
| Compare products | "[Product A] vs [Product B] which should I use" | 0.70-0.81 |
| Find switchers | "why I switched from [A] to [B]" | 0.70-0.73 |
| Money/hustle topics | "[topic] that actually [works/makes money] not [scam/hype]" | 0.70-0.77 |
| App recommendations | "[category] apps which one is [accurate/best] and why" | 0.67-0.72 |
| Pain points | "I hate my current [tool] it is so [frustrating/slow]" | 0.60-0.64 |
| Solutions seeking | "[problem] tried everything what actually works" | 0.60-0.63 |
Response Fields
Each result includes:
title,content- Post textsubreddit- Source communityupvotes,comments- Engagement metricsrelevance(0-1) - Semantic match score (0.5+ is good, 0.6+ is strong)sentiment- Discussion/Q&A/Story Sharing/Original Content/Newsurl- Direct Reddit link
Example response:
{
"id": "1oecf5e",
"title": "Trying to solve the productivity stack problem",
"content": "The perfect productivity app doesn't exist. No single app can do everything well, so we use a stack of apps. But this creates another problem: multi app fragmentation...",
"subreddit": "productivityapps",
"upvotes": 1,
"comments": 0,
"relevance": 0.631,
"sentiment": "Discussion",
"url": "https://reddit.com/r/productivityapps/comments/1oecf5e"
}
Tips
- Natural language works best - Ask questions like a human would
- Include context - "for small business" or "as a developer" improves results
- Combine emotion words - "frustrated", "love", "hate", "wish" find stronger opinions
- Filter by engagement - High upvotes/comments = validated pain points
- Check multiple subreddits - Same topic discussed differently in r/startups vs r/smallbusiness
Example Workflows
Find SaaS opportunity:
reddit_search: "frustrated with project management tools for remote teams"- Filter results with high engagement
- Identify recurring complaints → product opportunity
Validate idea:
reddit_search: "[your product category] recommendations"- See what alternatives people mention
- Note gaps in existing solutions
Content research:
reddit_get_subreddit: Get posts from target communityreddit_search: Find specific questions/discussions- Create content answering real user questions