Redash MCP Server

August 3, 2026 ยท View on GitHub

Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for integrating Redash with AI assistants like Claude.

Redash Server MCP server

Features

  • Connect to Redash instances via the Redash API
  • List available queries and dashboards as resources
  • Execute queries and retrieve results
  • Execute saved parameterized queries with typed values and saved defaults
  • Create and manage queries (create, update, archive)
  • Manage query parameters, dashboard parameters, and widget parameter mappings
  • Inspect and update dashboard widget layouts and grid positions
  • List data sources for query creation
  • Get dashboard details and visualizations
  • Update chart visualization options with Redash chart-specific settings

Prerequisites

  • Node.js (v20 or later)
  • pnpm
  • Access to a Redash instance
  • Redash API key

Environment Variables

The server requires the following environment variables:

Optional variables:

  • REDASH_TIMEOUT: Timeout for API requests in milliseconds (default: 30000)
  • REDASH_MAX_RESULTS: Maximum number of results to return (default: 1000)
  • REDASH_EXTRA_HEADERS: Extra HTTP headers to include with every Redash request. Accepts either a JSON object string or a semicolon/comma-separated list of key=value pairs.
  • REDASH_SOCKS_PROXY: SOCKS proxy URL for routing requests through a proxy (e.g., socks5h://localhost:1080). Use socks5h:// (with h) to delegate DNS resolution to the proxy, which is required for internal hostnames that don't resolve on the local machine.
  • MCP_TRANSPORT: MCP transport to use. Supported values are stdio, http, and streamable-http (default: stdio).
  • MCP_HTTP_HOST: Host for Streamable HTTP mode (default: 127.0.0.1).
  • MCP_HTTP_PORT: Port for Streamable HTTP mode (default: 3000).
  • MCP_HTTP_PATH: Streamable HTTP endpoint path (default: /mcp).
  • MCP_HTTP_ALLOWED_HOSTS: Comma-separated Host header allowlist for Streamable HTTP mode. Values are hostnames without a scheme, port, path, or wildcard.
  • MCP_HTTP_ALLOWED_ORIGINS: Comma-separated browser Origin hostname allowlist. Values use the same hostname-only format and also control CORS responses. Set an empty value to reject every request that includes an Origin header.
  • OpenTelemetry variables: optional; see OpenTelemetry observability for concrete OTLP and Prometheus configurations.

Examples:

JSON (recommended):

REDASH_EXTRA_HEADERS='{"CF-Access-Client-Id":"<client_id>","CF-Access-Client-Secret":"<client_secret>"}'

Key/value list:

REDASH_EXTRA_HEADERS=CF-Access-Client-Id=<client_id>;CF-Access-Client-Secret=<client_secret>

Notes:

  • The Authorization header is managed by the server (Key <REDASH_API_KEY>) and cannot be overridden.
  • All extra headers are added to every request made to Redash.

Installation

  1. Clone this repository:

    git clone https://github.com/suthio/redash-mcp.git
    cd redash-mcp
    
  2. Install dependencies:

    pnpm install
    
  3. Create a .env file with your Redash configuration:

    REDASH_URL=https://your-redash-instance.com
    REDASH_API_KEY=your_api_key
    # Optional: Cloudflare Access (or other gateway) headers
    # REDASH_EXTRA_HEADERS='{"CF-Access-Client-Id":"<client_id>","CF-Access-Client-Secret":"<client_secret>"}'
    
  4. Build the project:

    pnpm run build
    
  5. Start the server:

    pnpm start
    

    The default transport is stdio, which is the mode expected by most desktop MCP clients. The stdio entrypoint accepts both 2025-era MCP clients and clients that negotiate the current protocol.

Usage with Claude for Desktop

To use this MCP server with Claude for Desktop, configure it in your Claude for Desktop configuration file:

macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

Add the following configuration (edit paths as needed):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "redash": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
         "-y",
         "@suthio/redash-mcp"
      ],
      "env": {
        "REDASH_API_KEY": "your-api-key",
        "REDASH_URL": "https://your-redash-instance.com"
      }
    }
  }
}

Streamable HTTP Transport

The server can also run as a stateless Streamable HTTP MCP server. The HTTP entrypoint is a Hono application served by @hono/node-server; environment variables configure the listener:

REDASH_URL=https://your-redash-instance.com \
REDASH_API_KEY=your_api_key \
MCP_TRANSPORT=http \
pnpm start

This starts POST http://127.0.0.1:3000/mcp by default. CLI flags override environment variables:

REDASH_URL=https://your-redash-instance.com \
REDASH_API_KEY=your_api_key \
pnpm start --transport http --host 127.0.0.1 --port 3333 --path /mcp

For a non-local bind behind an authenticated, TLS-terminating reverse proxy, explicitly configure which request hosts and browser origins may reach the server. The equivalent CLI options are --allowed-hosts and --allowed-origins.

REDASH_URL=https://redash.example.com \
REDASH_API_KEY=your_api_key \
MCP_TRANSPORT=http \
MCP_HTTP_HOST=0.0.0.0 \
MCP_HTTP_ALLOWED_HOSTS=mcp.example.com \
MCP_HTTP_ALLOWED_ORIGINS=app.example.com \
pnpm start
Who uses the serverMCP URLAllowed Host headerAllowed browser Origin
Local MCP clienthttp://127.0.0.1:3000/mcp127.0.0.1localhost, 127.0.0.1, [::1]
Local Docker clienthttp://localhost:3000/mcplocalhostlocalhost, 127.0.0.1, [::1]
Browser app at https://app.example.com through an authenticated reverse proxyhttps://mcp.example.com/mcpmcp.example.comapp.example.com

Host and Origin matching is case-insensitive and port-agnostic. For example, allowing app.example.com accepts the browser Origin https://app.example.com:8443. In HTTP mode, binding MCP_HTTP_HOST to a non-local address fails at startup unless both allowlist settings are explicitly present.

Host and Origin allowlists protect against DNS rebinding and unwanted browser origins; they do not authenticate MCP clients. Do not expose the server listener directly to the internet. For https://mcp.example.com/mcp, keep the listener on a private network and require authentication at the reverse proxy or gateway.

HTTP mode is stateless: the server does not issue Mcp-Session-Id, does not provide a standalone GET SSE stream, and handles each POST /mcp with a fresh MCP server instance. Both current MCP clients and 2025-era Streamable HTTP clients use that same URL. GET /mcp and DELETE /mcp return 405 Method Not Allowed.

The default bind is localhost-only (127.0.0.1) with Host and Origin protection. Browser requests from allowed origins receive CORS response headers; other origins are rejected with 403 Forbidden.

GET http://127.0.0.1:3000/healthz returns 200 OK with the body ok for lightweight health checks. It uses the same Host and Origin allowlists as the MCP endpoint and does not contact Redash. If MCP_HTTP_PATH=/healthz, that URL remains the MCP endpoint and the standalone health check is disabled with a startup warning.

The CLI handles SIGINT and SIGTERM gracefully. For example, docker stop sends SIGTERM; the server closes active MCP streams and then waits for the HTTP listener to stop before the process exits.

OpenTelemetry observability

Operators use this integration to follow one MCP operation from the client, through this server, to Redash, and to alert on latency or process health. The CLI initializes OpenTelemetry automatically. With no exporter endpoint or exporter setting, it opens no telemetry network connection; application logs still go to stderr so stdio stdout remains reserved for MCP messages.

Choose the setup that matches the system reading the telemetry:

Who reads itSet these variablesWhere data is available
An OpenTelemetry Collector receiving all three signalsOTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT=http://127.0.0.1:4318Traces, metrics, and logs at the Collector OTLP/HTTP receiver
Prometheus scraping an HTTP-mode serverOTEL_METRICS_EXPORTER=prometheusGET http://127.0.0.1:3000/metrics
Prometheus scraping a stdio serverOTEL_METRICS_EXPORTER=prometheus, OTEL_EXPORTER_PROMETHEUS_HOST=127.0.0.1, OTEL_EXPORTER_PROMETHEUS_PORT=9464GET http://127.0.0.1:9464/metrics
A Collector plus PrometheusOTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT=http://127.0.0.1:4318, OTEL_METRICS_EXPORTER=otlp,prometheusOTLP metrics and the Prometheus endpoint

For example, this HTTP-mode command exports all signals over OTLP/HTTP and also lets Prometheus scrape the same listener:

REDASH_URL=https://redash.example.com \
REDASH_API_KEY=your_api_key \
MCP_TRANSPORT=http \
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT=http://127.0.0.1:4318 \
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_PROTOCOL=http/protobuf \
OTEL_METRICS_EXPORTER=otlp,prometheus \
pnpm start

curl http://127.0.0.1:3000/metrics

The server emits these signals:

SignalRepresentative dataWhat it answers
Tracesinbound POST /mcp, MCP tools/call list_queries, outbound Redash GET /api/queriesWhich MCP or Redash operation was slow or failed?
Metricsmcp.server.operation.duration, mcp.server.session.duration, nodejs.eventloop.*, v8js.*, process.*, system.*, HTTP client/server durationIs latency, event-loop delay, memory, CPU, or network use changing?
Logsstructured severity, fields, exception, and active trace_id/span_idWhat happened inside the operation shown by a trace?

The names and attributes visible in a trace backend are deliberately stable:

What the MCP client doesSpan nameAttributes used to filter it
Calls list_queriestools/call list_queriesmcp.method.name=tools/call, gen_ai.operation.name=execute_tool, gen_ai.tool.name=list_queries
Reads redash://query/42resources/readmcp.resource.uri=redash://query/42; the URI is kept out of the span name to avoid one span group per resource
Sends JSON-RPC error code -32601The MCP method namerpc.response.status_code=-32601, error.type=-32601, and span status ERROR
Posts to a custom endpoint /redash-mcpPOST /redash-mcphttp.route=/redash-mcp

mcp.protocol.version records the negotiated revision in both stdio and stateless HTTP operations. mcp.server.session.duration applies to the long-lived stdio connection; HTTP mode is stateless, so its useful lifecycle measurement is mcp.server.operation.duration. Both histograms use the MCP-recommended explicit latency buckets.

SEP-414 traceparent, tracestate, and baggage values in MCP request _meta are accepted. The extracted MCP client context becomes the MCP server span's parent, while the HTTP transport span is linked to it. Logs emitted while the tool runs carry the MCP span's trace_id and span_id.

Application log messages always go to stderr. When OTel Logs is configured, the same message is exported with its structured fields; those fields are not printed to stderr. A compatible stdio MCP client also receives the message through notifications/message for backward compatibility. Stateless HTTP does not send those notifications because each POST uses a fresh server instance; use OTel Logs or stderr there.

Exporter settings

The OTLP exporters support gRPC, HTTP/protobuf, and HTTP/JSON:

ProtocolVariable valueTypical Collector endpoint
OTLP/gRPCgrpchttp://127.0.0.1:4317
OTLP/HTTP protobufhttp/protobufhttp://127.0.0.1:4318
OTLP/HTTP JSONhttp/jsonhttp://127.0.0.1:4318

Set the shared OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_PROTOCOL, or override it with OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_TRACES_PROTOCOL, OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_METRICS_PROTOCOL, and OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_LOGS_PROTOCOL. The corresponding standard endpoint, header, certificate, compression, and timeout variables are passed to the OpenTelemetry exporters.

An endpoint enables its signal. You can make the decision explicit with OTEL_TRACES_EXPORTER=otlp, OTEL_METRICS_EXPORTER=otlp, and OTEL_LOGS_EXPORTER=otlp, or disable one with none. For example, this keeps logs on stderr while sending traces and metrics:

OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT=http://otel-collector.internal:4318
OTEL_TRACES_EXPORTER=otlp
OTEL_METRICS_EXPORTER=otlp
OTEL_LOGS_EXPORTER=none

OTEL_SDK_DISABLED=true disables every telemetry signal. Invalid telemetry settings or an unavailable exporter produce a warning on stderr but do not stop MCP or Redash requests. Application configuration errors such as a missing REDASH_API_KEY still fail startup.

Prometheus endpoint and content safety

In HTTP mode, the embedded /metrics route uses the same Host allowlist as /mcp. If MCP_HTTP_PATH=/metrics, the server keeps that URL for MCP, traces it as POST /metrics, and disables the embedded Prometheus route with a warning. Set OTEL_EXPORTER_PROMETHEUS_HOST or OTEL_EXPORTER_PROMETHEUS_PORT to use a separate listener instead. A separate listener is not protected by the MCP Host/Origin checks, so bind it to 127.0.0.1 or protect it at the network layer.

Safe operation metadata is always available. Content that may contain Redash data requires an explicit opt-in:

DataDefaultWith OTEL_INSTRUMENTATION_GENAI_CAPTURE_MESSAGE_CONTENT=true
Tool name, query/data-source IDs, HTTP method/path/status, request header namesRecorded on the applicable span or OTel LogSame
Successful tool arguments and results, including SQL, description, options, visualizations, result rows, and CSV textOmittedRecorded once on the MCP tools/call span as gen_ai.tool.call.arguments and gen_ai.tool.call.result
Failed Redash request/response bodies and query job errorsOmittedRecorded as structured OTel Log fields; stderr and the MCP error response remain content-free
API keys and request header valuesNever recordedNever recorded

The option uses the GenAI instrumentation name because the OpenTelemetry MCP conventions model a tool call as a GenAI-compatible execute_tool operation. The Redash server does not perform model inference; it reuses the common gen_ai.tool.call.* attributes so an MCP call can be correlated with the agent that invoked it. Enable the option only when the trace and log backends are approved to retain Redash content.

Embedding the server in another Node.js process

Initialize telemetry before importing the main package so Node HTTP and Axios are patched before Redash requests begin:

import {
  initializeTelemetry,
  shutdownTelemetry,
} from "@suthio/redash-mcp/telemetry";

await initializeTelemetry({ transport: "stdio" });
const { createRedashMcpServer } = await import("@suthio/redash-mcp");
const server = createRedashMcpServer();

// Connect and use the server, then flush exporters during application shutdown.
await server.close();
await shutdownTelemetry();

When the embedding process exposes MCP over HTTP at POST /redash-mcp, pass that exact route during telemetry initialization and identify the application protocol when creating the server:

import {
  initializeTelemetry,
  shutdownTelemetry,
} from "@suthio/redash-mcp/telemetry";

await initializeTelemetry({ transport: "http", httpPath: "/redash-mcp" });
const { createRedashMcpServer } = await import("@suthio/redash-mcp");
const server = createRedashMcpServer({
  networkTransport: "tcp",
  networkProtocolName: "http",
  recordSession: false,
});

// Connect `server` to the embedding process's POST /redash-mcp transport.
await server.close();
await shutdownTelemetry();

Docker

Container images are published to GitHub Container Registry for both linux/amd64 and linux/arm64.

docker run --rm -p 127.0.0.1:3000:3000 \
  -e REDASH_URL=https://your-redash-instance.com \
  -e REDASH_API_KEY=your_api_key \
  ghcr.io/suthio/redash-mcp:latest

The container runs Streamable HTTP internally on 0.0.0.0:3000, while the example publishes that port on the host's loopback interface only. Its default Host and Origin allowlists accept localhost access. When placing the container behind an authenticated reverse proxy or a private cluster service, set MCP_HTTP_ALLOWED_HOSTS and MCP_HTTP_ALLOWED_ORIGINS to the concrete DNS names used by clients. Published images are signed with keyless cosign.

Available Tools

Query Management

  • list_queries: List all available queries in Redash
  • get_query: Get details of a specific query
  • create_query: Create a new query in Redash
  • update_query: Update an existing query in Redash
  • get_query_parameters: Inspect saved query parameter definitions
  • update_query_parameters: Update saved query parameter definitions
  • archive_query: Archive (soft-delete) a query
  • list_data_sources: List all available data sources

Query Execution

  • execute_query: Execute a query and return results, with optional maxAge
  • execute_parameterized_query: Execute a saved parameterized query with type-aware value coercion, saved defaults, and optional maxAge
  • execute_adhoc_query: Execute an ad-hoc query without saving it to Redash
  • get_query_results_csv: Get query results in CSV format (supports optional refresh for latest data)

Dashboard Management

  • list_dashboards: List all available dashboards
  • get_dashboard: Get dashboard details and visualizations
  • get_dashboard_layout: Inspect widget positions, sizes, and visibility on a dashboard
  • get_visualization: Get details of a specific visualization
  • get_dashboard_parameters: Inspect dashboard parameter values and widget mappings
  • update_dashboard_parameters: Update dashboard parameter values and order
  • update_dashboard_layout: Move or resize multiple widgets in one call
  • update_widget_layout: Move or resize a single widget
  • get_widget_parameter_mappings: Inspect a widget's parameter mappings
  • update_widget_parameter_mappings: Update a widget's parameter mappings

Visualization Management

  • create_visualization: Create a new visualization for a query
  • update_visualization: Update an existing visualization
  • update_chart_visualization: Patch chart-specific options like globalSeriesType, columnMapping, seriesOptions, legend, and axis settings
  • delete_visualization: Delete a visualization

Development

Run in development mode:

pnpm run dev

Testing

Unit Tests

pnpm test

E2E Tests

pnpm run e2e:test

E2E tests use these default values (can be overridden with environment variables):

Override example:

REDASH_URL=https://your-instance.com REDASH_API_KEY=your_key pnpm run e2e:test

Manual Testing

pnpm run inspector

Version History

  • v1.1.0: Added query management functionality (create, update, archive)
  • v1.0.0: Initial release

License

MIT