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Reddit API Credentials Setup Guide

This guide will walk you through obtaining Reddit API credentials for the Fantasy Football MCP Server's sentiment analysis feature.

Overview

The app uses Reddit's API (via the PRAW library) to analyze fantasy football player sentiment from subreddits like:

  • r/fantasyfootball
  • r/DynastyFF
  • r/Fantasy_Football
  • r/nfl

Step 1: Create a Reddit Application

  1. Go to Reddit's App Preferences

  2. Create a New Application

    • Scroll to the bottom and click "create another app..." or "create app"
    • Fill in the application details:
      • Name: Fantasy Football MCP (or any name you prefer)
      • Type: Select "script" (this is important!)
      • Description: Optional - e.g., "Fantasy football sentiment analysis"
      • About URL: Leave blank or add your GitHub repo URL
      • Redirect URI: For script apps, use: http://localhost:8080 (required but not used for script apps)

  3. Submit the Form

    • Click "create app"

Step 2: Get Your Credentials

After creating the app, you'll see a page with your app details:

  1. Client ID (under your app name)

    • This is a string that looks like: abc123def456ghi789
    • Copy this value - this is your REDDIT_CLIENT_ID

  2. Secret (shown as "secret" next to your app)

    • This is a longer string that looks like: xyz789abc123def456ghi789jkl012mno345
    • Click "edit" or "reveal" to see it if hidden
    • Copy this value - this is your REDDIT_CLIENT_SECRET

  3. Username (optional but recommended)

    • Your Reddit username (the one you're logged in as)
    • This is used in the user agent string for API requests
    • This is your REDDIT_USERNAME

Step 3: Add Credentials to Your .env File

Add the following lines to your .env file in the project root:

# Reddit API Credentials (for sentiment analysis)
REDDIT_CLIENT_ID=your_client_id_here
REDDIT_CLIENT_SECRET=your_client_secret_here
REDDIT_USERNAME=your_reddit_username

Example:

REDDIT_CLIENT_ID=abc123def456ghi789
REDDIT_CLIENT_SECRET=xyz789abc123def456ghi789jkl012mno345
REDDIT_USERNAME=myusername

Step 4: Verify Installation

Make sure the required packages are installed:

pip install praw textblob

Or if using the requirements file:

pip install -r requirements.txt

Step 5: Test the Configuration

The Reddit API will be automatically initialized when you use features that require it, such as:

  • ff_analyze_reddit_sentiment - Analyze Reddit sentiment for players

If credentials are missing or incorrect, the app will:

  • Log a warning message
  • Continue operating without Reddit sentiment analysis
  • Use fallback sentiment analysis methods

Important Notes

Rate Limits

  • Reddit API has rate limits (typically 60 requests per minute)
  • The app includes rate limiting and error handling
  • If you hit rate limits, wait a few minutes before trying again

App Type

  • Must use "script" type - This is the correct type for server-side applications
  • "web app" and "installed app" types won't work with this setup

Security

  • Never commit your .env file to version control
  • Keep your REDDIT_CLIENT_SECRET private
  • The username is optional but helps identify your app to Reddit

Troubleshooting

"Reddit API credentials not configured"

  • Check that all three variables are in your .env file
  • Verify there are no extra spaces or quotes around the values
  • Restart the MCP server after adding credentials

"Reddit API connection test failed"

  • Verify your Client ID and Secret are correct
  • Check that you selected "script" as the app type
  • Ensure you're using the correct Reddit account

"PRAW not available"

  • Run: pip install praw textblob
  • Check that you're in the correct Python environment

Optional: Verify Reddit API Access

You can test your credentials manually with this Python snippet:

import os
from dotenv import load_dotenv
import praw

load_dotenv()

reddit = praw.Reddit(
    client_id=os.getenv("REDDIT_CLIENT_ID"),
    client_secret=os.getenv("REDDIT_CLIENT_SECRET"),
    user_agent=f"fantasy-football-mcp:v1.0 by /u/{os.getenv('REDDIT_USERNAME', 'unknown')}"
)

# Test connection
try:
    subreddit = reddit.subreddit("fantasyfootball")
    print(f"✅ Connected! Subreddit has {subreddit.subscribers} subscribers")
except Exception as e:
    print(f"❌ Connection failed: {e}")

What Happens Without Reddit Credentials?

The app will still function normally, but:

  • Reddit sentiment analysis will be unavailable
  • The ff_analyze_reddit_sentiment tool will return fallback results
  • You'll see warnings in the logs about missing credentials

All other features (lineup optimization, draft assistance, etc.) work independently of Reddit API.