xhs-mcp

Lightweight MCP server for Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book / RED) — China's #1 lifestyle platform with 300M+ monthly active users.

No Docker. No Chromium. Just npx.

npx xhs-mcp-server

Why this exists

Xiaohongshu (小红书) is where Chinese consumers discover products, share reviews, and follow trends. If you're building for the Chinese market — or just want to understand what's trending there — you need data from this platform.

Existing solutions require Docker + Chromium (heavy, fragile). This server uses direct HTTP APIs, so it starts in <1 second and works anywhere Node.js runs.

What you can do

Tool	Description
xhs_search	Search notes by keyword with sorting and filtering
xhs_note_detail	Get full content, images, and metrics for any note
xhs_user_profile	Get creator profiles with follower/engagement stats
xhs_user_notes	List all notes from a specific creator
xhs_explore	Get the current trending/recommended feed

Quick start

1. Get your cookie

Log in to xiaohongshu.com in Chrome, then:

1. Open DevTools (F12)
2. Go to Application tab → Cookies → https://www.xiaohongshu.com
3. Copy the entire cookie string (or use a browser extension like "EditThisCookie" to export)

2. Add to your AI tool

Claude Desktop (~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "xhs": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "xhs-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "XHS_COOKIE": "your_cookie_string_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Cursor (.cursor/mcp.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "xhs": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "xhs-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "XHS_COOKIE": "your_cookie_string_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Claude Code:

claude mcp add xhs -- npx -y xhs-mcp-server
# Then set XHS_COOKIE in your environment

3. Use it

Ask your AI assistant:

• "Search Xiaohongshu for skincare trends"
• "Find the top creators posting about coffee in Shanghai"
• "What's trending on Xiaohongshu right now?"
• "Analyze this Xiaohongshu creator's content strategy"

Use cases

For cross-border brands:

• Monitor brand mentions and competitor activity on China's top discovery platform
• Understand what products Chinese consumers are excited about
• Find potential KOL/KOC partners by analyzing creator profiles and engagement

For market researchers:

• Track trending topics and consumer sentiment in China
• Analyze content strategies that work on Xiaohongshu
• Discover emerging product categories before they hit Western markets

For developers:

• Build Chinese market intelligence into your AI agents
• Create automated competitor monitoring dashboards
• Integrate Xiaohongshu data into your workflow

How it compares

Feature	xhs-mcp (this)	xpzouying/xiaohongshu-mcp
Language	TypeScript/Node	Go
Install	npx (1 second)	Docker + Chromium (minutes)
Dependencies	None	Docker, Chromium, ~500MB
Search	Yes	Yes
Read notes	Yes	Yes
User profiles	Yes	Yes
Publish content	Not yet	Yes
Login (QR code)	Not yet	Yes
Auth method	Cookie (manual)	Browser automation

This server is read-only by design. It focuses on research and analysis. If you need to publish content, use xpzouying/xiaohongshu-mcp — it's excellent for that.

Cookie notes

• Cookies typically last 7-30 days before expiring
• If you get 401 or not_logged_in errors, refresh your cookie
• The server will warn you at startup if XHS_COOKIE is not set
• Never commit your cookie to version control

Roadmap

• [ ] Creator analytics (engagement rate calculation, posting frequency)
• [ ] Comment analysis (sentiment, themes)
• [ ] Trend detection (rising keywords over time)
• [ ] Content translation (Chinese → English summaries)
• [ ] Cookie refresh helper
• [ ] Publish support (opt-in, with rate limiting)

Contributing

PRs welcome. This project is MIT licensed.

About

Built by Tristin — building AI tools for cross-border commerce, in public.

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Xiaohongshu is a trademark of Xingyin Information Technology Co., Ltd. This project is not affiliated with or endorsed by Xiaohongshu.