# Reported issues for reddit-mcp-buddy

Pod holds 7 of 7 problems reported by people outside the maintainer team. Issues filed by the project's own owners, members and collaborators are excluded entirely — a maintainer's release checklist is not a warning to a prospective user.

Back to [reddit-mcp-buddy](/mcp/reddit-mcp-buddy-2).

## Most discussed

### Proposal: Add Sylvia API as zero-OAuth data backend option

Hi there - I have been using reddit-mcp-buddy and it is great. One friction point for users: the Reddit official API requires OAuth registration and approval wait times, and I noticed the README notes the RSS fallback is limited. That matches what I hit - browsing works, but search, comments, and user analysis need credentials that take time to get approved.

Sylvia API (https://sylvia-api.com) is a drop-in Reddit data alternative:
- No OAuth, no Reddit app approval, no wait
- 480 req/min free t

[Read the thread](https://github.com/karanb192/reddit-mcp-buddy/issues/72) · 2026-08-07 · open · external user · 0 comments

### Unable to setup app

Unable to create app for authenticated usage of mcp server. Followed instructions in https://github.com/karanb192/reddit-mcp-buddy#authentication-optional

<img width="272" height="245" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/fe53c878-f307-49da-b314-52eb7d08b069" />

[Read the thread](https://github.com/karanb192/reddit-mcp-buddy/issues/69) · 2026-07-29 · open · external user · 1 comment

### Not working anymore

The entire MCP doesnt work anymore

[Read the thread](https://github.com/karanb192/reddit-mcp-buddy/issues/59) · 2026-06-03 · open · external user · 2 comments

### Private security disclosure route?

Hi, I found a security issue in reddit-mcp-buddy and would like to report it privately.\n\nCould you enable GitHub Private Vulnerability Reporting for this repository, add a SECURITY.md contact, or share the preferred private disclosure route? I am intentionally not posting technical details in a public issue.\n\nThanks.

[Read the thread](https://github.com/karanb192/reddit-mcp-buddy/issues/49) · 2026-05-09 · closed · external user · 0 comments

### [README Update] Reddit API credentials no longer self-service - New Responsible Builder Policy

## Summary

The README currently instructs users to create a Reddit App to obtain \REDDIT_CLIENT_ID\ and \REDDIT_CLIENT_SECRET\ for authenticated access. However, **this is no longer possible without Reddit's approval** due to the new **Responsible Builder Policy**.

## The Issue

As of late 2025, Reddit has introduced a new policy requiring developers to apply for API access approval before they can use the API. This means:

- Users **cannot** simply go to https://www.reddit.com/prefs/apps and 

[Read the thread](https://github.com/karanb192/reddit-mcp-buddy/issues/39) · 2026-02-06 · open · external user · 4 comments

### Failed to start server: Error [ERR_UNSUPPORTED_ESM_URL_SCHEME]

Hello, I installed the package globally on my Windows machine and when opening Claude Desktop I'm getting this error:

Failed to start server: Error [ERR_UNSUPPORTED_ESM_URL_SCHEME]: Only URLs with a scheme in: file, data, and node are supported by the default ESM loader. On Windows, absolute paths must be valid file:// URLs. Received protocol 'c:'

[Read the thread](https://github.com/karanb192/reddit-mcp-buddy/issues/36) · 2026-01-12 · closed · external user · 3 comments

### Windows: ERR_UNSUPPORTED_ESM_URL_SCHEME when running in Claude Desktop

When trying to use reddit-mcp-buddy in Claude Desktop on Windows, the MCP server fails to start with the following
   error:

  Error [ERR_UNSUPPORTED_ESM_URL_SCHEME]: Only URLs with a scheme in: file, data, and node are supported by the
  default ESM loader. On Windows, absolute paths must be valid file:// URLs. Received protocol 'c:'
      at throwIfUnsupportedURLScheme (node:internal/modules/esm/load:184:11)
      at defaultLoad (node:internal/modules/esm/load:82:3)
      at ModuleLoader.load

[Read the thread](https://github.com/karanb192/reddit-mcp-buddy/issues/26) · 2025-10-04 · closed · external user · 1 comment

## Most recent

The remaining reports are on [the project's issue tracker](https://github.com/karanb192/reddit-mcp-buddy/issues).