Redmine

# Fix list: Redmine

From Anchor Terminal's listing at https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/redmine, the October 2026 research run, assessed 9 October 2026. Grade D, 50.2 out of 100.

This is everything the published grade says the listing lacks, the biggest possible gain to the total first. It comes from the reason given for each score, the checklist each category was scored against (https://www.anchorterminal.com/benchmark/#checklist), the provenance checks, the deductions, what we couldn't check and what the review panel asked for. A fix counts at the next check, once it's public.

For a coding agent working on Redmine: work through the items below in the product, its docs and its public pages. Each category gives the reason for its score, with the points each checklist item earned, and the checklist itself, so the gap is the items that earned less than their points. Change the product, not the wording, and keep a note of what you changed and where it's published.

## 1. Schema & documentation, 32 out of 100, up to 11.1 more on the total

Why it scored 32: No OpenAPI document or other machine-readable contract was found in the wiki or the repository (0). No llms.txt (the path returned 404) and no Markdown docs for agents (0). Each resource has a wiki page that lists its calls and parameters in a line each, with little on when to use one (9 of 20). Parameters are named with few types, and allowed values are given for only some, such as `status_id` and `include` (5 of 15). Calls have XML and JSON examples, and the 422 validation response is documented. Other error responses are not (9 of 15). The API has no version of its own. Pages note the release each call arrived in, the changelog has a REST API section, and the change history holds two entries, one of them for the unreleased 7.1.0 (9 of 15).

The checklist (https://www.anchorterminal.com/benchmark/#checklist-schema):

APIs and MCP servers.

- 25, a machine-readable contract (a public OpenAPI file or similar; for MCP, typed JSON Schema inputs on every tool).
- 10, llms.txt or Markdown docs served for agents.
- 0 to 20, descriptions that say what a tool is for, when to use it and when not to, read from the tool definitions in the source or the API reference.
- 0 to 15, typed inputs with enums, constraints and required fields, and no free-form JSON blobs.
- 0 to 15, examples and documented error responses.
- 15, versioning and a public changelog.

Models are read from the API reference, the OpenAPI file, llms.txt, the structured-output and tool-use docs and the model cards. Frameworks from docs a model can follow, typed interfaces, examples and the API reference.

## 2. Security & auth, 51 out of 100, up to 8.6 more on the total

Why it scored 51: OAuth 2 since 6.1 with the authorisation code grant, refresh tokens, hashed token storage and one scope per Redmine permission. Each user also has one API key with that user's full permissions, which can be reset. The docs give a `key` query parameter as one way to send it, so 10 is taken off (20 of 30). The REST API is off until an administrator enables it, reach follows roles and permissions, and OAuth scopes can narrow a token to read permissions. A project DELETE through the API skips the confirmation the web page requires (13 of 20). Issue and wiki text is untrusted content, and no prompt-injection guidance was found (2 of 15). Issue changes are journalled with their author, and 7.0 shows when an API key was last used. No API access log beyond the server log was found (7 of 15). A security contact, an advisories page with severity ratings and a supported-versions policy. No security.txt, bug bounty or certificate was found, and most advisories carry no CVE (9 of 20).

The checklist (https://www.anchorterminal.com/benchmark/#checklist-security):

- 0 to 30, the credential model. 30 for OAuth 2.1 with scopes, or scoped and revocable keys with rotation. 20 for plain revocable API keys. 10 for one all-powerful key. 10 off when a secret can travel in a URL query string as a documented option.
- 0 to 20, read-only or least-privilege modes, and confirmation or approval for destructive actions.
- 0 to 15, prompt-injection posture where the tool returns untrusted content (documented mitigations or guidance). A tool that returns no untrusted content gets 10.
- 0 to 15, audit logs or per-call visibility for the operator.
- 0 to 20, a security programme. security.txt or a disclosure policy, a bug bounty, SOC 2 or ISO 27001, advisories handled in public.

Models are read for retention, whether API data trains models (and whether that's off by default), zero-retention options and certifications. Frameworks for telemetry defaults, approval hooks, guardrails and sandboxing.

## 3. Agent ergonomics, 51 out of 100, up to 8 more on the total

Why it scored 51: Graded on the REST API. Lists return 25 items by default and 100 at most, and related data arrives only when named in `include`. No field selection (15 of 25). `offset`, `limit` and `page` with a `total_count`, filters with operators on issues, `sort` and saved queries (17 of 20). Validation failures return 422 with a list of messages. In the source, other errors answer with a status code and an empty body (9 of 20). No idempotency keys and no retry guidance. A wiki page update with a stale version returns 409, and no equivalent is documented for issues (4 of 20). Creating an issue needs a project and a subject. No official SDK was found, and the wiki lists community clients for nine languages (6 of 15).

The checklist (https://www.anchorterminal.com/benchmark/#checklist-ergonomics):

- 0 to 25, context cost. For MCP, the number and size of the tool definitions (25 for ten or fewer compact tools, 15 for 11 to 30, 5 for more than 30, plus up to 10 back for toolsets, dynamic loading or read-only subsets). For APIs, whether responses can be sized (field selection, limits, summaries).
- 20, pagination, filtering and output-size controls.
- 20, actionable, documented error responses, codes and messages an agent can recover from.
- 20, idempotency or safe retries, and for MCP the `readOnlyHint` and `destructiveHint` annotations.
- 15, sensible defaults, few required parameters, and official SDKs in at least two languages.

Models are read for tool use, structured output, prompt caching, context length, batch and SDKs. Frameworks for how much code and how many defaults a tool-calling agent with MCP needs.

## 4. Reliability, 69 out of 100, up to 6.2 more on the total

Why it scored 69: Graded on the REST API of a self-hosted install, with the local-software lines. Redmine has no vendor-run cloud. Official tarballs and zip files with SHA-256 sums, and an install guide that states the supported Ruby, Rails and database versions. No official gem or container image (18 of 20). The repository has 386 test files and a GitHub Actions workflow across four Ruby versions and three databases. The run results are shown as badge images we could not read, so a passing default branch is not confirmed (18 of 25). The issue tracker's lists are closed to us by robots.txt. The 7.0.2 changelog alone lists more than 20 fixed defects, which is the only evidence read (12 of 25). A release policy of quarterly minors and yearly majors, a changelog per series and an API change history with two entries (11 of 15). 7.0.x is the latest stable series, but the docs mark 17 of 23 API resources Alpha (10 of 15).

The checklist (https://www.anchorterminal.com/benchmark/#checklist-reliability):

Hosted APIs, MCP servers, models and platforms.

- 20, a public status page with component history (Statuspage, Instatus, BetterStack or the vendor's own).
- 0 to 30, the incident record for the last 90 days on that page. 30 for a clean record or trivial incidents only, 20 for minor incidents only, 10 for one major outage (an hour or more of a core API down, or errors across the board), 0 for several. 5 when there's no history we could read, and the note says so.
- 15, rate limits documented with numbers.
- 15, documented 429 or overload handling (Retry-After, backoff guidance), and idempotency keys or safe-retry guidance where writes are involved.
- 10, an SLA published for any paid tier.
- 10, the surface agents use is generally available, not beta or preview.

Local packages, SDKs, frameworks and stdio MCP servers.

- 20, installs from an official package with supported runtimes stated.
- 25, a public CI and test suite, passing on the default branch.
- 0 to 25, open crash or regression issues relative to activity (25 for few and handled, 0 for many, old and unanswered).
- 15, semver discipline and breaking changes called out in a changelog.
- 15, version 1.0 or later, or declared stable.

Protocols are read from their reference implementations, the public facilitators or servers, spec stability and test vectors.

## 5. Payments & pricing, 60 out of 100, up to 5 more on the total

Why it scored 60: Read with the self-hosted rule. No x402, MPP or L402 in the docs or the source (0). Redmine is free software with nothing to buy from the project (20). No trial or card is involved (20). No signup with a vendor is needed. The owner installs it and creates the key (20).

The checklist (https://www.anchorterminal.com/benchmark/#checklist-payments):

The published rubric, also on the [x402 page](https://www.anchorterminal.com/x402/).

- 40, a machine payment protocol (x402, MPP or L402) on the tool's own endpoints. 10 to 30 when it covers only some endpoints or only goes through a third party, and the note says which.
- 20, per-call or per-unit pricing published without a login. 10 for public plan-only pricing, 0 for "contact sales" or prices behind a login.
- 20, a free tier or trial that doesn't need a card.
- 20, autonomous onboarding, meaning an agent can get access without a person signing up in a browser (keyless use, x402, a programmatic key API).

Payment platforms and agent wallets rarely charge for their own API over a machine protocol, so the first line has steps for them, and the highest one that applies counts. 40 when x402, MPP or L402 runs on all their own endpoints, 30 when it runs on part of their own API, 25 when their merchants can accept one, 20 for running a facilitator, 15 for paying as a buyer, and 0 when the only protocol is their own. Merchant acceptance sits above a facilitator because the platform's own customers can charge agents through it, while a facilitator settles for sellers who wire up the protocol themselves. The counter-argument (a facilitator does more for the protocol as a whole) has a point. Each note says which step applied.

Open-source software you run yourself is scored on its hosted or paid option if it has one. A free, self-hosted package with nothing to buy gets 20, 20 and 20 for the last three lines, and 0 to 40 for the first only if it ships a payment protocol.

## 6. Transparency & trust, 47 out of 100, up to 4.6 more on the total

Made of editorial 69, provenance 25.

Why it scored 47: The source is public under the GPL, version 2 or later (30). Data stays on the owner's server. The project publishes no statement on what an install stores or sends, and its privacy policy covers only the redmine.org website. In the source, Gravatar, which sends a hash of each email address to a third party, is off by default (17 of 30). A support policy names the three series that get fixes, and the API change history dates each breaking change. No deprecation policy with notice periods was found (10 of 20). No telemetry was found in a search of the application source, and the docs make no statement either way (12 of 20).

The checklist (https://www.anchorterminal.com/benchmark/#checklist-transparency):

- 0 to 30, source availability and licence clarity. 30 for open source under an OSI licence, 15 for closed with clear terms, 0 for unclear terms.
- 0 to 30, data handling and retention statements that agree with each other (privacy policy, DPA, retention periods, subprocessors).
- 0 to 20, a deprecation policy or notices with dates.
- 0 to 20, telemetry disclosed with an opt-out (local software), or subprocessors and data locations disclosed (hosted).

The other half of Transparency and trust is the provenance score, computed from checked facts (below). The category score is the mean of the two.

Provenance checks not met in full (half of this category, computed from checked facts):

- Legal entity named: not found (0 of 20)
- Endpoint on the vendor's domain:  is not on redmine.org (0 of 15)
- Terms of service: not found (0 of 10)
- Privacy policy: not found (0 of 10)
- Status page: not found (0 of 10)
- security.txt: not found (0 of 10)

## 7. Maintenance & community, 73 out of 100, up to 2.4 more on the total

Why it scored 73: Versions 7.0.2 and 6.1.5 were tagged on 30 September 2026 (30). Five releases in the last 90 days, across three series (20). The master branch had 113 commits in the 30 days to 8 October 2026 and each release fixes dozens of tracked defects. The issue tracker and forums were not sampled, because robots.txt closes the issue lists, and pull requests on the GitHub mirror are not reviewed by design (14 of 25). No official SDK and no MCP server were found (0). 7.0.2 moved to Rails 8.1.4, earlier releases updated Nokogiri, and tests and linters run on Ruby 3.2 to 4.0 (9 of 10).

The checklist (https://www.anchorterminal.com/benchmark/#checklist-maintenance):

- 0 to 30, time since the last release, or the last published model or API change for a closed service. 30 within 30 days, 20 within 90, 10 within 180, 0 older.
- 20, at least three releases or dated changelog entries in the last 90 days.
- 0 to 25, responsiveness. Issues and pull requests answered on GitHub (the open issues and how recent the replies are). For closed services, a public changelog and a support or community channel that answers, 0 to 15.
- 15, presence in the official MCP registry under a verified namespace (MCP servers), or current official SDKs (APIs and models).
- 10, package health, current dependencies and CI.

Models are read for deprecation notice periods and model churn rather than release counts.

## Deductions

Each comes off the total. A fixed and documented problem counts for less at the next check.

- 2026-09-30. 24 advisories were fixed between 6 January and 30 September 2026, two rated critical, both PostScript execution through thumbnail generation (#44145, fixed in 6.1.3 of 15 June 2026, and one fixed in 6.1.1 of 6 January 2026), and nine rated high, among them an OAuth scope bypass (#44174) and two REST API leaks of private issue subjects and project names (#44467, #44468, fixed in 7.0.2 and 6.1.5). All are fixed and listed by the project itself, so the deduction is reduced, -4 (https://www.redmine.org/projects/redmine/wiki/Security_Advisories).

## What we couldn't check

What we couldn't read counted as absent. Publishing it on a page a plain HTTP fetch can read (not only in a browser) lets the next check count it.

- unchecked: GitHub stars. api.github.com answered 403 (rate limit) to our one request, so `githubStars` is null
- unchecked: whether the GitHub Actions tests pass on the default branch today. The status is shown as badge images
- unchecked: issue responsiveness. robots.txt disallows the issue lists on redmine.org, and the forums were not sampled
- unchecked: the wiki pages for the other API resources, and any OAuth or webhook guide. OAuth and webhook facts come from the source at tag 7.0.2
- unchecked: the official MCP registry. No MCP server was found in the repository or the wiki pages read
- No terms of service and no product privacy document exist. The licence stands in, and the website privacy policy is not used for `provenance.privacy`
- No legal entity was found for the project
- The redmine.org home page was fetched before any terms page, to find one. It links none
- How an issue update with a stale `lock_version` answers through the API. The source rescues the conflict and the docs do not describe it
- The REST API wiki already describes changes for 7.1.0, which is not released. The latest release is 7.0.2
- The lead described the product correctly. It did not say the software is self-hosted only, with no cloud from the project

## Weaknesses

- No OpenAPI document or other machine-readable contract was found in the wiki or the source repository
- 24 advisories were published in the twelve months to 9 October 2026, two critical and nine high, several of them data leaks through the REST API
- 17 of the 23 API resources are marked Alpha in the documentation, and only five are marked Stable
- Errors other than validation failures return a status code with no body, and no idempotency keys exist
- The API key acts with its user's full permissions and is accepted in a `key` query parameter
- No official SDK. The wiki lists community clients, and no request limit is built in

## What costs an agent a turn today

The notes we give agents before they call it. Each one is a workaround an agent shouldn't need.

- Ask an administrator to tick Enable REST API under Administration, Settings, API. It is off by default and every call fails until then
- Send the key in the `X-Redmine-API-Key` header, never as the `key` query parameter, and set `Content-Type: application/json` on every POST and PUT
- Add `status_id=*` to issue lists. The default returns open issues only, 25 a page with a maximum of 100
- Comment on an issue by sending `notes` in a PUT to `/issues/<id>.json`. There is no separate comment endpoint
- A DELETE on a project through the API skips the confirmation the web page asks for, so run the agent as a non-administrator user

## When it's done

Send what changed and where it's published as a dispute (https://www.anchorterminal.com/builders/#disputes, or `POST https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/contact` with `"kind": "dispute"`). Disputes are answered in public, and the listing is checked again by the same checklist. Paying for an audit or a listing claim changes nothing here.