A moment of magic from Simon Zebo lit up a poor Guinness Pro14 knock-out tie at Thomond Park but it was enough to see Munster past Edinburgh.
Johann van Graan's men will now face Leinster in the semi-final in two weeks' time in Dublin.
The Reds progress courtesy of tries in either half from Rhys Marshall and Keith Earls, and ten points from the boot of JJ Hanrahan.
But it ended up closer than it should have as the hosts let Edinburgh, who finished third in Confernce B, in for 10 points between the 55th and 59th minute, ensuring a nervous finale.
"It’s been a long time and this group is mad for a bit of silverware," said man of the match Earls afterwards.
"We weren’t at our best. We know there’s a massive challenge ahead, hopefully we can pick out a few improvements [for Leinster].
"At times we made it hard for ourselves. Trying to get the exits we put pressure on ourselves, we know Edinburgh are a good side."
The game never found any sort of grove and Munster's first try came from an overthrow by Edinburgh hooker Stuart McInally in the ninth minute.
The ball landed in Marshall's arms and the hooker fended off a handful of tacklers to touch down.
However, the visitors had more territory and possession and two Sam Hidalgo-Clyne penalties had them within touching distance at the break.
Then came Zebo.
What a try! 🏉@SimonZebo shows why Thomond Park will miss him with a beautiful chip and pin-point pass out to the electric @KEITHEARLS87 ⚡️
— PRO14 RUGBY (@PRO14Official) May 5, 2018
Catch the rest of the second half on @SportTG4, @SkySports and @bbcalba now 📺#MUNvEDI #GUINNESSPRO14 pic.twitter.com/bNbweCfJCU
Making his final home appearance for the province before his move to Racing 92, Zebo produced a trademark moment of brilliance to set up Earls.
Going backwards in midfield to retrieve the ball after spilling a poor pass, Zebo sized up his options before chipping over the top and collecting. Finding himself in space he picked the perfect pass for the Ireland winger, who finished from the 22.
"Conor threw me a bad pass," said Zebo. "I saw Nigel’s arm come out, he was about to blow the whistle but he didn't. I said I’d try one of the tricks and luckily it came off. Earlsy is always on the end of things to finish them."
Hanrahan, who came in for Ian Keatley, added the conversion and a penalty eight minutes later had the hosts 11 points up.
But Richard Cockerill's men, who had won 15 regular-season games, two more than Munster, were not done yet and replacement scrum-half Nathan Fowles finished off a length-of-the-field move in between a penalty and conversion to move within a point.
Game on! 🏉
— PRO14 RUGBY (@PRO14Official) May 5, 2018
Replacement scrum-half Nathan Fowles comes on and scores almost immediately to close the gap between @Munsterrugby and @EdinburghRugby to one point!
Watch the conclusion to the semi-final qualifier on @SportTG4, @SkySports and @bbcalba 📺#MUNvEDI #GUINNESSPRO14 pic.twitter.com/3r3SnPgxGC
Just as it looked as if Munster's season was about to end in disappointment in front of just over 10,000 fans they landed another penalty and despite the concession of two late penalties the four-point margin proved vital as Edinburgh were forced to find a try.
Captain Peter O'Mahony's lineout steal at the death ended the Scots' hopes of a first semi-final.
"There’s a lot of old wise heads on the team, Peter, Billy [Holland], Earlsy, Conor," added Zebo.
"They know how to close out these tight games.
"I think it was one of those games where it was on a knife-edge at times.
"We had to really dig deep to get the win, they are almost games you'd prefer as opposed to winning games by 30 or 40 points, because it shows so much character in the squad."
Asked about a possible return the full-back said: "Definitely, absolutely, that’s never going to be written off. I couldn’t do it justice by saying how much I’ll miss [Thomond]."
"Growing up as a Munster man, to get the opportunity to represent your home province, there's nothing like it.
"Obviously I've been very lucky and blessed to be able to do it for the length of time I did, but hopefully it's not the end."
Zebo was also quizzed on the upcoming semi-final against Leinster, who face Racing in next Saturday's Champions Cup final.
"It will be difficult," he said on Sky Sports. "They’ve been impressive, they are like an international side, they have no weaknesses in their team. It’s going to be a hell of a battle.
"Hoping Racing do a job on them..."
Munster: Simon Zebo; Andrew Conway, Sammy Arnold, Rory Scannell, Keith Earls; JJ Hanrahan, Conor Murray; James Cronin, Rhys Marshall, Stephen Archer; Jean Kleyn, Billy Holland; Peter O’Mahony (capt), Jack O’Donoghue, CJ Stander.
Replacements: Mike Sherry, Dave Kilcoyne, Ciaran Parker, Gerbrandt Grobler, Robin Copeland, James Hart, Ian Keatley, Darren Sweetnam.
Edinburgh: Blair Kinghorn; Dougie Fife, Mark Bennett, Chris Dean, Duhan van der Merwe; Jaco van der Walt, Sam Hidalgo-Clyne; Jordan Lay, Stuart McInally (capt), Simon Berghan, Ben Toolis, Grant Gilchrist, Magnus Bradbury, Lewis Carmichael, Bill Mata
Replacements: Neil Cochrane, Allan Dell, WP Nel, Ally Miller, Cornell du Preez, Nathan Fowles, Duncan Weir, James Johnstone
