MCP Server Trello - Enhanced Edition

Enhanced fork of @delorenj/mcp-server-trello with advanced pagination support for large Trello boards.

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides tools for interacting with Trello boards. This enhanced version includes comprehensive pagination support, making it possible to work with boards containing thousands of cards without hitting token limits.

🚀 Key Features

• Advanced Pagination - Handle boards with 1000+ cards efficiently
• Token Optimization - Lightweight mode reduces token usage by 70-80%
• Complete Checklist Management - Full suite of checklist tools
• Cursor-Based Navigation - Reliable pagination through large lists
• Batch Operations - Efficient multi-card fetching

🎉 New in v1.2.0: Complete Checklist Management Suite!

Comprehensive Checklist Tools are here! 🚀 Now you can fully manage Trello checklists with 5 powerful new tools! Search, create, and track checklist items across your boards. Perfect for managing acceptance criteria, development tasks, and project milestones!

✨ New Checklist Tools:

• 📋 get_checklist_items - Retrieve all items from any checklist by name
• ➕ add_checklist_item - Add new items to existing checklists
• 🔍 find_checklist_items_by_description - Search checklist items by text content
• ✅ get_acceptance_criteria - Quick access to "Acceptance Criteria" checklists
• 📊 get_checklist_by_name - Get complete checklist with completion percentage

Plus: Modern MCP SDK architecture, enhanced type safety, and comprehensive documentation!

Changelog

1.3.0 (Pagination Support)

🎊 Major Feature Release: Pagination Support for Large Boards

• 5 New Pagination Tools for handling large lists that exceed token limits:
  • get_cards_by_list_paginated - Manual pagination control with cursor support
  • get_all_cards_by_list - Automatic full list fetching with pagination
  • get_card_ids_by_list - Lightweight card discovery (IDs and names only)
  • get_cards_batch - Efficient multi-card fetching by ID
  • get_list_stats - List metadata without full fetch
• Core Pagination Infrastructure:
  • PaginationHelper utility class for cursor-based pagination
  • Automatic rate limiting between page requests
  • Safety limits to prevent runaway requests
• Performance Optimizations:
  • Lightweight mode reduces token usage by 70-80%
  • Field filtering to minimize response size
  • Batch fetching for specific cards
• Error Handling: Enhanced error messages for rate limits and large responses
• Testing: Manual test script for verifying pagination functionality

Breaking Changes: None - all existing tools remain unchanged

1.2.0

🎊 Major Feature Release: Complete Checklist Management Suite

• 5 New Checklist Tools for comprehensive checklist management:
  • get_checklist_items(name) - Retrieve all items from a checklist by name
  • add_checklist_item(text, checkListName) - Add new items to existing checklists
  • find_checklist_items_by_description(description) - Search checklist items by text content
  • get_acceptance_criteria() - Convenience method for "Acceptance Criteria" checklists
  • get_checklist_by_name(name) - Get complete checklist with completion percentage
• Modern MCP SDK Architecture: Refactored to use latest MCP TypeScript SDK patterns with registerTool() and Zod validation
• Enhanced Type Safety: Full TypeScript support with proper type conversions between Trello API and MCP types
• New Data Types: CheckList and CheckListItem interfaces for structured checklist data
• Comprehensive Documentation: Added CHECKLIST_TOOLS.md with examples and best practices
• Improved Error Handling: Consistent error responses with descriptive messages
• Runtime Validation: Zod schemas for all tool inputs with automatic validation

1.1.0

🎊 Major Feature Release: Complete Card Data Extraction

• Added powerful get_card tool for comprehensive single card data retrieval
• Enhanced Data Extraction:
  • ✅ Checklists - Full checklist support with items, completion states, member assignments, and due dates
  • 📎 Attachments - Complete attachment data including images, previews, file metadata, and inline image detection
  • 🏷️ Labels - Full label details (names and colors, not just IDs)
  • 👥 Members - Card member assignments with full profile information
  • 💬 Comments - Card activity and comment history
  • 📊 Badges - Statistics including checklist progress, comment counts, and attachment counts
  • 🎨 Cover Images - Card cover image support
  • 📍 Context - Board and list information for complete context
  • 🔧 Custom Fields - Support for board-specific custom fields
• Markdown Formatting: New includeMarkdown parameter returns beautifully formatted, human-readable card data
• Inline Image Parsing: Automatically detects and extracts images embedded in card descriptions
• Comprehensive API Integration: Single API call fetches all card data efficiently using optimized query parameters
• Type Safety: Added new TypeScript interfaces for all enhanced data structures
• Human Parity: Achieves complete parity with Trello UI - see everything a human sees

1.0.0

• Fixed MCP protocol compatibility by removing all console output that interfered with JSON-RPC communication
• Improved npx support - now works seamlessly with npx @unboxed-software/mcp-server-trello
• Updated installation docs to feature pnpx as the primary installation method
• Added mise installation instructions for convenient tool management
• Production-ready release with stable API

0.3.0

• Added multi-board support - all methods now accept optional boardId parameter (thanks @blackoutnet!)
• TRELLO_BOARD_ID environment variable is now optional and serves as default board
• Added board and workspace management capabilities:
  • list_boards - List all boards the user has access to
  • set_active_board - Set the active board for future operations
  • list_workspaces - List all workspaces the user has access to
  • set_active_workspace - Set the active workspace for future operations
  • list_boards_in_workspace - List all boards in a specific workspace
  • get_active_board_info - Get information about the currently active board
• Added persistent configuration storage to remember active board/workspace
• Improved error handling with MCP-specific error types
• Full backward compatibility maintained

0.2.1

• Added detailed JSDoc comments to rate limiter functions
• Improved error handling for image attachment functionality
• Updated documentation for attach_image_to_card tool

0.2.0

• Added attach_image_to_card tool to attach images to cards from URLs
• Added Docker support with multi-stage build
• Improved security by moving environment variables to .env
• Added Docker Compose configuration
• Added .env.template for easier setup

0.1.1

• Added move_card tool to move cards between lists
• Improved documentation

0.1.0

• Initial release with basic Trello board management features

Features

• Full Trello Board Integration: Interact with cards, lists, and board activities
• 🆕 Complete Card Data Extraction: Fetch all card details including checklists, attachments, labels, members, and comments
• Built-in Rate Limiting: Respects Trello's API limits (300 requests/10s per API key, 100 requests/10s per token)
• Type-Safe Implementation: Written in TypeScript with comprehensive type definitions
• Input Validation: Robust validation for all API inputs
• Error Handling: Graceful error handling with informative messages
• Dynamic Board Selection: Switch between boards and workspaces without restarting
• Markdown Formatting: Export card data in human-readable markdown format

Installation

NPM Installation

npm install -g @unboxed-software/mcp-server-trello

Quick Start with npx (Recommended)

The easiest way to use the Trello MCP server is with npx, which doesn't require a global install:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "trello": {
      "command": "pnpx",
      "args": ["@delorenj/mcp-server-trello"],
      "env": {
        "TRELLO_API_KEY": "your-api-key",
        "TRELLO_TOKEN": "your-token"
      }
    }
  }
}

Or if you're using mise:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "trello": {
      "command": "mise",
      "args": ["x", "--", "pnpx", "@delorenj/mcp-server-trello"],
      "env": {
        "TRELLO_API_KEY": "your-api-key",
        "TRELLO_TOKEN": "your-token"
      }
    }
  }
}

To connect a Trello workspace, you'll need to manually retrieve a TRELLO_TOKEN once per workspace. After setting up your Trello Power-Up, visit the following URL:

https://trello.com/1/authorize?expiration=never&name=YOUR_APP_NAME&scope=read,write&response_type=token&key=YOUR_API_KEY

Replace:

• YOUR_APP_NAME with a name for your application (e.g., "My Trello Integration"). This name is shown to the user on the Trello authorization screen.
• YOUR_API_KEY with the API key for your Trello Power-Up

This will generate the token required for integration.

Note

The expiration=never parameter creates a token that does not expire. For enhanced security, consider using expiration=30days and renewing the token periodically if your setup allows for it.

Don't have pnpm?

The simplest way to get pnpm (and thus pnpx) is through mise:

# Install mise (if you don't have it)
curl https://mise.run | sh

# Install pnpm with mise
mise install pnpm

Installing via npm

If you prefer using npm directly:

npm install -g @unboxed-software/mcp-server-trello

Then use mcp-server-trello as the command in your MCP configuration.

Installing via Smithery

To install Trello Server for Claude Desktop automatically via Smithery:

npx -y @smithery/cli install @modelcontextprotocol/mcp-server-trello --client claude

Docker Installation

For containerized environments:

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/delorenj/mcp-server-trello
cd mcp-server-trello

2. Copy the environment template and fill in your Trello credentials:

cp .env.template .env

3. Build and run with Docker Compose:

docker compose up --build

Configuration

Environment Variables

The server can be configured using environment variables. Create a .env file in the root directory with the following variables:

# Required: Your Trello API credentials
TRELLO_API_KEY=your-api-key
TRELLO_TOKEN=your-token

# Optional (Deprecated): Default board ID (can be changed later using set_active_board)
TRELLO_BOARD_ID=your-board-id

# Optional: Initial workspace ID (can be changed later using set_active_workspace)
TRELLO_WORKSPACE_ID=your-workspace-id

You can get these values from:

• API Key: https://trello.com/app-key
• Token: Generate using your API key
• Board ID (optional, deprecated): Found in the board URL (e.g., https://trello.com/b/BOARD_ID/board-name)
• Workspace ID: Found in workspace settings or using list_workspaces tool

Board and Workspace Management

Starting with version 0.3.0, the MCP server supports multiple ways to work with boards:

1. Multi-board support: All methods now accept an optional boardId parameter

   • Omit TRELLO_BOARD_ID and provide boardId in each API call
   • Set TRELLO_BOARD_ID as default and optionally override with boardId parameter

2. Dynamic board selection: Use workspace management tools

   • The TRELLO_BOARD_ID in your .env file is used as the initial/default board ID
   • You can change the active board at any time using the set_active_board tool
   • The selected board persists between server restarts (stored in ~/.trello-mcp/config.json)
   • Similarly, you can set and persist an active workspace using set_active_workspace

This allows you to work with multiple boards and workspaces without restarting the server.

Example Workflow

1. Start by listing available boards:

{
  name: 'list_boards',
  arguments: {}
}

2. Set your active board:

{
  name: 'set_active_board',
  arguments: {
    boardId: "abc123"  // ID from list_boards response
  }
}

3. List workspaces if needed:

{
  name: 'list_workspaces',
  arguments: {}
}

4. Set active workspace if needed:

{
  name: 'set_active_workspace',
  arguments: {
    workspaceId: "xyz789"  // ID from list_workspaces response
  }
}

5. Check current active board info:

{
  name: 'get_active_board_info',
  arguments: {}
}

Date Format Guidelines

When working with dates in the Trello MCP server, please note the different format requirements:

• Due Date (dueDate): Accepts full ISO 8601 format with time (e.g., 2023-12-31T12:00:00Z)
• Start Date (start): Accepts date only in YYYY-MM-DD format (e.g., 2025-08-05)

This distinction follows Trello's API conventions where start dates are day-based markers while due dates can include specific times.

Pagination Support for Large Boards 🆕

This fork adds pagination support for boards with thousands of cards that exceed token limits.

New Paginated Tools

get_cards_by_list_paginated

Fetches cards from a list with pagination support.

Parameters:

• listId (required): The list ID
• boardId (optional): The board ID
• limit (optional): Cards per page (1-100, default: 100)
• before (optional): Cursor for pagination
• fields (optional): Array of fields to return
• lightweight (optional): Return only essential fields

Returns:

• cards: Array of cards
• hasMore: Boolean indicating more pages available
• nextCursor: Cursor for next page
• totalFetched: Number of cards fetched
• pagesFetched: Number of pages fetched

Example:

// Fetch first page
const firstPage = await getCardsByListPaginated({
  listId: "your-list-id",
  limit: 50,
  lightweight: true
});

// Fetch next page
if (firstPage.hasMore) {
  const secondPage = await getCardsByListPaginated({
    listId: "your-list-id",
    limit: 50,
    before: firstPage.nextCursor,
    lightweight: true
  });
}

get_all_cards_by_list

Fetches all cards from a list automatically handling pagination.

Parameters:

• listId (required): The list ID
• maxCards (optional): Safety limit (default: 5000)
• lightweight (optional): Fetch only essential fields (default: true)

Example:

const allCards = await getAllCardsByList({
  listId: "your-list-id",
  maxCards: 10000,
  lightweight: true
});
console.log(`Fetched ${allCards.totalCards} cards in ${allCards.fetchedInBatches} batches`);

get_card_ids_by_list

Fetches only card IDs and names (minimal token usage).

get_cards_batch

Fetches multiple specific cards by ID.

get_list_stats

Gets list statistics without fetching all cards.

Handling Large Boards

For boards with thousands of cards:

1. Use lightweight mode: Reduces token usage by 70-80%
2. Fetch IDs first: Use get_card_ids_by_list to discover all cards
3. Batch operations: Fetch specific cards as needed with get_cards_batch
4. Monitor token usage: Check response sizes in development

Performance Considerations

• Each page request adds ~100ms for rate limiting
• Fetching 1000 cards takes approximately 10-15 seconds
• Lightweight mode reduces response size from ~33KB to ~5KB per 100 cards

Available Tools

Checklist Management Tools 🆕

get_checklist_items

Get all items from a checklist by name.

{
  name: 'get_checklist_items',
  arguments: {
    name: string,        // Name of the checklist to retrieve items from
    boardId?: string     // Optional: ID of the board (uses default if not provided)
  }
}

add_checklist_item

Add a new item to an existing checklist.

{
  name: 'add_checklist_item',
  arguments: {
    text: string,           // Text content of the checklist item
    checkListName: string,  // Name of the checklist to add the item to
    boardId?: string        // Optional: ID of the board (uses default if not provided)
  }
}

find_checklist_items_by_description

Search for checklist items containing specific text.

{
  name: 'find_checklist_items_by_description',
  arguments: {
    description: string,  // Text to search for in checklist item descriptions
    boardId?: string      // Optional: ID of the board (uses default if not provided)
  }
}

get_acceptance_criteria

Get all items from the "Acceptance Criteria" checklist.

{
  name: 'get_acceptance_criteria',
  arguments: {
    boardId?: string  // Optional: ID of the board (uses default if not provided)
  }
}

get_checklist_by_name

Get a complete checklist with all items and completion percentage.

{
  name: 'get_checklist_by_name',
  arguments: {
    name: string,     // Name of the checklist to retrieve
    boardId?: string  // Optional: ID of the board (uses default if not provided)
  }
}

Returns: CheckList object with:

• id: Checklist identifier
• name: Checklist name
• items: Array of CheckListItem objects
• percentComplete: Completion percentage (0-100)

get_card 🆕

Get comprehensive details of a specific Trello card with human-level parity.

{
  name: 'get_card',
  arguments: {
    cardId: string,          // ID of the Trello card (short ID like 'FdhbArbK' or full ID)
    includeMarkdown?: boolean // Return formatted markdown instead of JSON (default: false)
  }
}

Returns: Complete card data including:

• ✅ Checklists with item states and assignments
• 📎 Attachments with previews and metadata
• 🏷️ Labels with names and colors
• 👥 Assigned members
• 💬 Comments and activity
• 📊 Statistics (badges)
• 🎨 Cover images
• 📍 Board and list context

get_cards_by_list_id

Fetch all cards from a specific list.

{
  name: 'get_cards_by_list_id',
  arguments: {
    boardId?: string, // Optional: ID of the board (uses default if not provided)
    listId: string    // ID of the Trello list
  }
}

get_lists

Retrieve all lists from a board.

{
  name: 'get_lists',
  arguments: {
    boardId?: string  // Optional: ID of the board (uses default if not provided)
  }
}

get_recent_activity

Fetch recent activity on a board.

{
  name: 'get_recent_activity',
  arguments: {
    boardId?: string, // Optional: ID of the board (uses default if not provided)
    limit?: number    // Optional: Number of activities to fetch (default: 10)
  }
}

add_card_to_list

Add a new card to a specified list.

{
  name: 'add_card_to_list',
  arguments: {
    boardId?: string,     // Optional: ID of the board (uses default if not provided)
    listId: string,       // ID of the list to add the card to
    name: string,         // Name of the card
    description?: string, // Optional: Description of the card
    dueDate?: string,     // Optional: Due date (ISO 8601 format with time)
    start?: string,       // Optional: Start date (YYYY-MM-DD format, date only)
    labels?: string[]     // Optional: Array of label IDs
  }
}

update_card_details

Update an existing card's details.

{
  name: 'update_card_details',
  arguments: {
    boardId?: string,     // Optional: ID of the board (uses default if not provided)
    cardId: string,       // ID of the card to update
    name?: string,        // Optional: New name for the card
    description?: string, // Optional: New description
    dueDate?: string,     // Optional: New due date (ISO 8601 format with time)
    start?: string,       // Optional: New start date (YYYY-MM-DD format, date only)
    dueComplete?: boolean,// Optional: Mark the due date as complete (true) or incomplete (false)
    labels?: string[]     // Optional: New array of label IDs
  }
}

archive_card

Send a card to the archive.

{
  name: 'archive_card',
  arguments: {
    boardId?: string, // Optional: ID of the board (uses default if not provided)
    cardId: string    // ID of the card to archive
  }
}

add_list_to_board

Add a new list to a board.

{
  name: 'add_list_to_board',
  arguments: {
    boardId?: string, // Optional: ID of the board (uses default if not provided)
    name: string      // Name of the new list
  }
}

archive_list

Send a list to the archive.

{
  name: 'archive_list',
  arguments: {
    boardId?: string, // Optional: ID of the board (uses default if not provided)
    listId: string    // ID of the list to archive
  }
}

get_my_cards

Fetch all cards assigned to the current user.

{
  name: 'get_my_cards',
  arguments: {}
}

move_card

Move a card to a different list.

{
  name: 'move_card',
  arguments: {
    boardId?: string,  // Optional: ID of the target board (uses default if not provided)
    cardId: string,    // ID of the card to move
    listId: string     // ID of the target list
  }
}

attach_image_to_card

Attach an image to a card directly from a URL.

{
  name: 'attach_image_to_card',
  arguments: {
    boardId?: string, // Optional: ID of the board (uses default if not provided)
    cardId: string,   // ID of the card to attach the image to
    imageUrl: string, // URL of the image to attach
    name?: string     // Optional: Name for the attachment (defaults to "Image Attachment")
  }
}

list_boards

List all boards the user has access to.

{
  name: 'list_boards',
  arguments: {}
}

set_active_board

Set the active board for future operations.

{
  name: 'set_active_board',
  arguments: {
    boardId: string  // ID of the board to set as active
  }
}

list_workspaces

List all workspaces the user has access to.

{
  name: 'list_workspaces',
  arguments: {}
}

set_active_workspace

Set the active workspace for future operations.

{
  name: 'set_active_workspace',
  arguments: {
    workspaceId: string  // ID of the workspace to set as active
  }
}

list_boards_in_workspace

List all boards in a specific workspace.

{
  name: 'list_boards_in_workspace',
  arguments: {
    workspaceId: string  // ID of the workspace to list boards from
  }
}

get_active_board_info

Get information about the currently active board.

{
  name: 'get_active_board_info',
  arguments: {}
}

Integration Examples

🎨 Pairing with Ideogram MCP Server

The Trello MCP server pairs beautifully with @flowluap/ideogram-mcp-server for AI-powered visual content creation. Generate images with Ideogram and attach them directly to your Trello cards!

Example Workflow

1. Generate an image with Ideogram:

// Using ideogram-mcp-server
{
  name: 'generate_image',
  arguments: {
    prompt: "A futuristic dashboard design with neon accents",
    aspect_ratio: "16:9"
  }
}
// Returns: { image_url: "https://..." }

2. Attach the generated image to a Trello card:

// Using trello-mcp-server
{
  name: 'attach_image_to_card',
  arguments: {
    cardId: "your-card-id",
    imageUrl: "https://...", // URL from Ideogram
    name: "Dashboard Mockup v1"
  }
}

Setting up both servers

Add both servers to your Claude Desktop configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "trello": {
      "command": "pnpx",
      "args": ["@delorenj/mcp-server-trello"],
      "env": {
        "TRELLO_API_KEY": "your-trello-api-key",
        "TRELLO_TOKEN": "your-trello-token"
      }
    },
    "ideogram": {
      "command": "pnpx",
      "args": ["@flowluap/ideogram-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "IDEOGRAM_API_KEY": "your-ideogram-api-key"
      }
    }
  }
}

Now you can seamlessly create visual content and organize it in Trello, all within Claude!

Rate Limiting

The server implements a token bucket algorithm for rate limiting to comply with Trello's API limits:

• 300 requests per 10 seconds per API key
• 100 requests per 10 seconds per token

Rate limiting is handled automatically, and requests will be queued if limits are reached.

Error Handling

The server provides detailed error messages for various scenarios:

• Invalid input parameters
• Rate limit exceeded
• API authentication errors
• Network issues
• Invalid board/list/card IDs

Development

Prerequisites

• Node.js 16 or higher
• npm or yarn

Setup

1. Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/delorenj/mcp-server-trello
cd mcp-server-trello

2. Install dependencies

npm install

3. Build the project

npm run build

Running evals

The evals package loads an mcp client that then runs the index.ts file, so there is no need to rebuild between tests. You can load environment variables by prefixing the npx command. Full documentation can be found here.

OPENAI_API_KEY=your-key  npx mcp-eval src/evals/evals.ts src/index.ts

Contributing

Contributions are welcome!

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Acknowledgments

• Built with the Model Context Protocol SDK
• Uses the Trello REST API