Mcp Server Trello Plugin

Mcp Server Trello Plugin is an MCP server that connects AI assistants to Trello's project management platform, enabling programmatic access to boards, lists, cards, and workflow automation. This MCP bridge allows language models to create, read, update, and organize Trello cards and boards through natural language commands, streamlining project management workflows and enabling AI-driven task tracking.

When to Use This MCP Server

Connect this server when...

• You want AI assistants to manage Trello boards by creating cards, moving items between lists, and updating due dates
• Your team uses Trello for project tracking and you need conversational access to board data and card details
• You are building workflow automations that create Trello cards from meeting notes, emails, or chat conversations
• You need to generate reports or summaries from Trello board data across multiple projects
• You want to batch-update card labels, assignments, or descriptions using natural language instructions

Consider alternatives when...

• Your project management lives in Jira, Asana, or Linear, which have their own dedicated MCP servers
• You need advanced Trello Power-Up features that go beyond the standard API capabilities
• You only need to view a public Trello board without making any modifications

Quick Start

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

Connection setup:

1. Get your API key from trello.com/app-key
2. Generate a token by clicking the Token link on the API key page and authorizing the application
3. Add the configuration above with your credentials to .mcp.json
4. Restart your MCP client to establish the connection

Example tool usage:

# Create a new card on a board
> Add a card titled "Fix login bug" to the "To Do" list on the Engineering board

# Move a card between lists
> Move the "Database migration" card from "In Progress" to "Done"

# Get board overview
> Show me all cards on the Sprint 12 board grouped by list

Core Concepts

Concept	Purpose	Details
Boards	Project containers	Top-level organizational unit that holds lists, cards, members, and settings for a project
Lists	Workflow stages	Columns within a board representing stages like "To Do", "In Progress", and "Done"
Cards	Task items	Individual work items containing a title, description, labels, due dates, attachments, and checklists
Labels	Categorization	Color-coded tags applied to cards for filtering and visual categorization of work types
Members	Team assignments	Users assigned to boards and cards who receive notifications and can be filtered in queries

Architecture:

+------------------+       +------------------+       +------------------+
|  Trello          |       |  Trello MCP      |       |  AI Assistant    |
|  REST API        |<----->|  Server (pnpx)   |<----->|  (Claude, etc.)  |
|  api.trello.com  | HTTPS |  stdio transport  | stdio |                  |
+------------------+       +------------------+       +------------------+
        |
        v
+------------------------------------------+
|  Boards > Lists > Cards > Checklists     |
+------------------------------------------+

Configuration

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
TRELLO_API_KEY	string	(required)	API key obtained from trello.com/app-key for authenticating requests
TRELLO_TOKEN	string	(required)	Authorization token that grants access to your Trello boards and data
TRELLO_BOARD_ID	string	none	Default board ID to scope operations when not explicitly specified
rate_limit	integer	100	Maximum API requests per 10-second window to stay within Trello rate limits
include_archived	boolean	false	Whether to include archived cards and lists in query results

Best Practices

1. Scope tokens to specific boards when possible. When generating your Trello token, consider the scope of access you are granting. For AI assistant use, read-write access to specific boards is preferable to organization-wide access. This limits what the AI can modify and reduces the risk of unintended changes to critical boards.

2. Use board IDs rather than names for reliability. Board names can change and may not be unique across your organization. Store the board ID (visible in the board URL) in your configuration for consistent targeting. Ask the AI to list boards first to discover the correct IDs for your projects.

3. Batch card operations to respect rate limits. Trello enforces rate limits of approximately 100 requests per 10 seconds. When performing bulk updates such as labeling or moving multiple cards, structure your requests to stay within these limits. The MCP server handles basic rate limiting, but large batch operations should be spaced appropriately.

4. Leverage labels and custom fields for AI filtering. Set up a consistent labeling scheme across your boards so the AI can filter and categorize cards effectively. Labels like "bug", "feature", and "urgent" enable natural language queries such as "show me all urgent bugs assigned to me."

5. Archive completed cards rather than deleting them. Encourage the AI to archive cards that are done rather than deleting them permanently. Archived cards remain searchable and can be restored, preserving your project history for retrospectives and reporting.

Common Issues

"Invalid API key" error on connection. Double-check that you copied the API key from trello.com/app-key correctly. API keys are 32-character hexadecimal strings. If you recently regenerated your key, the old one is immediately invalidated. Update your .mcp.json configuration and restart the MCP client.

Cards not appearing in search results. By default, the server excludes archived cards from query results. If you need to find archived items, enable the include_archived option. Also verify that you are searching the correct board, as cards on other boards in the same workspace will not appear in board-scoped queries.

Token expired or revoked unexpectedly. Trello tokens can expire based on the expiration setting chosen during creation. Generate a token with "never expires" if you want persistent access, or set up a token refresh workflow. If a team admin revoked the token, you will need to reauthorize through the Trello API key page.