Trello MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides seamless integration with Trello's API. Manage your Trello boards, lists, and cards directly through Claude or any MCP-compatible client.

Features

Board Management: List, view, and create Trello boards
List Operations: Create, view, and archive lists on boards
Card CRUD: Full create, read, update, delete operations for cards
Card Movement: Move cards between lists with position control
MCP Resources: Load board, list, and card data into LLM context for analysis
Secure Authentication: API key and token-based authentication via environment variables

Installation

Prerequisites

Python 3.11 or higher
A Trello account
Trello API credentials (API key and token)

Install the Package

# Clone or download this repository
cd TrelloMCP

# Install using pip
pip install -e .

# Or using uv (recommended)
uv venv
source .venv/bin/activate  # On Windows: .venv\Scripts\activate
uv pip install -e .

Getting Trello API Credentials

Step 1: Get Your API Key

Visit Trello Power-Ups Admin
Click "New" to create a new Power-Up (if you don't have one)
Fill in the required information (name, workspace, etc.)
Once created, you'll see your API Key on the Power-Up's page

Alternatively, you can get your API key directly from: https://trello.com/app-key

Step 2: Generate an API Token

While viewing your API key page, click the "Token" link or visit:

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

(Replace YOUR_API_KEY with the key from Step 1)

Click "Allow" to authorize the application
Copy the API Token that is displayed

Step 3: Configure Environment Variables

Create a .env file in the project root:

cp .env.example .env

Edit .env and add your credentials:

TRELLO_API_KEY=your_api_key_here
TRELLO_API_TOKEN=your_api_token_here

Important: Never commit your .env file to version control. It's already in .gitignore.

Usage

Running the Server Standalone

trello-mcp

The server will start and listen for MCP connections via stdio.

Using with Claude Desktop

Add the following to your Claude Desktop configuration file:

On macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

On Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "trello": {
      "command": "trello-mcp",
      "env": {
        "TRELLO_API_KEY": "your_api_key_here",
        "TRELLO_API_TOKEN": "your_api_token_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Alternatively, if you have a .env file in your project directory:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "trello": {
      "command": "python",
      "args": ["-m", "trello_mcp"],
      "cwd": "/path/to/TrelloMCP",
      "env": {}
    }
  }
}

The server will automatically load credentials from the .env file in the working directory.

Restart Claude Desktop

After updating the configuration, restart Claude Desktop to load the Trello MCP server.

Available Tools

The server provides the following tools that you can use through natural language with Claude:

Board Tools

list_boards() - List all your Trello boards
get_board(board_id) - Get details of a specific board
create_board(name, desc?) - Create a new board

List Tools

get_board_lists(board_id) - Get all lists on a board
create_list(board_id, name, pos?) - Create a new list on a board
archive_list(list_id) - Archive (close) a list

Card Tools

list_cards(list_id) - Get all cards in a list
get_card(card_id) - Get details of a specific card
create_card(list_id, name, desc?, pos?) - Create a new card
update_card(card_id, name?, desc?, list_id?) - Update a card
delete_card(card_id) - Delete a card
move_card(card_id, list_id, pos?) - Move a card to another list

Available Resources

Resources allow you to load Trello data into the LLM's context for analysis:

trello://board/{board_id} - Load complete board information with all lists and cards
trello://list/{list_id} - Load list information with all cards
trello://card/{card_id} - Load detailed card information

Example Conversations with Claude

Once configured, you can interact with Trello naturally:

"Show me all my Trello boards"

Claude will call list_boards() and display your boards

"Create a new board called 'Q1 2026 Planning'"

Claude will call create_board(name="Q1 2026 Planning")

"On my project board, create a new list called 'In Review'"

Claude will first find your board, then call create_list()

"Add a card 'Review design docs' to the To Do list with description 'Need to review the new UI designs'"

Claude will call create_card() with the appropriate parameters

"Move that card to the In Progress list"

Claude will call move_card() to relocate it

"Load the full context of board abc123"

Claude will use the resource trello://board/abc123 to load all data

Development

Running Tests

# Install dev dependencies
pip install -e ".[dev]"

# Run tests
pytest

Project Structure

TrelloMCP/
├── src/
│   └── trello_mcp/
│       ├── __init__.py
│       ├── __main__.py       # Entry point
│       ├── server.py          # MCP server with tools and resources
│       └── trello_client.py   # Trello API client wrapper
├── tests/
│   ├── __init__.py
│   └── test_server.py
├── pyproject.toml
├── README.md
├── .env.example
└── .gitignore

Adding New Features

Add new API methods to TrelloClient in trello_client.py
Add corresponding tools/resources in server.py using FastMCP decorators
Update this README with the new functionality

API Rate Limits

Trello's API has rate limits per API key. If you exceed them, you'll receive a 429 error. For frequent updates, consider using Trello webhooks instead of polling.

Troubleshooting

"Invalid Trello API credentials" error

Verify your TRELLO_API_KEY and TRELLO_API_TOKEN are correct
Make sure there are no extra spaces or quotes in your .env file
Try regenerating your API token

"Resource not found" error

Double-check the board/list/card ID you're using
Ensure you have access to the resource with your Trello account

Server not showing in Claude Desktop

Check that the path to trello-mcp is correct
Verify the JSON syntax in claude_desktop_config.json
Restart Claude Desktop completely
Check Claude Desktop's logs for error messages

Security Notes

Keep your API key and token secure - never commit them to version control
The .env file is automatically ignored by git
API tokens grant full access to your Trello account - treat them like passwords
Consider creating a separate Trello workspace for testing

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit issues or pull requests.

License

MIT License - feel free to use this server for your own projects.

References

Acknowledgments

Built with:

FastMCP - High-level Python SDK for MCP
httpx - Modern HTTP client
python-dotenv - Environment variable management