MCP Backlog Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for managing backlog items and todos. This server provides a structured way to track work items, their status, and associated tasks.

Features

• Backlog Management: Create, read, update, and archive backlog items
• Todo Tracking: Manage todos within backlog items with dependencies
• Status Workflow: Track items through states: new → ready → review → done
• Priority Levels: Organize items by high, medium, or low priority
• Versioning: Automatic versioning when amending backlog items
• Markdown Storage: Human-readable markdown files with frontmatter
• Prune/Clear: Remove old completed items to keep your archive clean

Installation

Quick Start (Zero Install)

Using NPX (Node.js):

npx -y github:rwese/mcp-backlog

Using Bunx (Bun - Faster):

bunx --bun github:rwese/mcp-backlog

Global Installation

With Bun (Recommended):

# From GitHub (latest)
bun add -g github:rwese/mcp-backlog

# From NPM (when published)
bun add -g @rwese/mcp-backlog

With NPM:

# From GitHub
npm install -g github:rwese/mcp-backlog

# From NPM (when published)
npm install -g @rwese/mcp-backlog

From Source

git clone https://github.com/rwese/mcp-backlog.git
cd mcp-backlog
bun install  # or npm install
bun run build  # or npm run build

Usage

In your MCP client configuration

Add to your MCP client's configuration file:

Using NPX from GitHub (Recommended):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "backlog": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "github:rwese/mcp-backlog"]
    }
  }
}

Using Bunx (Faster):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "backlog": {
      "command": "bunx",
      "args": ["--bun", "github:rwese/mcp-backlog"]
    }
  }
}

Using global install:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "backlog": {
      "command": "mcp-backlog"
    }
  }
}

Using NPX:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "backlog": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@rwese/mcp-backlog"]
    }
  }
}

Using local build:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "backlog": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/mcp-backlog/dist/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

Tools

backlog-read

List and filter backlog items.

Arguments:

• status (optional): Filter by status (new, ready, review, done, reopen, wontfix)
• priority (optional): Filter by priority (high, medium, low)

backlog-write

Create and manage backlog items.

Arguments:

• action: Operation to perform (create, list, amend, approve, submit, reopen, wontfix)
• topic: Topic name for the backlog item
• description: Description of the work item
• priority (optional): Priority level (default: medium)
• status (optional): Status for amend operation

Examples:

// Create a new backlog item
{
  "action": "create",
  "topic": "Add user authentication",
  "description": "Implement JWT-based authentication",
  "priority": "high"
}

// Amend an existing item
{
  "action": "amend",
  "topic": "Add user authentication",
  "status": "ready"
}

backlog-done

Mark backlog items as complete.

Arguments:

• action: done or list
• topic: Topic name to mark as done
• summary (optional): Completion summary

ticket-read

List todos for a backlog item.

Arguments:

• topic: Backlog item topic (required)
• status (optional): Filter by status
• batch (optional): Filter by batch

ticket-write

Create and update todos within backlog items.

Arguments:

• action: create, update, or list
• topic: Backlog item topic (required)
• todoId: Todo ID (for update)
• content: Todo content
• status: Todo status (pending, in_progress, completed, cancelled)
• dependencies: Array of todo IDs that must complete first
• batch: Batch identifier

ticket-done

Mark todos as complete with dependency validation.

Arguments:

• action: done or list
• topic: Backlog item topic (required)
• todoId: Todo ID to mark as done

prune

Remove old completed/archived backlog items from COMPLETED_Backlog.

Arguments:

• action: Operation to perform (list, prune, clear) - default: list
• olderThanDays (optional): For prune action, delete items older than this many days (default: 30)
• dryRun (optional): Preview what would be deleted without actually deleting (default: false)

Examples:

// List all completed items with their age
{
  "action": "list"
}

// Preview what would be deleted (items older than 7 days)
{
  "action": "prune",
  "olderThanDays": 7,
  "dryRun": true
}

// Actually delete items older than 30 days
{
  "action": "prune",
  "olderThanDays": 30
}

// Clear all completed items (with preview first)
{
  "action": "clear",
  "dryRun": true
}

Directory Structure

Default Location (XDG-compliant)

By default, the server stores backlog data in XDG-compliant directories with multi-project isolation:

~/.local/share/mcp-backlog/
└── projects/
    └── <project-name>/
        ├── Backlog/
        │   └── <topic-name>/
        │       ├── item.md       # Backlog item details
        │       └── todos.json    # Associated todos
        └── COMPLETED_Backlog/
            ├── DONE_<topic>-v1.md
            └── WONTFIX_<topic>.md

Multi-Project Support

Each project gets its own isolated directory:

• Git repositories: Uses the repository root directory name as project identifier
• Non-git projects: Uses directory name + hash for uniqueness

This allows you to use the same MCP server across multiple projects without conflicts.

Legacy Support

For backward compatibility, if you have an existing .agent/ directory in your current working directory, it will be used instead of the XDG directory.

Custom Locations

You can override the default location using environment variables:

Option 1: Set a custom backlog directory

export MCP_BACKLOG_DIR="/path/to/your/backlog"

Option 2: Set XDG_DATA_HOME (affects all XDG-compliant apps)

export XDG_DATA_HOME="/path/to/data"
# Backlog will be stored at: /path/to/data/mcp-backlog/

Add these to your MCP client configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "backlog": {
      "command": "mcp-backlog",
      "env": {
        "MCP_BACKLOG_DIR": "/custom/path"
      }
    }
  }
}

Configuration

See CONFIGURATION.md for detailed information about:

• XDG Base Directory support
• Multi-project isolation
• Environment variables
• Custom storage locations
• Platform-specific defaults

Development

Run tests

bun test

Build

bun run build

Workflow

1. Create a backlog item with status "new"
2. Submit to move it to "ready" (ready for work)
3. Amend to update status to "review" when work is done
4. Approve to move from "review" to "done"
5. Done to archive the completed item

Or use reopen to send items back for more work, or wontfix to archive without completing.

License

MIT