Trello MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides tools to fetch and interact with Trello boards, lists, and cards.

Features

• Get all boards for authenticated user
• Get board details
• Fetch lists from a board
• Fetch cards from boards or lists
• Get specific card details
• Search for cards across boards
• Get card actions/history
• Add comments to cards
• Move cards between lists (change status)

Setup

1. Get Trello API Credentials

Important: You need to create a Power-Up to get API credentials.

1. Visit https://trello.com/power-ups/admin
2. Click "Create New Power-Up" (or "Crear" button)
3. Fill in basic information:
   • Name: "Trello MCP" (or any name you prefer)
   • Workspace: Select your workspace
4. Once created, go to the "API Key" section in your Power-Up settings
5. You'll see your API Key displayed (a 32-character string)
6. Click on the "Token" link (or "token" in the description) to generate your API token
7. Authorize the token when prompted
8. Copy both the API key and API token

Alternatively, you can go directly to https://trello.com/app-key if you already have a Power-Up created.

2. Install Dependencies

npm install

3. Configure Environment Variables

Copy the example environment file and add your credentials:

cp .env.example .env

Edit .env and add your credentials:

TRELLO_API_KEY=your_actual_api_key
TRELLO_API_TOKEN=your_actual_api_token

4. Test the Server

Run the server directly:

npm start

Configuration

You can configure this MCP server globally in Claude Desktop or per-project in Claude Code CLI.

Option 1: Global Configuration (Claude Desktop)

Edit your Claude Desktop config file:

macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

Add the following configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "trello": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/trello-mcp/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "TRELLO_API_KEY": "your_api_key_here",
        "TRELLO_API_TOKEN": "your_api_token_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Replace /absolute/path/to/trello-mcp/ with the actual path to this directory.

After adding the configuration, restart Claude Desktop.

Option 2: Per-Project Configuration (Claude Code CLI)

For Claude Code CLI, MCP servers are configured per-project in ~/.claude.json.

Important: You must include the type: "stdio" field and the env variables directly in the configuration. The .env file won't be loaded automatically.

Use this command to configure for a specific project:

# Using jq to add the configuration
jq '.projects."/path/to/your/project".mcpServers.trello = {
  "type": "stdio",
  "command": "node",
  "args": ["/Users/ehigu/Documents/Esteban/Projects/habitus/webapp/trello-mcp/index.js"],
  "env": {
    "TRELLO_API_KEY": "your_api_key_here",
    "TRELLO_API_TOKEN": "your_api_token_here"
  }
}' ~/.claude.json > /tmp/claude_config.json && mv /tmp/claude_config.json ~/.claude.json

Or manually edit ~/.claude.json:

{
  "projects": {
    "/path/to/your/project": {
      "mcpServers": {
        "trello": {
          "type": "stdio",
          "command": "node",
          "args": ["/Users/ehigu/Documents/Esteban/Projects/habitus/webapp/trello-mcp/index.js"],
          "env": {
            "TRELLO_API_KEY": "your_api_key_here",
            "TRELLO_API_TOKEN": "your_api_token_here"
          }
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

After adding the configuration, restart Claude Code.

Available Tools

get_my_boards

Get all boards for the authenticated user.

Parameters:

• filter (optional): Filter boards by type (all, open, closed, starred, organization, public, members). Default: "open"

get_board

Get details of a specific board.

Parameters:

• board_id (required): The ID of the board

get_board_lists

Get all lists on a board.

Parameters:

• board_id (required): The ID of the board
• filter (optional): Filter lists (all, open, closed, none). Default: "open"

get_board_cards

Get all cards on a board.

Parameters:

• board_id (required): The ID of the board

get_list_cards

Get all cards in a specific list.

Parameters:

• list_id (required): The ID of the list

get_card

Get details of a specific card.

Parameters:

• card_id (required): The ID of the card

search_cards

Search for cards across all boards.

Parameters:

• query (required): Search query
• board_ids (optional): Comma-separated board IDs to search within

get_card_actions

Get actions (activity/history) for a specific card.

Parameters:

• card_id (required): The ID of the card

add_comment_to_card

Add a comment to a specific card.

Parameters:

• card_id (required): The ID of the card
• text (required): The comment text to add

move_card_to_list

Move a card to a different list (change its status).

Parameters:

• card_id (required): The ID of the card to move
• list_id (required): The ID of the destination list

Note: To use this tool, you first need to get the list IDs using get_board_lists.

Usage Examples

Once configured in Claude Desktop, you can use natural language to interact with your Trello boards:

• "Show me all my open Trello boards"
• "Get the cards from board [board_id]"
• "Search for cards containing 'bug fix'"
• "Show me the details of card [card_id]"
• "What are the lists in my board?"
• "Add a comment to card [card_id] saying 'This looks good!'"
• "Comment on card [card_id] with 'Reviewed and approved'"
• "Move card [card_id] to list [list_id]"
• "Change the status of card [card_id] from To Do to In Progress"

Workflow example for moving cards:

1. First, get the lists: "Show me the lists in board [board_id]"
2. Identify the destination list ID from the results
3. Move the card: "Move card [card_id] to list [list_id]"

Troubleshooting

Authentication Errors

If you see authentication errors:

1. Verify your API key and token are correct
2. Make sure the token has not expired
3. Regenerate the token if necessary from https://trello.com/app-key

Server Not Starting

1. Check that Node.js is installed: node --version
2. Ensure dependencies are installed: npm install
3. Verify environment variables are set correctly

MCP Server Shows "Failed" Status

If the MCP server shows as "failed" in Claude Code:

1. Missing type field: Make sure your configuration includes "type": "stdio". This is required for Claude Code CLI.

2. Environment variables not loaded: The .env file is NOT automatically loaded when Claude Code runs the MCP server. You must include the env object with your API credentials directly in the configuration:

   {
     "type": "stdio",
     "command": "node",
     "args": ["/path/to/trello-mcp/index.js"],
     "env": {
       "TRELLO_API_KEY": "your_api_key",
       "TRELLO_API_TOKEN": "your_api_token"
     }
   }
   

3. Check logs: Run claude --debug to see detailed error logs

4. Test manually: Run the server directly to verify it works:

   cd /path/to/trello-mcp
   TRELLO_API_KEY=your_key TRELLO_API_TOKEN=your_token node index.js
   

5. Restart Claude Code: After configuration changes, completely quit and restart Claude Code

MCP Server Not Showing in Claude

1. Check the path in your config is absolute and correct
2. Restart Claude Desktop/Code completely
3. Check Claude Desktop logs for any errors
4. For Claude Code CLI, verify the configuration is in the correct project path in ~/.claude.json

License

MIT