Trello Desktop MCP

What agrath/Trello-Desktop-MCP MCP server does

The agrath/Trello-Desktop-MCP MCP server gives an MCP client access to Trello workspace data and common board-management actions. Its toolset covers board discovery, board metadata, lists, cards, members, labels, custom field definitions, checklists, attachments, comments, activity history, and cross-content search.

Read operations can locate accessible boards, inspect lists and cards, retrieve member or label information, and search boards, cards, members, and organizations. Write operations can create and modify cards and lists, move cards between lists, add comments, assign or remove members, manage labels, upload or delete attachments, and edit checklist data. The available tools also include card archiving and checklist-item operations described in the project README.

When get_card encounters image attachments, the server downloads those images and returns them as inline MCP image content blocks in addition to the card data. This can make Trello card visuals available to clients that support MCP image content.

How it works

The server uses stdio transport, so the MCP client starts it as a local process. Trello access is made with the API key and token associated with a Trello Power-Up. Credentials can be supplied globally through TRELLO_API_KEY and TRELLO_TOKEN, or passed as apiKey and token tool parameters; request-level values take precedence over environment variables.

Several retrieval tools support compact responses. Compact mode is enabled by default for board details, board cards, list cards, and search, reducing the returned fields. Set compact to false when descriptions, labels, members, or custom fields are needed. For board exploration, the README recommends starting with board metadata and lists, then retrieving individual cards or list cards rather than requesting full details for large boards.

Setup and configuration

Install the published npm package with npx -y atlassian-trello-mcp. The client configuration must provide the two Trello credential variables. Claude Desktop configuration uses an mcpServers entry with command set to npx and arguments containing -y and atlassian-trello-mcp.

Before configuring the client, create a Trello Power-Up, generate its API key, and authorize a token with the required read, write, and account scopes. The project README notes that each user must create their own Power-Up and token.

Set TRELLO_READ_ONLY=true to disable write operations and expose only read/query tools. This is appropriate when an agent should inspect workspace data without changing Trello.

Tools and capabilities

The agrath/Trello-Desktop-MCP MCP server includes tools for:

• Finding boards, cards, members, organizations, lists, and other Trello content through search.
• Inspecting boards, lists, cards, members, labels, custom fields, activity, and attachments.
• Creating cards and lists, updating card properties, moving or archiving cards, and adding comments.
• Creating, updating, assigning, removing, and deleting labels.
• Managing card members, checklists, checklist items, and card attachments.
• Uploading a local file or attaching a URL to a card.

Limitations and notes

The server requires Trello credentials; it does not provide anonymous Trello access. Image attachment handling is tied to get_card and depends on the client supporting inline MCP image content. Full-detail responses may return more data than compact responses, so the README advises using them selectively, particularly for larger boards.

The npm package and repository are presented as an active fork, published under the package name atlassian-trello-mcp. The documented compatible clients include Claude Desktop, Claude Code, and Gemini CLI; this listing specifically identifies Claude Desktop among the supported client options.