In-depth architectural comparison of the Things MCP and MCP Microsoft Todo MCP servers. Compare execution transports, security boundaries, tool capabilities, quality scores, and ready-to-paste client installation snippets for Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, and VS Code.
At a Glance & Executive Verdict
Things MCP
Other Tools and Integrations · Local stdio
Quality: 48/100 (Fair) | Auth: No auth required
MCP Microsoft Todo
Other Tools and Integrations · Local stdio
Quality: 61/100 (Good) | Auth: OAuth 2.0
Verdict Summary: Choose Things MCP if you need specialized Other Tools and Integrations tools running via a local process. Choose MCP Microsoft Todo if your workspace requires Other Tools and Integrations integration with local subprocess execution. Both servers can be configured concurrently in your client's mcpServers manifest.
Which MCP Server Should You Choose?
Choose Things MCP when:
You need dedicated capabilities in the Other Tools and Integrations domain.
You prefer local stdio subprocess transport architecture.
Your security boundary fits: No auth required (Free / Open Source).
Primary tools included: Todo and project creation, Todo and project updates, Natural-language scheduling.
A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides seamless integration with the Things productivity app. This server enables AI assistants to create, update, and manage your todos and projects in Things using its comprehensive URL scheme.
Microsoft To Do task management via Microsoft Graph API. MSAL device code flow (no client secret needed), persisted token cache, full MCP safety annotations.
Category & Scope
Tools & Capabilities Breakdown
Things MCP Tools (6)
Todo and project creation
Todo and project updates
Natural-language scheduling
Tags, areas, headings, and checklists
Search and list navigation
JSON batch operations
MCP Microsoft Todo Tools (28)
list_task_lists
List all the user's To Do lists (Tasks, Inbox, custom lists, etc.).
Ready-to-Paste Client Configurations
Paste either (or both) of these JSON server blocks into your client config file (e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json).
Things MCP is categorized under Other Tools and Integrations and uses a local stdio subprocess. In contrast, MCP Microsoft Todo belongs to Other Tools and Integrations using local stdio subprocess. Select Things MCP when you need capabilities focused on other tools and integrations and MCP Microsoft Todo when you require tools for other tools and integrations.
List the tasks of a To Do list. Supports OData filter, $orderby, $top, and pagination.
get_task
Fetch a task's detail by ID.
create_task
Create a new task in a To Do list. Supports recurrence and reminder.
update_task
Update an existing task (title, status, recurrence, reminder, etc.).
complete_task
Shortcut to mark a task as completed.
delete_task
Delete a task permanently.
move_task
Move a task from one list to another. Recreates the task in the target list (title, body, due, recurrence, reminder, categories preserved) then deletes the original. Note: checklistItems and linkedResources are NOT moved (Graph limitation). The task ID changes.
search_tasks
Search a term in the titles of tasks across ALL lists (case-sensitive). By default excludes completed tasks.
summarize_today
Summary of tasks due today and overdue, aggregated per list. Useful for the question "what do I have to do today?".
list_all_tasks
Fetch every active task across every list in a single round-trip (uses Graph $batch internally). Use this for the question "what are all my tasks?" instead of N×list_tasks calls. Optional `filter` is an OData filter applied per list (e.g. "importance eq 'high'"). By default `status ne 'completed'` is appended unless `include_completed` is true.