Trello MCP

What trello-mcp MCP server does

The trello-mcp MCP server exposes selected Trello API operations as MCP tools for clients that can launch a local process or connect over HTTP. It can identify the authenticated account, inspect token information, discover workspaces and boards, and retrieve related members, lists, cards, labels, memberships, and activity.

The available interface is centered on navigation and inspection, with a small set of list-management mutations. It can create boards and lists, update or archive lists, and move a list to another board. Board, workspace, member, list, and card resources can be queried by their Trello identifiers, with field selection and filtering supported by many tools.

This is a self-hosted community implementation that calls Trello's public API using credentials supplied by the operator. It should not be confused with Trello's official hosted MCP service.

How it works

The server authenticates to Trello with an API key and token. MCP clients invoke named tools, passing identifiers such as boardId, workspaceId, listId, cardId, or memberId. Collection tools accept filters and, where supported, pagination-related parameters such as limits, cursors expressed through time bounds, pages, and member fields.

Transport depends on how the process is run. Local MCP clients can start the server as a child process over stdio. Container deployments use Streamable HTTP, with an HTTP MCP endpoint and separate health and readiness endpoints. HTTP requests can optionally require a bearer token. Logs are kept on stderr for stdio operation, while Trello credentials are redacted from logs.

Setup and configuration

To run the trello-mcp MCP server, create a Trello app, obtain its API key, and authorize a token for the intended Trello account. Set TRELLO_API_KEY and TRELLO_TOKEN in the environment. The project documents Docker Compose with a published GHCR image, direct Docker execution, and local source builds.

Container configuration can select HTTP transport, logging level, host binding, port, image tag, and network name. Rate-limit capacity and retry delays are configurable for deployments handling larger workflows. MCP_AUTH_TOKEN adds bearer-token protection to HTTP MCP requests; health and readiness checks remain unauthenticated. Local development uses Node.js 24.x and pnpm 10.34.1 through Corepack.

Tools and capabilities

The trello-mcp MCP server includes these tool groups:

• Authentication: auth_whoami and auth_token_info.
• Boards: list, create, inspect, read fields, actions, lists, cards, custom fields, labels, members, and memberships.
• Workspaces: list workspaces, inspect one, and retrieve its boards, members, or actions.
• Members: inspect a member and list associated boards, cards, or workspaces.
• Lists: inspect, create, update, archive, move between boards, and read actions.
• Cards: inspect a card and retrieve its board.

Many read operations accept fields to limit returned data. Board, workspace, list, and member activity tools also expose filtering and pagination-related inputs.

Limitations and notes

The project is independent and community-maintained, with no affiliation, sponsorship, or endorsement from Trello or Atlassian. It requires the operator to manage Trello API credentials and the server deployment. The listed MCP interface does not include general card creation, card updates, comments, checklists, attachments, or label mutations, even though the project documentation describes broader roadmap or API-coverage material; verify the current tool catalog before depending on those workflows.

For repeatable container deployments, the documentation recommends selecting a release and verifying its image digest. Leaving HTTP authentication unset produces the default unauthenticated local behavior, so exposed deployments should be configured deliberately.