@shortcut/mcp

The MCP server for Shortcut.

Usage

Windsurf

See the official Windsurf docs for more information.

Open the Windsurf MCP Configuration Panel
Click Add custom server.
Add the following details and save the file:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "shortcut": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@shortcut/mcp@latest"
      ],
      "env": {
        "SHORTCUT_API_TOKEN": "<YOUR_SHORTCUT_API_TOKEN>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Cursor

See the official Cursor docs for more information.

Open (or create) the mcp.json file (it should be in ~/.cursor/mcp.json or <project-root>/.cursor/mcp.json, but see Cursor docs for more details).
Add the following details and save the file:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "shortcut": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@shortcut/mcp@latest"
      ],
      "env": {
        "SHORTCUT_API_TOKEN": "<YOUR_SHORTCUT_API_TOKEN>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Claude Code

See the official Claude Code docs for more information.

You can add a new MCP server from the Claude Code CLI. But modifying the json file directly is simpler!

You can either add a new MCP server from the command line:

# Grab your Shortcut token here: https://app.shortcut.com/settings/account/api-tokens
claude mcp add shortcut --transport=stdio -e API_KEY=$SHORTCUT_API_TOKEN -- npx -y @shortcut/mcp@latest

Or you can edit the local JSON file directly:

Open the Claude Code configuration file (it should be in ~/.claude.json).
Find the projects > mcpServers section and add the following details and save the file:

{
  "projects": {
    "mcpServers": {
      "shortcut": {
        "command": "npx",
        "args": [
          "-y",
          "@shortcut/mcp@latest"
        ],
        "env": {
          "SHORTCUT_API_TOKEN": "<YOUR_SHORTCUT_API_TOKEN>"
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Zed

Zed MCP Documentation

Open your settings.json file. Instructions here
Add the following details and save the file:

  "context_servers": {
    "shortcut": {
      "settings":{},
      "command": {
        "path": "<PATH/TO/NPX>",
        "args": [
          "-y",
          "@shortcut/mcp@latest"
        ],
        "env": {
          "SHORTCUT_API_TOKEN": "<YOUR_SHORTCUT_API_TOKEN>"
        }
      }
    }
  }

Available Tools

Stories

get-story - Get a single Shortcut story by ID
search-stories - Find Shortcut stories with filtering and search options
get-story-branch-name - Get the recommended branch name (based on workspace settings) for a specific story.
create-story - Create a new Shortcut story
update-story - Update an existing Shortcut story
upload-file-to-story - Upload a file and link it to a story
assign-current-user-as-owner - Assign the current user as the owner of a story
unassign-current-user-as-owner - Unassign the current user as the owner of a story
create-story-comment - Create a comment on a story
add-task-to-story - Add a task to a story
update-task - Update a task in a story
add-relation-to-story - Add a story relationship (relates to, blocks, duplicates, etc.)
add-external-link-to-story - Add an external link to a Shortcut story
remove-external-link-from-story - Remove an external link from a Shortcut story
set-story-external-links - Replace all external links on a story with a new set of links
get-stories-by-external-link - Find all stories that contain a specific external link

Epics

get-epic - Get a Shortcut epic by ID
search-epics - Find Shortcut epics with filtering and search options
create-epic - Create a new Shortcut epic

Iterations

get-iteration-stories - Get stories in a specific iteration by iteration ID
get-iteration - Get a Shortcut iteration by ID
search-iterations - Find Shortcut iterations with filtering and search options
create-iteration - Create a new Shortcut iteration with start/end dates
get-active-iterations - Get active iterations for the current user based on team memberships
get-upcoming-iterations - Get upcoming iterations for the current user based on team memberships

Objectives

get-objective - Get a Shortcut objective by ID
search-objectives - Find Shortcut objectives with filtering and search options

Teams

get-team - Get a Shortcut team by ID
list-teams - List all Shortcut teams

Workflows

get-default-workflow - Get the default workflow for a specific team or the workspace default
get-workflow - Get a Shortcut workflow by ID
list-workflows - List all Shortcut workflows

Users

get-current-user - Get the current user information
get-current-user-teams - Get a list of teams where the current user is a member
list-users - Get all workspace users

Documents

create-document - Create a new document in Shortcut with HTML content

Limit tools

You can limit the tools available to the LLM by setting the SHORTCUT_TOOLS environment variable to a comma-separated list of entity types.

Example:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "shortcut": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@shortcut/mcp@latest"
      ],
      "env": {
        "SHORTCUT_API_TOKEN": "<YOUR_SHORTCUT_API_TOKEN>",
        "SHORTCUT_TOOLS": "stories,epics"
      }
    }
  }
}

The following values are accepted:

users
stories
epics
iterations
objectives
teams
workflows
documents

Read-only mode

You can run the MCP server in read-only mode by setting the SHORTCUT_READONLY environment variable to true. This will disable all tools that modify data in Shortcut.

Example:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "shortcut": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@shortcut/mcp@latest"
      ],
      "env": {
        "SHORTCUT_API_TOKEN": "<YOUR_SHORTCUT_API_TOKEN>",
        "SHORTCUT_READONLY": "true"
      }
    }
  }
}

Issues and Troubleshooting

Before doing anything else, please make sure you are running the latest version!

If you run into problems using this MCP server, you have a couple of options:

Open an issue on GitHub
Ask for help in the community Slack

You can also check the list of common issues below to see if there is a known solution already.

Common Issues and Solutions

NPX command not working when using MISE for version management

If you are using MISE for managing Node and NPM versions, you may encounter a "Client closed" error when trying to run the MCP server. Installing this extension into your IDE might help: https://github.com/hverlin/mise-vscode/.

Development

Installation

npm install

Build

npm run build

Running the Development Server Locally

To test your local development version of the MCP server rather than using the published package, follow these steps:

Build the project:
```
npm run build
```

Create or modify your mcp.json file to reference your local build:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "shortcut": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": [
        "/path/to/your/local/mcp-server-shortcut/dist/index.js"
      ],
      "env": {
        "SHORTCUT_API_TOKEN": "<YOUR_SHORTCUT_API_TOKEN>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Place this mcp.json file in one of the following locations:
- For Cursor: In your home directory (~/.cursor/mcp.json) or in your project directory (.cursor/mcp.json)
- For Windsurf: Use the MCP Configuration Panel to add the custom server
Restart your AI assistant (Cursor or Windsurf) to load the new configuration.

This allows you to instantly test changes to the MCP server without having to publish a new version.