icon for mcp server

Todoist

STDIOHTTP-SSE

MCP server for managing Todoist tasks through natural language commands.

Todoist MCP Server

smithery badge Python Version License

Todoist MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for interacting with Todoist. This server allows you to manage your Todoist tasks using natural language commands through an MCP-compatible client. This server is built using fastmcp and the todoist-api-python library.

About The Project

You can run this server locally, and an MCP-compatible client (like Claude desktop) can then call its tools to perform actions in your Todoist. Check the project out on Smithery.

Key functionalities include:

  • Creating, reading, updating, and deleting tasks, projects, sections, labels, and comments.
  • Fetching data with filters and pagination.
  • Support for both stdio and SSE (Server-Sent Events) transport for MCP communication.

Recommended Use Cases

  • I primarily recommend using this in Claude Desktop or any other LLM that supports MCP integration. Here's how I use it:
    • Combine this with Google Calendar (or any other calendar) MCP to automatically timeblock your tasks based on times you are available, their deadlines, and priority levels. Also, you can automatically break down larger tasks into subtasks and schedule them over several days.
    • Combine this with an email MCP to generate + schedule tasks in Todoist. Especially useful for Canvas email notifications, and automatically scheduling homework.
    • Vibe-coding? Vibe-plan a sectioned, project plan with actionable, assigned tasks and descriptions that you can share with group members.

Prerequisites

  • Todoist Account: A valid Todoist account.
  • Todoist API Token: You can get your API token from your Todoist App: Settings -> Integrations -> Developer API Token.
  • Python: Version 3.12 or higher.
  • Package Manager: Either uv (recommended for speed) or pip with venv/conda

Installation

The (highly) recommended way to install and use this MCP server is with Smithery. Smithery is a command-line tool that helps you discover, install, and manage MCP servers.

Using Smithery CLI

  1. Install Smithery CLI (if you haven't already): You can install the Smithery CLI using npm:

    npm install -g @smithery/cli

    Or use it directly with npx:

    npx -y @smithery/cli --help

  2. Install the Todoist MCP Server: Use the Smithery CLI to install this server for your preferred MCP client. Replace <your_client_name> with the client you are using (e.g., claude, cursor, windsurf).

    npx -y @smithery/cli install @koji0701/todoist-mcp-server --client <your_client_name>

    For example, to install it for Claude Desktop:

    npx -y @smithery/cli install @koji0701/todoist-mcp-server --client claude

    Or for Cursor:

    npx -y @smithery/cli install @koji0701/todoist-mcp-server --client cursor

    Smithery will attempt to automatically configure the server with your chosen client.

Configuration

Todoist API Token

To allow this server to interact with your Todoist account, you need to provide a Todoist API token.

  1. Log in to your Todoist account.
  2. Go to Settings > Integrations.
  3. Under the "Developer" section, you will find your API token.
  4. Copy this token.

The Smithery installation process might prompt you for this token, or you may need to set it as an environment variable. The typical environment variable name is TODOIST_API_KEY or TODOIST_TOKEN. Please check the specific instructions provided by Smithery during installation or the requirements of your MCP client.

Usage

Once installed and configured, your MCP client (e.g., Claude Desktop, Cursor) will be able to list and utilize the tools provided by this server. You can then interact with your Todoist tasks using natural language prompts within your client.

Example (general idea, actual phrasing depends on the client and LLM):

  • "Create a new task in Todoist: Buy milk, due tomorrow."
  • "What are my Todoist tasks for today?"
  • "Mark 'Finish report' as complete in Todoist."

Refer to the documentation of your specific MCP client for more details on how to invoke tools.

Tools

This server will expose tools for common Todoist operations, such as:

  • Creating tasks
  • Getting (listing/filtering) tasks
  • Updating tasks
  • Completing tasks
  • Deleting tasks

You can find the specific list of tools and their parameters by:

Development (Optional, runs it locally)

If you want to contribute to this server or run it manually:

  1. Clone the repository:

    git clone https://github.com/koji0701/todoist-mcp-server.git
cd todoist-mcp-server

  2. Install dependencies: (Assuming Python is installed. Choose one of the following methods based on your preferred package/environment manager.)

    # Using uv
uv pip install -r requirements.txt
    # Or using Conda
# 1. Create and activate a new conda environment
conda create -n todoist_mcp_env python=3.12 
conda activate todoist_mcp_env

# 2. Install dependencies using pip within the conda environment
pip install -r requirements.txt
    # Or using pip with venv
python -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate  # On Windows, use: .venv\Scripts\activate
pip install -r requirements.txt

  3. Set environment variables: Create a .env file in the project root directory (todoist-mcp-server/.env):

    TODOIST_API_TOKEN="YOUR_TODOIST_API_TOKEN"

# Optional: For SSE transport (defaults to stdio if not set)
# TRANSPORT="sse"
# MCP_HOST="127.0.0.1"  # Default host for SSE
# MCP_PORT="8080"       # Default port for SSE

    Replace "YOUR_TODOIST_API_TOKEN" with your actual Todoist API token.

  4. Run the server:

    • If using uv:

      uv run server.py

      (uv run executes the command within the project's managed environment.)

    • If using pip with venv or conda (ensure the environment is activated):

      python server.py

This will typically start the server locally. You would then need to configure your MCP client to connect to this local instance if not using Smithery for a production/deployed setup.

Usage (if running locally)

  1. Run the server: Navigate to the project directory.

    • If using uv:

      uv run server.py

      (uv run executes the command within the project's managed environment.)

    • If using pip with venv or conda (ensure the environment is activated):

      python server.py

    You should see log messages indicating the server has started, e.g., Starting Todoist MCP server with stdio transport... or similar if SSE is configured.

  2. Transport Modes: The server can communicate with MCP clients using two transport modes, configured via the TRANSPORT environment variable (e.g., in your .env file or directly in the execution environment like in the Claude Desktop example).

    • stdio (default): The server communicates over standard input/output.
      • When to use: This mode is ideal for local MCP clients that manage the server as a subprocess. For example, Claude Desktop's custom tools feature typically relies on stdio communication. If TRANSPORT is not set, it defaults to stdio.
    • SSE (Server-Sent Events): The server uses Server-Sent Events over HTTP.
      • When to use: This mode is suitable for network-based MCP clients or when the server needs to be accessible over a network.
      • To use SSE, set TRANSPORT=sse in your .env file.
      • The host can be configured with MCP_HOST (default: 127.0.0.1).
      • The port can be configured with MCP_PORT (default: 8080).

  3. Interacting with the server (general): This server is designed to be used by an MCP client. For testing, if you have the mcp CLI tool installed:

    Example using mcp CLI with a server running in SSE mode (on default http://127.0.0.1:8080):

    # Ensure TRANSPORT=sse is set in your .env and the server is running (e.g., via 'uv run server.py')
# List all projects
mcp client call --uri http://127.0.0.1:8080/mcp todoist.get_projects

# Add a new task
mcp client call --uri http://127.0.0.1:8080/mcp todoist.add_task --content "Buy groceries" --due_string "tomorrow"

Using with Claude Desktop (if running locally)

Claude Desktop's custom tools feature allows you to integrate local MCP servers like this one.

  1. Ensure Prerequisites are Met:

    • You have installed the server following one of the methods above.
    • Your TODOIST_API_TOKEN is accessible to the server (via .env and directly in the Claude Desktop tool configuration as shown below).

  2. Configure Custom Tool in Claude Desktop:

    • Open Claude Desktop and navigate to the custom tools configuration.
    • Add a new tool, using a configuration structure similar to the example below.
    • Important: You must adjust the paths in the command and args (specifically the --directory path) to match your local setup. Also, the command itself (e.g., /opt/anaconda3/envs/mcp-py312/bin/uv) should point to your specific uv executable or the Python executable from your chosen virtual environment if you are not using uv as the direct command.

    Example JSON Configuration for Claude Desktop:

    {
    "mcpServers": {
        "todoist": {
            "command": "/opt/anaconda3/envs/mcp-py312/bin/uv", // <-- REPLACE with absolute path to your 'uv' or python executable
            "args": [
                "--directory",
                "/Users/kojiwong/Developer/todoist-mcp-server", // <-- REPLACE with absolute path to your project directory
                "run",
                "server.py"
            ],
            "env": {
                "TODOIST_API_TOKEN": "<YOUR_TODOIST_API_TOKEN>", // <-- REPLACE with your actual API token
                "PYTHONUNBUFFERED": "1",
                "TRANSPORT": "stdio"
            }
        }
    }
}

    Notes on the configuration:

    • command: This should be the absolute path to the executable that starts the server.
      • If using uv as in the example, it's the path to your uv binary.
      • If using a Python virtual environment (venv) directly, it would be the absolute path to the python (or python.exe) executable inside your .venv/bin (or .venv/Scripts) folder, and the args would change to ["/absolute/path/to/your/todoist-mcp-server/server.py"].
    • args:
      • The --directory argument tells uv where the project is located. Replace this path.
      • run server.py are arguments for uv.
    • env:
      • TODOIST_API_TOKEN: Crucial. Replace <YOUR_TODOIST_API_TOKEN> with your actual token.
      • PYTHONUNBUFFERED=1: Recommended for stdio tools to ensure smooth communication.
      • TRANSPORT="stdio": Explicitly sets the transport mode for Claude Desktop.
    • Tool Name/Namespace: Claude Desktop will discover tools under the todoist namespace (e.g., todoist.add_task).

  3. Using the Tools in Claude: Once configured, you should be able to invoke the Todoist tools from your Claude conversations. For example: "Claude, can you add a task to my Todoist to 'Review project proposal' for tomorrow?" Claude should then identify the need to use the todoist.add_task tool.

Configuration (via .env file)

If not configuring environment variables directly in the MCP client (like the Claude Desktop example), the server can be configured using a .env file in the project root:

  • TODOIST_API_TOKEN (Required): Your API token for accessing Todoist.
  • TRANSPORT (Optional): Specifies the communication transport.
    • stdio (default): Uses standard input/output.
    • sse: Uses Server-Sent Events over HTTP.
  • MCP_HOST (Optional, for SSE): The host address for the SSE server to bind to. Defaults to 127.0.0.1.
  • MCP_PORT (Optional, for SSE): The port for the SSE server to listen on. Defaults to 8080.

Available MCP Tools

The server exposes the following tools under the todoist namespace:

Tasks

  • add_task: Create a new task.
  • get_task: Get a specific task by its ID.
  • get_tasks: Get active tasks, optionally filtered.
  • filter_tasks: Get active tasks matching a filter query.
  • add_task_quick: Create a new task using Todoist's Quick Add syntax.
  • update_task: Update an existing task.
  • complete_task: Complete a task (maps to close_task).
  • uncomplete_task: Uncomplete a task (maps to reopen_task).
  • move_task: Move a task to a different project or section (via update_task).
  • delete_task: Delete a task.
  • get_completed_tasks_by_due_date: Get completed tasks within a due date range.
  • get_completed_tasks_by_completion_date: Get completed tasks within a completion date range.

Projects

  • add_project: Create a new project.
  • get_project: Get a project by its ID.
  • get_projects: Get all active projects.
  • update_project: Update an existing project.
  • archive_project: Archive a project.
  • unarchive_project: Unarchive a project.
  • delete_project: Delete a project.
  • get_collaborators: Get collaborators in a shared project.

Sections

  • add_section: Create a new section within a project.
  • get_section: Get a specific section by its ID.
  • get_sections: Get all active sections, optionally filtered by project.
  • update_section: Update an existing section's name.
  • delete_section: Delete a section.

Labels

  • add_label: Create a new personal label.
  • get_label: Get a specific personal label by its ID.
  • get_labels: Get all personal labels.
  • update_label: Update a personal label.
  • delete_label: Delete a personal label.
  • get_shared_labels: Get shared labels.
  • rename_shared_label: Rename a shared label (finds by name, updates by ID).
  • remove_shared_label: Remove a shared label (finds by name, deletes by ID).

Comments

  • add_comment: Create a new comment on a task or project.
  • get_comment: Get a specific comment by its ID.
  • get_comments: Get comments for a task or project.
  • update_comment: Update an existing comment's content.
  • delete_comment: Delete a comment.

Refer to the server.py file for detailed parameters of each tool.

Project Structure

  • server.py: Contains the main application logic, MCP tool definitions, and server execution.
  • utils.py: Utility functions, primarily for initializing the Todoist API client.
  • main.py: A minimal entry point (currently server.py is the primary executable script).
  • pyproject.toml: Defines project metadata, dependencies, and build system configuration.
  • uv.lock: Lock file for uv package manager, ensuring reproducible builds.
  • .gitignore: Specifies files and directories to be ignored by Git.
  • .python-version: Specifies the Python version (used by tools like pyenv).
  • README.md: This file.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a pull request or open an issue for bugs, feature requests, or improvements. Also, feel free to use this as a template for developing your own MCP server.

  1. Fork the Project
  2. Create your Feature Branch (git checkout -b feature/AmazingFeature)
  3. Commit your Changes (git commit -m 'Add some AmazingFeature')
  4. Push to the Branch (git push origin feature/AmazingFeature)
  5. Open a Pull Request

License

Distributed under the MIT License. See LICENSE for more information.

Be the First to Experience MCP Now