Todoist MCP server

The Todoist MCP Server enables Claude to interact with Todoist for task management through natural language. It acts as an intermediary between Claude and the Todoist API, handling authentication, data transformation, and command execution for seamless task management capabilities.

Prerequisites

• Python 3.12
• uv
• A Todoist account and API token

Getting Your Todoist API Token

1. Login to your Todoist account
2. Go to User Settings -> Integrations -> Developer
3. Copy API token

Installation Options

Running Without Cloning (Using UVX)

You can run the server directly from GitHub using UVX:

uvx --from https://github.com/Johnxjp/todoist-mcp-python.git mcp-server-todoist

Then add this configuration to your Claude settings:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "todoist-server": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "--from", 
        "https://github.com/Johnxjp/todoist-mcp-python.git", 
        "mcp-server-todoist"
      ],
      "env": {
        "TODOIST_API_TOKEN": "YOUR_API_TOKEN"
      }
    }
  }
}

Running From Cloned Repository

If you prefer to clone the repository:

git clone [email protected]:Johnxjp/todoist-mcp-python.git

Then add to your Claude config file:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "todoist-server": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "--with",
        "mcp[cli]",
        "--with",
        "todoist_api_python",
        "mcp",
        "run",
        "/full/path/to/todoist_server.py"
      ],
      "env": {
        "TODOIST_API_TOKEN": "YOUR_API_TOKEN"
      }
    }
  }
}

Available Tools

The server provides the following tools for Claude to use:

1. create_task

Creates a new task in Todoist.

• Required: content (title of the task)
• Optional: description, due_date, priority, project_id, section_id, labels

2. get_tasks

Gets a list of tasks and IDs from Todoist with various filters.

• Optional: project_id, project_name, task_name, priority, labels, is_overdue, limit

3. update_task

Updates an existing task by searching for it by name.

• Required: task_id
• Optional: content, description, labels, priority, due_date (YYYY-MM-DD), deadline_date (YYYY-MM-DD)

4. delete_task

Deletes a task by searching for it by name.

• Required: task_id

5. complete_task

Marks a task as complete by searching for it by name.

• Required: task_id

Example Interactions

Here are some examples of how Claude can interact with Todoist through this MCP server:

• "Add a task to buy groceries"
• "Show me all my urgent tasks"
• "What tasks are due today?"
• "Mark the laundry task as done"
• "Change the priority of my dentist appointment to urgent"

Security Considerations

• The server securely handles your Todoist API token through environment variables
• Never share your .env file or expose your API token
• The server runs locally and communicates only with the Todoist API

How to install this MCP server

For Claude Code

To add this MCP server to Claude Code, run this command in your terminal:

claude mcp add-json "todoist-server" '{"command":"uvx","args":["--from","https://github.com/Johnxjp/todoist-mcp-python.git","mcp-server-todoist"],"env":{"TODOIST_API_TOKEN":"YOUR_API_TOKEN"}}'

See the official Claude Code MCP documentation for more details.

For Cursor

There are two ways to add an MCP server to Cursor. The most common way is to add the server globally in the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file so that it is available in all of your projects.

If you only need the server in a single project, you can add it to the project instead by creating or adding it to the .cursor/mcp.json file.

Adding an MCP server to Cursor globally

To add a global MCP server go to Cursor Settings > Tools & Integrations and click "New MCP Server".

When you click that button the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file will be opened and you can add your server like this:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "todoist-server": {
            "command": "uvx",
            "args": [
                "--from",
                "https://github.com/Johnxjp/todoist-mcp-python.git",
                "mcp-server-todoist"
            ],
            "env": {
                "TODOIST_API_TOKEN": "YOUR_API_TOKEN"
            }
        }
    }
}

Adding an MCP server to a project

To add an MCP server to a project you can create a new .cursor/mcp.json file or add it to the existing one. This will look exactly the same as the global MCP server example above.

How to use the MCP server

Once the server is installed, you might need to head back to Settings > MCP and click the refresh button.

The Cursor agent will then be able to see the available tools the added MCP server has available and will call them when it needs to.

You can also explicitly ask the agent to use the tool by mentioning the tool name and describing what the function does.

For Claude Desktop

To add this MCP server to Claude Desktop:

1. Find your configuration file:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
• Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

2. Add this to your configuration file:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "todoist-server": {
            "command": "uvx",
            "args": [
                "--from",
                "https://github.com/Johnxjp/todoist-mcp-python.git",
                "mcp-server-todoist"
            ],
            "env": {
                "TODOIST_API_TOKEN": "YOUR_API_TOKEN"
            }
        }
    }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect