YNAB Budget MCP
Server Configuration
Describes the environment variables required to run the server.
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| YNAB_ACCESS_TOKEN | Yes | Your YNAB Personal Access Token from YNAB developer settings. | |
| YNAB_ENABLE_WRITES | No | Set to 'true' to enable the experimental write workflow. Leave unset for read-only mode. | false |
Instructions
Guidance the server publishes about itself, which clients place ahead of the tool catalog so the model reads it before choosing anything.
This server publishes no instructions, or was last inspected before Glama recorded them.
Capabilities
Features and capabilities supported by this server
Protocol revision2025-11-25
| Capability | Details |
|---|---|
| tools | {
"listChanged": false
} |
Tools
Functions exposed to the LLM to take actions
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| ynab_list_plansA | List the YNAB plans available to the configured token. |
| ynab_get_budget_snapshotA | Get a high-level snapshot of a YNAB plan for a given month, including month details, account totals, and category highlights. |
| ynab_list_accountsB | List accounts for a YNAB plan. |
| ynab_list_categoriesA | List category groups and categories for a YNAB plan, with optional month context. |
| ynab_list_transactionsA | List transactions for a YNAB plan with optional date, month, account, category, payee, and limit filters. |
| ynab_get_month_categoryB | Get one exact category for one exact YNAB plan month. |
| ynab_list_scheduled_transactionsA | List and project scheduled YNAB transaction occurrences through a bounded date horizon. |
| ynab_list_payeesA | List payees for a YNAB plan. |
| ynab_preview_assignmentsA | Freshly validate exact category assignment deltas and create a short-lived preview token without changing YNAB. |
| ynab_apply_assignment_previewA | Apply a short-lived assignment preview token only after the user explicitly approves the exact preview. |
Prompts
Interactive templates invoked by user choice
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
No prompts | |
Resources
Contextual data attached and managed by the client
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
No resources | |
TDQS
Scored across 10 tools
Each tool targets a distinct resource or action: plans, budget snapshots, accounts, categories, transactions, scheduled transactions, payees, and assignment preview/apply. Even the category-related tools are clearly separated by scope (list vs single snapshot vs exact month detail).
All tools follow a consistent ynab_verb_noun pattern, e.g., ynab_list_transactions, ynab_get_month_category, ynab_preview_assignments. The minor variation between 'preview_assignments' and 'apply_assignment_preview' still fits the verb_noun structure with compound nouns.
10 tools is well within the ideal range for a domain-specific MCP server. Each tool covers a meaningful atomic operation without unnecessary bloat, making the surface easy to navigate.
The read surface is strong, covering plans, accounts, categories, transactions, scheduled transactions, and payees, plus a write path for assignment preview/apply. However, there are notable gaps: no create/update/delete for transactions or accounts, and no way to modify categories other than via assignments. Agents needing full budget management would encounter dead ends.