YNAB MCP Server
Server Configuration
Describes the environment variables required to run the server.
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| YNAB_API_TOKEN | Yes | Your Personal Access Token from YNAB (required) | |
| YNAB_BUDGET_ID | No | Your YNAB budget ID (optional) |
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": true
} |
Tools
Functions exposed to the LLM to take actions
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| ynab_list_budgetsB | Lists all available budgets from YNAB API |
| ynab_get_unapproved_transactionsA | Gets unapproved transactions from a budget. First time pulls last 3 days, subsequent pulls use server knowledge to get only changes. |
| ynab_budget_summaryA | Get a summary of the budget for a specific month highlighting overspent categories that need attention and categories with a positive balance that are doing well. |
| ynab_create_transactionB | Creates a new transaction in your YNAB budget. Either payeeId or payeeName must be provided in addition to the other required fields. |
| ynab_approve_transactionB | Approves an existing transaction in your YNAB budget. |
| ynab_update_category_budgetA | Updates the budgeted amount for a category in a specific month. Use this to allocate funds to categories or move money between categories. |
| ynab_update_transactionA | Updates an existing transaction. All fields except transactionId are optional - only provide fields you want to change. |
| ynab_bulk_approve_transactionsA | Approves multiple transactions at once. Provide an array of transaction IDs to approve them all in a single API call. |
| ynab_list_payeesA | Lists all payees in a budget. Useful for finding payee IDs when creating transactions. |
| ynab_get_transactionsB | Gets transactions from a budget with optional filters. Can filter by date range, account, category, payee, or approval status. |
| ynab_delete_transactionA | Deletes a transaction from the budget. This action cannot be undone. |
| ynab_list_categoriesA | Lists all categories in a budget, grouped by category group. Useful for finding category IDs when creating transactions or updating budgets. |
| ynab_list_accountsA | Lists all accounts in a budget. Useful for finding account IDs when creating transactions. |
| ynab_list_scheduled_transactionsB | Lists all scheduled (recurring) transactions in a budget. |
| ynab_import_transactionsA | Imports available transactions on all linked accounts for the budget. This triggers an import from connected financial institutions (equivalent to clicking 'Import' in the YNAB app). |
| ynab_list_monthsB | Lists all budget months. Each month contains summary information about budgeting status. |
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 16 tools
Most tools are clearly distinct by resource (transactions, budgets, accounts, categories, payees, months). The only potential confusion is between ynab_get_unapproved_transactions and ynab_get_transactions with an approval filter, but the dedicated unapproved tool has a distinct purpose (pulling pending items for review).
All tools follow a consistent ynab_verb_noun pattern (e.g., ynab_list_accounts, ynab_create_transaction, ynab_delete_transaction). Minor deviation: ynab_budget_summary uses a noun phrase instead of a verb, but it's still readable and consistent with the prefix.
16 tools is slightly above the ideal 3-15 range but appropriate for a budgeting app covering transactions, budgets, accounts, categories, payees, and scheduled transactions. Each tool serves a distinct purpose and the count feels justified rather than bloated.
The tool surface covers core YNAB workflows: listing budgets/accounts/categories/payees, creating/updating/deleting/approving transactions, importing, and updating category budgets. Minor gaps include no direct way to create or update scheduled transactions, and no month-level budget reset or category rename, but agents can accomplish most tasks.