Kanboard MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that exposes Kanboard API functionality to Large Language Models (LLMs), enabling AI assistants to interact with Kanboard project management system.

Features

This MCP server provides access to 60+ Kanboard API endpoints organized into the following categories:

• Projects (5 tools): Get all projects, get project by ID/name, project activity

• Tasks (11 tools): Create, read, update, delete tasks; search tasks; handle overdue tasks

• Categories (2 tools): Get categories for projects

• Columns (2 tools): Get board columns information

• Boards (1 tool): Get board information

• Comments (5 tools): Create, read, update, delete comments on tasks

• Users (9 tools): Get user information, current user data, dashboard, projects

• Links (12 tools): Create and manage task links and link types

• Subtasks (5 tools): Create, read, update, delete subtasks

• Tags (4 tools): Manage task tags

• Files (6 tools): Upload, download, and manage task file attachments

Installation

Prerequisites

• Python 3.10 or higher

• Access to a Kanboard instance with API enabled

• Kanboard API token

Install from PyPI (Recommended)

# Install using uvx (no need to manage Python environments)
uvx kanboard-mcp

# Or install with pip
pip install kanboard-mcp

Install from Source

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/hoducha/kanboard-mcp.git
cd kanboard-mcp

# Install with uv
uv sync

# Or install with pip
pip install -e .

Development Installation

# With uv
uv sync --all-extras

# Or with pip
pip install -e ".[dev]"

Configuration

Environment Variables

Create a .env file in the project root with the following variables:

# Required
KANBOARD_URL=https://your-kanboard.com/jsonrpc.php
KANBOARD_API_TOKEN=your_api_token_here

# Optional
KANBOARD_USERNAME=jsonrpc
KANBOARD_VERIFY_SSL=true
KANBOARD_TIMEOUT=30
KANBOARD_MAX_RETRIES=3
KANBOARD_RETRY_DELAY=1.0

# MCP Server settings
MCP_SERVER_NAME="Kanboard MCP Server"
MCP_SERVER_VERSION="0.1.0"
DEBUG=false

Getting Your API Token

1. Log into your Kanboard instance

2. Go to Settings → API

3. Generate a new API token

4. Copy the token and use it as KANBOARD_API_TOKEN

Usage

Running the Server

# Using uvx (recommended - no installation needed)
uvx kanboard-mcp

# Or using the installed command
kanboard-mcp

# Or using Python module
python -m kanboard_mcp.server

MCP Client Integration

Add the server to your MCP client configuration. For Claude Desktop, add to your claude_desktop_config.json:

Option 1: Using uvx (Recommended)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "kanboard": {
      "command": "/Users/username/.local/bin/uvx",
      "args": ["kanboard-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "KANBOARD_URL": "https://your-kanboard.com/jsonrpc.php",
        "KANBOARD_API_TOKEN": "your_api_token_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Note: Replace /Users/username/.local/bin/uvx with your actual uvx path. Find it by running which uvx in your terminal.

Option 2: Using installed package

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "kanboard": {
      "command": "kanboard-mcp",
      "env": {
        "KANBOARD_URL": "https://your-kanboard.com/jsonrpc.php",
        "KANBOARD_API_TOKEN": "your_api_token_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Testing the Connection

The server provides built-in tools for testing:

• test_connection: Test connection to Kanboard

• get_server_info: Get server information and capabilities

• get_config_info: Get current configuration (without sensitive data)

API Tools

Projects

• getAllProjects(): Get all projects

• getProjectById(project_id): Get project by ID

• getProjectByName(project_name): Get project by name

• getProjectActivity(project_id): Get project activity

• getProjectActivities(project_id): Get project activities

Tasks

• getAllTasks(project_id, status_id?): Get all tasks for a project

• getTask(task_id): Get specific task

• getTaskByReference(project_id, reference): Get task by reference

• getOverdueTasks(): Get all overdue tasks

• getOverdueTasksByProject(project_id): Get overdue tasks for project

• createTask(project_id, title, ...): Create new task

• updateTask(task_id, ...): Update existing task

• openTask(task_id): Open task

• closeTask(task_id): Close task

• removeTask(task_id): Delete task

• searchTasks(project_id, query, ...): Search tasks

Comments

• createComment(task_id, content, user_id?): Create comment

• getComment(comment_id): Get comment

• getAllComments(task_id): Get all comments for task

• updateComment(comment_id, content): Update comment

• removeComment(comment_id): Delete comment

And many more...

See the individual tool modules in src/kanboard_mcp/tools/ for complete API documentation.

Error Handling

All tools return responses in the format:

{
  "success": true,
  "data": { ... }
}

Or on error:

{
  "success": false,
  "error": "Error message"
}

Development

Project Structure

kanboard-mcp/
├── src/kanboard_mcp/
│   ├── __init__.py
│   ├── server.py           # Main MCP server
│   ├── config.py           # Configuration management
│   ├── client.py           # Kanboard client wrapper
│   └── tools/              # API tool implementations
│       ├── projects.py
│       ├── tasks.py
│       ├── categories.py
│       ├── columns.py
│       ├── boards.py
│       ├── comments.py
│       ├── users.py
│       ├── links.py
│       ├── subtasks.py
│       ├── tags.py
│       └── files.py
├── pyproject.toml
└── README.md

Running Tests

pytest

Code Quality

# Format code
black src/

# Sort imports
isort src/

# Type checking
mypy src/

# Linting
ruff src/

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

1. Connection Errors: Check your KANBOARD_URL and ensure the API endpoint is correct

2. Authentication Errors: Verify your KANBOARD_API_TOKEN is valid

3. SSL Errors: Set KANBOARD_VERIFY_SSL=false for self-signed certificates (not recommended for production)

4. Timeout Issues: Increase KANBOARD_TIMEOUT value

Claude Desktop Issues

Python Command Not Found (spawn python ENOENT)

If you get this error, Claude Desktop can't find the Python executable. Here are the solutions in order of preference:

1. Use uvx (RECOMMENDED):

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "kanboard": {
         "command": "/Users/username/.local/bin/uvx",
         "args": ["kanboard-mcp"],
         "env": { ... }
       }
     }
   }

2. Use pip-installed package:

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "kanboard": {
         "command": "kanboard-mcp",
         "env": { ... }
       }
     }
   }

3. Use full Python path:

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "kanboard": {
         "command": "/usr/local/bin/python3",
         "args": ["-m", "kanboard_mcp.server"],
         "env": {
           "PYTHONPATH": "/path/to/site-packages",
           ...
         }
       }
     }
   }

Benefits of uvx:

• No need to manage Python environments

• Automatically installs and runs the latest version

• Works across different Python installations

• Simplest configuration

Debug Mode

Enable debug mode for detailed logging:

DEBUG=true kanboard-mcp

Contributing

1. Fork the repository

2. Create a feature branch

3. Make your changes

4. Add tests

5. Run code quality checks

6. Submit a pull request

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.

Support

For issues and questions:

• Check the troubleshooting section

• Review Kanboard API documentation: https://docs.kanboard.org/v1/api/

• Open an issue on GitHub