Trello MCP Server - Optimized

A high-performance Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for Trello integration with 97% token reduction through intelligent response optimization.

Installation

Option 1: Quick Setup (Recommended)

# Download and run the setup script
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Deepankar1993/trello-mcp-server-optimize/master/install.sh && chmod +x install.sh && ./install.sh

This will:

• Install the package globally

• Configure your Trello API credentials

• Set up Claude Desktop/CLI automatically

Option 2: Manual Installation

# Install globally
npm install -g @cyberdeep/trello-mcp-server-optimize

After installation, configure Claude using one of these methods:

Claude CLI

claude mcp add-json trello-mcp-server --scope user '{
  "command": "trello-mcp-optimize",
  "args": [],
  "env": {
    "TRELLO_API_KEY": "your_api_key",
    "TRELLO_TOKEN": "your_token"
  }
}'

Claude Desktop

Manually add to your config file:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "trello-mcp-server": {
      "command": "trello-mcp-optimize",
      "args": [],
      "env": {
        "TRELLO_API_KEY": "your_api_key",
        "TRELLO_TOKEN": "your_token"
      }
    }
  }
}

Related MCP server: Trello MCP Server

Configuration

Get Trello API Credentials

1. Visit Trello Power-Ups Admin

2. Click "New" and create a Power-Up

3. Generate an API Key and Token

Alternative: Using NPX (No Install Required)

You can also use npx directly without installing:

Claude Desktop Config

Add to your config file:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

• Linux: ~/.config/claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "trello-mcp-server": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@cyberdeep/trello-mcp-server-optimize"],
      "env": {
        "TRELLO_API_KEY": "your_api_key",
        "TRELLO_TOKEN": "your_token"
      }
    }
  }
}

Features

• 🚀 97% Token Reduction - Intelligent response filtering and summarization

• 📊 Smart Defaults - Automatic optimization based on operation type

• ⚡ High Performance - In-memory caching with smart TTLs

• 🔧 Full Trello API Coverage - 75+ operations for boards, cards, lists, and more

• 📦 Zero Configuration - Works out of the box with sensible defaults

• 🔄 100% Backward Compatible - Drop-in replacement for existing integrations

Usage Examples

// Get your boards (automatically optimized)
"Show me my Trello boards"

// Create a new card
"Create a card called 'Review documentation' in my To Do list"

// Get cards with optimization
"Get the first 10 urgent cards from my project board"

// Summarize large datasets
"Give me a summary of all cards in my backlog"

Performance Comparison

Available Tools

Board Operations

• get_boards - List all boards

• get_board - Get board details

• create_board - Create new board

• update_board - Update board

• delete_board - Delete board

• get_board_lists - Get lists on board

• get_board_members - Get board members

• get_board_labels - Get board labels

Card Operations

• get_card - Get card details

• create_card - Create new card

• update_card - Update card

• delete_card - Delete card

• move_card_to_list - Move card

• add_comment - Add comment to card

• add_member - Assign member to card

• set_due_date - Set card due date

List Operations

• get_list - Get list details

• create_list - Create new list

• update_list - Update list

• archive_list - Archive list

• get_cards_in_list - Get cards in list

• move_all_cards - Move all cards

See full API documentation →

Advanced Features

Optimization Levels

// Minimal - Essential fields only (90% reduction)
{ tool: "get_boards", arguments: { detailLevel: "minimal" } }

// Standard - Common fields (default)
{ tool: "get_card", arguments: { cardId: "123" } }

// Detailed - Most fields
{ tool: "get_board", arguments: { boardId: "456", detailLevel: "detailed" } }

// Full - Complete response
{ tool: "get_card", arguments: { cardId: "789", detailLevel: "full" } }

Array Optimization

// Limit results
{ tool: "get_cards_in_list", arguments: { listId: "abc", maxItems: 10 } }

// Summarize large datasets (returns 5 items by default with statistics)
{ tool: "get_boards", arguments: { summarize: true } }

// Summarize with custom limit (returns 20 items with statistics)
{ tool: "get_cards_in_list", arguments: { listId: "abc", summarize: true, maxItems: 20 } }

Note on summarize parameter:

• When summarize: true is used, the response includes only the first 5 items by default along with summary statistics

• Use maxItems together with summarize: true to override the default 5-item limit

• Without summarize or with summarize: false, all items are returned (unless limited by maxItems)

Development

# Clone repository
git clone https://github.com/Deepankar1993/trello-mcp-server-optimize.git
cd trello-mcp-server-optimize

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Build
npm run build

# Run tests
npm test

Environment Variables

Required:

• TRELLO_API_KEY - Your Trello API key

• TRELLO_TOKEN - Your Trello API token

Optional:

• ENABLE_RESPONSE_OPTIMIZATION - Enable/disable optimization (default: true)

• DEFAULT_OPTIMIZATION_LEVEL - Default optimization level (default: smart)

• ENABLE_CACHING - Enable response caching (default: true)

Troubleshooting

Connection Issues

If you see "Status: ✘ failed" in Claude:

1. Verify your API credentials are correct

2. Restart Claude Desktop completely

3. Check the logs for errors

Common Issues

• NPX not working: Use global install instead: npm install -g @cyberdeep/trello-mcp-server-optimize

• Permission errors: Use sudo npm install -g or configure npm to use a different directory

• Server not found: Make sure the package is installed globally

Full troubleshooting guide →

Documentation

• Architecture Guide

• API Reference

• Optimization Guide

• Migration Guide

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please read our contributing guidelines and submit pull requests to our repository.

License

MIT © Deepankar

Support

• 🐛 Report Issues

• 💬 Discussions

• 📧 Email Support