todoist-mcp

A purpose-built, local-stdio Model Context Protocol server for a single personal Todoist (GTD) account. It exposes a deliberately narrow tool surface, an env-gated read-only mode, and in-server prompt-injection mitigations.

It was built fresh against the Todoist API v1. It is not a fork of any existing server; two proven patterns (SSRF allowlist, token redaction) were reimplemented from MadLlama25/fastmail-mcp as reference, everything else is written clean.

Why this exists (and the one hard limitation)

Off-the-shelf Todoist MCP servers were rejected because none offers a credential-level read-only tier reachable from local stdio, and all expose far more surface than personal GTD needs. This server gives a controlled tool set, in-server injection defenses, an env-gated read-only mode, and full auditability.

Credential constraint — read this first

Todoist's personal API token (TODOIST_API_KEY, from Settings → Integrations → Developer) is always full read + write, account-wide. Todoist has no scope parameter, flag, or token tier that narrows a personal token to read-only. Scoped OAuth exists, but only via a registered OAuth app + browser consent flow, which does not fit the per-subagent local-stdio isolation pattern this connection uses.

Therefore the token can always write. All read/write separation in this server is enforced in the server process, not at the credential layer. On the connection-architecture "enforcement ladder" this is the server layer (strong: holds regardless of harness behavior) — but it is softer than a credential-layer guarantee, because the same token, used by a different process, could still write. This is stated plainly, not hidden.

Env-gated read-only mode

The server reads TODOIST_READONLY once, at process startup, when it registers tools:

When read-only, the write tools are not registered at all — they are absent from the process, not merely hidden or rejected. This is not a runtime toggle; nothing flips it mid-session. Which mode you get is decided entirely by the launching environment (i.e. which subagent frontmatter launched the process).

What read-only mode does and does NOT protect against

• Does: cap the blast radius of a data-borne injection during a read session. If a task or comment contains "delete everything in project X" and the reading process has no write tools registered, the injected instruction has nothing to call.

• Does NOT: protect against a compromised orchestrator that can choose to invoke a write-capable process. Read-only mode is not a defense against orchestrator compromise, and this README does not claim it is.

Tool set

Read tools are registered in all modes. Write tools are registered only when TODOIST_READONLY=false.

Read tools (all modes)

Write tools (only when TODOIST_READONLY=false)

Never implemented / never registered (any mode)

delete-object (deletion is a manual, human-only operation), manage-assignments, list-workspaces, find-project-collaborators, get-workspace-insights, analyze-project-health, get-productivity-stats, get-project-activity-stats, project-health, reorder-objects, project-move, add-reminders, add-filters, update-filters.

There is no delete tool of any kind. Removing a task, project, section, or label is done by a human in Todoist directly. Reminders and filters may be added later if adopted; they are deliberately out of scope for now.

In-server injection mitigations

Ingress is the read path: untrusted content enters agent context when a tool reads task/description/comment/project/section/label text. All of the following are built in:

1. Content framing — every untrusted field value is wrapped in explicit ‹UNTRUSTED›…‹/UNTRUSTED› delimiters marking it as data, not instructions, with a leading notice on every read result. A field cannot forge a closing fence (any embedded fence marker is neutralized).

2. HTML/markdown stripping — HTML tags/comments are removed, markdown links/images/emphasis/code markers are defanged, and control characters are stripped, before framing.

3. Output-size caps — total text returned by any read tool is bounded (TODOIST_MAX_OUTPUT_CHARS, default 50000) and each field is capped (TODOIST_MAX_FIELD_CHARS, default 2000); pagination is bounded (TODOIST_MAX_ITEMS, default 200). A huge list cannot flood context.

4. SSRF allowlist — every outbound request is pinned to https://api.todoist.com. Any other host, or non-HTTPS scheme, is rejected before a socket opens.

5. Token redaction — the API token is registered as a secret at startup and scrubbed from all logs and error messages; Bearer … / Authorization: material is also redacted generically. Logs go to stderr only (stdout is the MCP transport).

6. Env-gated read-only registration — as described above.

A full prompt-injection threat model for this connection is deliberately deferred (a task list is a narrower, lower-stakes blast radius than a mailbox). The six mitigations above are the agreed baseline.

Configuration

All configuration is environment-based and read once at startup. See .env.example.

Credential storage (deployment)

Follow the M365 / Fastmail file precedent on the host (LegioNix):

• Store the token in a file owned by claudecode, mode 0600, inside a directory mode 0700 — e.g. /home/claudecode/.todoist-mcp/token.

• Point the subagent at it with TODOIST_API_KEY_FILE=/home/claudecode/.todoist-mcp/token.

• Never commit a real token. .gitignore excludes .env, *.token, and secrets/.

install -d -m 0700 -o claudecode -g claudecode /home/claudecode/.todoist-mcp
printf '%s' 'YOUR_TODOIST_TOKEN' > /home/claudecode/.todoist-mcp/token
chmod 0600 /home/claudecode/.todoist-mcp/token

Running

npm install

# read-only (default)
TODOIST_API_KEY=... node src/index.js

# read/write
TODOIST_API_KEY=... TODOIST_READONLY=false node src/index.js

The server speaks MCP over stdio. It is intended to be launched by a Claude Code subagent via inline mcpServers frontmatter — see .claude/agents/todoist.md, which follows the m365-briefing isolation pattern.

Tests

npm test                 # offline suite (registration, config, sanitize, redact, client/SSRF, MCP e2e)

# real spawned-process checks (fake token; tools/list makes no network call)
TODOIST_READONLY=true  node scripts/stdio-check.js
TODOIST_READONLY=false node scripts/stdio-check.js

# LIVE write round-trip — needs a real token, hits the real account
TODOIST_API_KEY=... TODOIST_READONLY=false npm run smoke

The offline suite covers: excluded tools absent in every mode; read-only vs. read/write registration split (verified both in-process and against a real spawned stdio process); content framing + markup stripping; forged-fence neutralization; per-field and whole-output size caps; token redaction (including on a deliberately triggered error); and the SSRF allowlist rejecting non-api.todoist.com hosts and non-HTTPS schemes.

The one acceptance test that cannot run offline is the live write round-trip (add + read-back + complete a throwaway task) — run npm run smoke with a real token to exercise it.

Layout

src/
  index.js      stdio bootstrap; reads config once, connects transport
  server.js     builds the MCP server; env-gated tool registration
  config.js     env parsing; read-only default; token resolution (env or file)
  client.js     Todoist API v1 client; SSRF allowlist; pagination
  sanitize.js   framing + markup stripping + size caps (read-path ingress)
  shape.js      raw API object -> compact, sanitized result object
  redact.js     token/secret redaction
  logger.js     stderr logging (redacted)
  tools/read.js   the 7 read tools
  tools/write.js  the 9 write tools (registered only when writes enabled)
scripts/
  stdio-check.js  list tools from a real spawned process
  live-smoke.js   live write round-trip (needs a real token)
test/             offline test suite
.claude/agents/todoist.md   the read/write subagent (inline mcpServers frontmatter)