The WorkFlowy MCP Server integrates WorkFlowy's outline and task management with LLM applications through CRUD operations on nodes.
Capabilities:
Create nodes: Add new items with customizable name, notes, layout mode (bullets, todo, h1-h3), position (top/bottom), initial completion status, and parent hierarchy
Update nodes: Modify existing node properties including name, notes, layout mode, and completion status
Retrieve nodes: Fetch specific nodes by ID with all metadata (timestamps, completion status, layout)
List nodes: Navigate the hierarchy by listing root-level nodes or children of any parent node
Delete nodes: Remove nodes and all their children from the outline
Manage completion: Mark nodes as completed or uncompleted for task tracking workflows
Error handling: Receive consistent error responses with type, message, and context
Performance configuration: Optional rate limiting, retry logic, and timeout settings via environment variables
Important Limitations:
No search functionality: Cannot search by name or content; must navigate hierarchically from root
Hierarchical navigation only: Must traverse the tree level-by-level to reach deeply nested nodes
API ID incompatibility: Web interface node IDs are NOT compatible with API IDs
Limited discovery: Requires multiple list operations starting from root to find specific nodes
Provides comprehensive WorkFlowy integration with 8 MCP tools for complete outline and task management, including creating, updating, deleting, and searching nodes, as well as managing task completion status and priorities.
Click on "Install Server".
Wait a few minutes for the server to deploy. Once ready, it will show a "Started" state.
In the chat, type
@followed by the MCP server name and your instructions, e.g., "@WorkFlowy MCP Servercreate a new node called 'Weekly Review' under my root tasks"
That's it! The server will respond to your query, and you can continue using it as needed.
Here is a step-by-step guide with screenshots.
WorkFlowy MCP Server
A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that integrates WorkFlowy's outline and task management capabilities with LLM applications.
MCP Tools Available
Tool | Description |
| Create new nodes with name, notes, and layout mode |
| Update existing node properties |
| Retrieve a specific node by ID |
| List child nodes of a specific parent |
| Delete a node and its children |
| Mark a node as completed |
| Mark a node as uncompleted |
⚠️ Important Limitations
The WorkFlowy API has significant discovery limitations:
✅ CAN list root-level nodes (call
list_nodeswithout parent_id)✅ CAN navigate down the tree by listing children of discovered nodes
❌ CANNOT search for nodes by name or content
❌ CANNOT jump directly to deeply nested nodes
❌ CANNOT use node IDs from WorkFlowy web URLs (they use different IDs)
Practical Impact:
You must navigate hierarchically from root to find existing nodes
No text search means manually traversing the tree to find specific content
Deep nodes require multiple list operations to reach
The web interface IDs (
workflowy.com/#/abc123) are NOT compatible with API IDs
Quick Start
Prerequisites
Python 3.10 or higher
WorkFlowy account with API access
Claude Desktop or other (local, since it's a python package) MCP-compatible client
Installation
Option 1: Install from PyPI (Recommended)
# Install the package
pip install workflowy-mcpOption 2: Quick Setup Script
# Download and run the setup script
curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/yourusername/workflowy-mcp/main/install.sh | bash
# Or on Windows:
# irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/yourusername/workflowy-mcp/main/install.ps1 | iexOption 3: Manual Installation from Source
# Clone the repository (if you want to contribute or modify)
git clone https://github.com/vladzima/workflowy-mcp.git
cd workflowy-mcp
pip install -e .Configuration
Get your WorkFlowy API key:
From WorkFlowy
Configure client: Edit your client configuration (Claude Desktop example):
Mac:
~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.jsonWindows:
%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
Add to the
mcpServerssection:{ "mcpServers": { "workflowy": { "command": "python3", "args": ["-m", "workflowy_mcp"], "env": { "WORKFLOWY_API_KEY": "your_actual_api_key_here", // Optional settings (uncomment to override defaults): // "WORKFLOWY_API_URL": "https://workflowy.com/api/v1", // "WORKFLOWY_REQUEST_TIMEOUT": "30", // "WORKFLOWY_MAX_RETRIES": "3", // "WORKFLOWY_RATE_LIMIT_REQUESTS": "60", // "WORKFLOWY_RATE_LIMIT_WINDOW": "60" } } } }Restart your client to load the MCP server
Usage
Once configured, you can use WorkFlowy tools with your agent:
Working with New Nodes
"Create a new WorkFlowy node called 'Project Tasks'"
# Returns: Created node with ID: abc-123-def
"Create a todo item 'Review PR' under parent node abc-123-def"
"Mark the node abc-123-def as completed"
"List all children of node abc-123-def"Navigating Existing Nodes
Since there's no search, you must navigate from root:
"List my root-level WorkFlowy nodes"
# Returns: List of top-level nodes with their IDs
"List children of node abc-123-def"
# Navigate deeper into your outline
"Get details for node abc-123-def"
"Update node abc-123-def with new notes"Note: The node IDs from the web interface URLs are NOT compatible with the API.
Development
Setup Development Environment
# Create virtual environment
python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate # On Windows: venv\Scripts\activate
# Install in development mode
pip install -e ".[dev]"
# Run tests
pytest
# Run with coverage
pytest --cov=workflowy_mcp
# Run linting
ruff check src/
mypy src/
black src/ --checkProject Structure
workflowy-mcp/
├── src/
│ └── workflowy_mcp/
│ ├── __init__.py
│ ├── __main__.py # Entry point
│ ├── server.py # FastMCP server & tools
│ ├── config.py # Configuration
│ ├── transport.py # STDIO transport
│ ├── client/
│ │ ├── api_client.py # WorkFlowy API client
│ │ ├── rate_limit.py # Rate limiting
│ │ └── retry.py # Retry logic
│ ├── models/
│ │ ├── node.py # Node models
│ │ ├── requests.py # Request models
│ │ ├── config.py # Config models
│ │ └── errors.py # Error models
│ └── middleware/
│ ├── errors.py # Error handling
│ └── logging.py # Request logging
├── tests/
│ ├── contract/ # Contract tests
│ ├── integration/ # Integration tests
│ ├── unit/ # Unit tests
│ └── performance/ # Performance tests
├── pyproject.toml # Project configuration
├── README.md # This file
├── CONTRIBUTING.md # Contribution guide
├── install.sh # Unix/Mac installer
└── install.ps1 # Windows installerRunning Tests
# Run all tests
pytest
# Run specific test categories
pytest tests/unit/
pytest tests/contract/
pytest tests/integration/
pytest tests/performance/
# Run with coverage report
pytest --cov=workflowy_mcp --cov-report=html
# Run with verbose output
pytest -xvsAPI Reference
Node Structure
{
"id": "unique-node-id",
"name": "Node name", # Text content
"note": "Node notes/description", # Optional notes
"layoutMode": "bullets", # Display mode: bullets, todo, h1, h2, h3
"completedAt": null, # Completion timestamp (null if not completed)
"children": [], # Child nodes array
"createdAt": 1234567890, # Unix timestamp
"modifiedAt": 1234567890 # Unix timestamp
}Error Handling
All tools return a consistent error format:
{
"success": false,
"error": "error_type",
"message": "Human-readable error message",
"context": {...} // Additional error context
}Performance
Automatic rate limiting prevents API throttling
Token bucket algorithm for smooth request distribution
Adaptive rate limiting based on API responses
Connection pooling for efficient HTTP requests
Contributing
See CONTRIBUTING.md for development setup and contribution guidelines.
License
MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.
Support
Acknowledgments
Built with FastMCP framework
Integrates with WorkFlowy API
Compatible with Claude Desktop and other MCP clients