plane-mcp

Lean MCP server for Plane CE — direct PostgreSQL access for AI agents.

8 tools, ~1600 token schema footprint. Compare to the official Plane MCP server's 96 tools / ~25,000 tokens.

Architecture

• Agents connect via plane-mcp → direct PostgreSQL queries (fast, low-token)
• Humans use Plane CE web UI (boards, Gantt, dashboards)
• Same database — both interfaces read/write the same PostgreSQL instance

Tools

| Tool | Type | Description | |------|------|-------------| | query | Read | Run arbitrary SELECT/WITH/EXPLAIN against Plane's database | | list_projects | Read | List projects with open/total issue counts | | list_issues | Read | List issues with filters (project, state, assignee, priority, label) | | get_issue | Read | Full issue details with assignees, labels, description | | create_issue | Write | Create issue with state resolution, sequence tracking, optional assignee | | update_issue | Write | Partial update of fields including state transitions | | complete_issue | Write | Batch mark issues as complete | | search_issues | Read | Case-insensitive search across issue names and descriptions |

Setup

1. Expose PostgreSQL

Add a docker-compose.override.yml alongside Plane's docker-compose:

services:
  plane-db:
    ports:
      - "0.0.0.0:5432:5432"

Then recreate the DB container:

cd /opt/plane && docker compose up -d plane-db

2. Create database role

CREATE ROLE plane_mcp WITH LOGIN PASSWORD '<password>';
GRANT SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE ON ALL TABLES IN SCHEMA public TO plane_mcp;
GRANT USAGE, SELECT ON ALL SEQUENCES IN SCHEMA public TO plane_mcp;
ALTER DEFAULT PRIVILEGES IN SCHEMA public GRANT SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE ON TABLES TO plane_mcp;

Add to pg_hba.conf inside the data directory:

host plane plane_mcp 0.0.0.0/0 md5

Reload: docker exec plane-plane-db-1 pg_ctl reload -D /var/lib/postgresql/data

3. Configure MCP

In .mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "plane": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/plane-mcp/dist/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "PLANE_DB_HOST": "127.0.0.1",
        "PLANE_DB_PORT": "5432",
        "PLANE_DB_USER": "plane_mcp",
        "PLANE_DB_PASSWORD": "...",
        "PLANE_DB_NAME": "plane",
        "PLANE_WORKSPACE_SLUG": "personal"
      }
    }
  }
}

4. Build

npm install
npm run build

Output format

Compact one-liner for list operations:

[URGENT] OPS-12: Fix login bug | isaac | Due: 2026-03-05 | In Progress
[HIGH] OPS-8: Update docs | unassigned | Todo

Full detail for get_issue:

# OPS-12: Fix login bug
Priority: urgent | State: In Progress (started)
Assignees: Isaac ([email protected])
Project: Operations
Labels: bug, frontend
Due: 2026-03-05

Table format for raw queries (same as LifeDB).

SSH tunnel

If Plane's PostgreSQL isn't directly reachable (e.g., running on a Proxmox container without Tailscale), use an SSH tunnel:

ssh -f -N -L 15432:<container-ip>:5432 root@<proxmox-host>

Then set PLANE_DB_PORT=15432.