Things MCP Server

Control your Things.app tasks directly from Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor, and other AI assistants using the Model Context Protocol (MCP).

What It Does

This MCP server lets AI assistants interact with your Things.app tasks on macOS. You can:

• Create new tasks and projects
• Update existing items
• View your task database with detailed summaries
• Schedule tasks for specific dates
• Organize with areas, tags, and deadlines

Quick Start

1. Install

git clone https://github.com/your-username/things-mcp.git
cd things-mcp
npm install
npm run build

2. Get Things Authorization Token

For updating existing tasks, you need an authorization token:

1. Open Things.app on macOS
2. Go to Things → Preferences → General
3. Check "Enable Things URLs"
4. Copy the authorization token that appears
5. Set it as an environment variable:

export THINGS_AUTH_TOKEN="your-token-here"

3. Configure Your AI Assistant

Claude Code

Add to your project's .claude_code_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "things": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/things-mcp/build/src/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "THINGS_AUTH_TOKEN": "your-token-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Claude Desktop

Add to ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "things": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/things-mcp/build/src/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "THINGS_AUTH_TOKEN": "your-token-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Cursor IDE

Create .cursor/mcp.json in your project or ~/.cursor/mcp.json globally:

{
  "things": {
    "command": "node",
    "args": ["/path/to/things-mcp/build/src/index.js"],
    "env": {
      "THINGS_AUTH_TOKEN": "your-token-here"
    }
  }
}

4. Restart Your AI Assistant

After configuration, restart your AI assistant to load the MCP server.

Use Cases

Daily Planning

"Show me my today's tasks and create a project for the new marketing campaign with initial tasks for research, design, and content creation."

Project Management

"Update the mobile app project to add design review and testing tasks, then schedule the design review for next Monday."

Task Organization

"Move all my unscheduled shopping tasks to the 'Personal' area and tag them with 'weekend'."

Progress Tracking

"Give me a summary of all active projects with their deadlines and completion status."

Quick Capture

"Create a task to call the dentist, schedule it for tomorrow, and set a deadline for end of week."

Available Tools

things_summary

Get a complete overview of your Things database including tasks, projects, areas, and tags. Returns formatted markdown or structured JSON.

add_todo

Create new tasks with scheduling, deadlines, tags, and checklist items.

add_project

Create new projects with initial tasks, areas, and scheduling.

update_todo / update_project

Modify existing items (requires auth token).

export_json

Export your entire Things database for backup or analysis.

Requirements

• macOS (Things.app requirement)
• Things.app installed and running
• Node.js 20 or higher

Troubleshooting

"Things container not found"

• Ensure Things.app is installed and has been launched at least once
• Check that you're running on macOS

"Update operations require auth token"

• Follow the authorization token setup steps above
• Verify the token is correctly set in your environment

MCP server not loading

• Check your configuration file syntax
• Verify the path to the built server file
• Restart your AI assistant after configuration changes

License

MIT

Contributing

Issues and pull requests welcome! Please ensure all tests pass before submitting.