https://github.com/ebowman/mcp-server-things
A rich MCP server for Things
https://github.com/ebowman/mcp-server-things
mcp mcp-server things3
Last synced: about 2 months ago
JSON representation
A rich MCP server for Things
- Host: GitHub
- URL: https://github.com/ebowman/mcp-server-things
- Owner: ebowman
- License: other
- Created: 2025-08-26T06:21:06.000Z (2 months ago)
- Default Branch: main
- Last Pushed: 2025-09-07T09:55:18.000Z (2 months ago)
- Last Synced: 2025-09-07T10:11:52.979Z (2 months ago)
- Topics: mcp, mcp-server, things3
- Language: Python
- Homepage:
- Size: 1.4 MB
- Stars: 2
- Watchers: 0
- Forks: 0
- Open Issues: 1
-
Metadata Files:
- Readme: README.md
- Contributing: CONTRIBUTING.md
- License: LICENSE
- Code of conduct: CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md
- Security: SECURITY.md
- Roadmap: docs/ROADMAP.md
Awesome Lists containing this project
- awesome-AI-driven-development - Things 3 MCP Server - A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that connects Claude and other AI assistants to Things 3 for natural language task management. (MCP Servers & Integrations / Other IDEs)
README
# Things 3 MCP Server
[](https://www.python.org/downloads/)
[](LICENSE)
[](https://www.apple.com/macos/)
A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that connects Claude and other AI assistants to Things 3 for natural language task management.
## Installation
### Option 1: From PyPI (Recommended)
1. Create and activate a virtual environment:
```bash
python3 -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate # On macOS/Linux
```
2. Install the package:
```bash
pip install mcp-server-things
```
### Option 2: From Source (Development)
1. Clone the repository:
```bash
git clone https://github.com/ebowman/mcp-server-things.git
cd mcp-server-things
```
2. Create and activate a virtual environment:
```bash
python3 -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate # On macOS/Linux
```
3. Install dependencies:
```bash
pip install -r requirements.txt
```
4. Install in development mode:
```bash
pip install -e .
```
## Claude Desktop Configuration
### For PyPI Installation
Add to your Claude Desktop configuration (`~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json`):
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"things": {
"command": "/path/to/your/venv/bin/python",
"args": ["-m", "things_mcp"],
"env": {
"THINGS_MCP_LOG_LEVEL": "INFO",
"THINGS_MCP_APPLESCRIPT_TIMEOUT": "30"
}
}
}
}
```
### For Source Installation
Add to your Claude Desktop configuration (`~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json`):
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"things": {
"command": "/path/to/mcp-server-things/venv/bin/python",
"args": ["-m", "things_mcp"],
"env": {
"PYTHONPATH": "/path/to/mcp-server-things/src",
"THINGS_MCP_LOG_LEVEL": "INFO",
"THINGS_MCP_APPLESCRIPT_TIMEOUT": "30"
}
}
}
}
```
**Notes:**
- **PyPI**: Replace `/path/to/your/venv/bin/python` with your virtual environment's Python path
- **Source**: Replace `/path/to/mcp-server-things` with your actual installation path and include the `PYTHONPATH`
- Use the full path to the Python executable in your virtual environment
- See Configuration section below for environment variable options
*Creating tasks with natural language through Claude*
## 📚 Documentation
- **[User Examples](docs/USER_EXAMPLES.md)** - Rich examples of how to use Things 3 with AI assistants
- **[Architecture Overview](docs/ARCHITECTURE.md)** - Technical design and implementation details
- **[Troubleshooting](docs/TROUBLESHOOTING.md)** - Common issues and solutions
## Features
### Core Todo Operations
- **Create**: Add todos with full metadata (tags, deadlines, projects, notes, reminders)
- **Read**: Get todos by ID, project, or built-in lists (Today, Inbox, Upcoming, etc.)
- **Update**: Modify existing todos with partial updates
- **Delete**: Remove todos safely
- **Search**: Find todos by title, notes, or advanced filters
### Project & Area Management
- Get all projects and areas with optional task inclusion
- Create new projects with initial todos
- Update project metadata and status
- Organize todos within project hierarchies
### Built-in List Access
- **Inbox**: Capture new items
- **Today**: Items scheduled for today
- **Upcoming**: Future scheduled items
- **Anytime**: Items without specific dates
- **Someday**: Items for future consideration
- **Logbook**: Completed items history
- **Trash**: Deleted items
### Advanced Features
- **Reminder Support**: Create todos with specific reminder times (e.g., "today@14:30")
- Uses hybrid approach: AppleScript for regular todos, URL scheme for reminders
- This works around AppleScript API limitation (cannot set reminder times)
- **Tag Management**: Full tag support with AI creation control
- **Date-Range Queries**: Get todos due/activating within specific timeframes
- **URL Schemes**: Native Things 3 URL scheme integration
- **Health Monitoring**: System health checks and queue status monitoring
- **Error Handling**: Robust error handling with configurable retries
- **Logging**: Structured logging with configurable levels
- **Concurrency Support**: Multi-client safe operation with operation queuing
- **Input Validation**: Configurable limits for titles, notes, and tags
## Requirements
- **macOS**: This server requires macOS (tested on macOS 12+)
- **Things 3**: Things 3 must be installed and accessible
- **Python**: Python 3.8 or higher
- **Permissions**: AppleScript permissions for Things 3 access
## Quick Start
Once installed, Claude (or other MCP clients) can automatically discover and use all available tools. No additional setup required.
## Configuration
The server uses environment variables for configuration. You can set these variables in three ways:
1. System environment variables
2. A `.env` file (automatically loaded from the current directory)
3. A custom `.env` file specified with `--env-file`
### Using the .env File
1. **Review the example configuration:**
```bash
cat .env.example
```
2. **Create your own .env file:**
```bash
cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env to customize settings
```
3. **Or use a custom location:**
```bash
cp .env.example ~/my-things-config.env
python -m things_mcp --env-file ~/my-things-config.env
```
### Key Configuration Options
```bash
# Server identification
THINGS_MCP_SERVER_NAME=things3-mcp-server
THINGS_MCP_SERVER_VERSION=1.0.0
# AppleScript execution
THINGS_MCP_APPLESCRIPT_TIMEOUT=30.0 # Timeout in seconds (1-300)
THINGS_MCP_APPLESCRIPT_RETRY_COUNT=3 # Retry attempts (0-10)
# Tag management - Control AI tag creation
THINGS_MCP_AI_CAN_CREATE_TAGS=false # false = AI can only use existing tags
THINGS_MCP_TAG_VALIDATION_CASE_SENSITIVE=false
# Logging
THINGS_MCP_LOG_LEVEL=INFO # DEBUG, INFO, WARNING, ERROR, CRITICAL
THINGS_MCP_LOG_FILE_PATH=/path/to/file.log # Optional: log to file instead of console
# Validation limits
THINGS_MCP_MAX_TITLE_LENGTH=500
THINGS_MCP_MAX_NOTES_LENGTH=10000
THINGS_MCP_MAX_TAGS_PER_ITEM=20
THINGS_MCP_SEARCH_RESULTS_LIMIT=100
```
### Command Line Options
The server supports several command-line options:
```bash
# Start with debug logging
python -m things_mcp --debug
# Use a custom .env file
python -m things_mcp --env-file ~/my-config.env
# Check system health
python -m things_mcp --health-check
# Test AppleScript connectivity
python -m things_mcp --test-applescript
# Show version
python -m things_mcp --version
# Customize timeout and retry settings
python -m things_mcp --timeout 60 --retry-count 5
```
### Claude Desktop Environment Variables
You can set environment variables directly in your Claude Desktop configuration:
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"things": {
"env": {
"THINGS_MCP_LOG_LEVEL": "DEBUG",
"THINGS_MCP_AI_CAN_CREATE_TAGS": "true",
"THINGS_MCP_APPLESCRIPT_TIMEOUT": "60"
}
}
}
}
```
## Available MCP Tools
### Todo Management
- `get_todos(project_uuid?, include_items?)` - List todos
- `add_todo(title, ...)` - Create new todo with optional reminder time
- `update_todo(id, ...)` - Update existing todo
- `get_todo_by_id(todo_id)` - Get specific todo
- `delete_todo(todo_id)` - Delete todo
### Project Management
- `get_projects(include_items?)` - List projects
- `add_project(title, ...)` - Create new project
- `update_project(id, ...)` - Update existing project
### Area Management
- `get_areas(include_items?)` - List areas
### List Access
- `get_inbox()` - Get Inbox todos
- `get_today()` - Get Today's todos
- `get_upcoming()` - Get upcoming todos
- `get_anytime()` - Get Anytime todos
- `get_someday()` - Get Someday todos
- `get_logbook(limit?, period?)` - Get completed todos
- `get_trash()` - Get trashed todos
### Date-Range Queries
- `get_due_in_days(days)` - Get todos due within specified days
- `get_activating_in_days(days)` - Get todos activating within days
- `get_upcoming_in_days(days)` - Get todos due or activating within days
### Search & Tags
- `search_todos(query)` - Basic search
- `search_advanced(...)` - Advanced search with filters
- `get_tags(include_items?)` - List tags
- `create_tag(name)` - Create a new tag
- `get_tagged_items(tag)` - Get items with specific tag
- `add_tags(todo_id, tags)` - Add tags to a todo
- `remove_tags(todo_id, tags)` - Remove tags from a todo
- `get_recent(period)` - Get recently created items
### Bulk Operations
- `move_record(record_id, to_parent_uuid)` - Move single record
- `bulk_move_records(record_ids, to_parent_uuid)` - Move multiple records
### System & Utilities
- `health_check()` - Check server and Things 3 status
- `queue_status()` - Check operation queue status and statistics
- `get_server_capabilities()` - Get server features and configuration
- `get_usage_recommendations()` - Get usage tips and best practices
- `context_stats()` - Get context-aware response statistics
## Troubleshooting
### Common Issues
#### Permission Denied Errors
```bash
# Grant AppleScript permissions to your terminal/IDE
# System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Privacy > Automation
# Enable access for your terminal application to control Things 3
```
#### Things 3 Not Found
```bash
# Verify Things 3 is installed and running
python -m things_mcp.main --health-check
# Check if Things 3 is in Applications folder
ls /Applications/ | grep -i things
```
#### Connection Timeouts
```bash
# Increase timeout value via environment variable
export THINGS_MCP_APPLESCRIPT_TIMEOUT=60
# Or in your .env file
THINGS_MCP_APPLESCRIPT_TIMEOUT=60
```
### Debug Mode
```bash
# Enable debug logging
python -m things_mcp.main --debug
# Check logs
tail -f things_mcp.log
```
### Health Diagnostics
```bash
# Comprehensive health check
python -m things_mcp.main --health-check
# Test specific components
python -m things_mcp.main --test-applescript
```
## Performance
- **Startup Time**: Less than 2 seconds
- **Response Time**: Less than 500ms for most operations
- **Memory Usage**: 15MB baseline, 50MB under concurrent load
- **Concurrent Requests**: Serialized write operations to prevent conflicts
- **Throughput**: Multiple operations per second depending on complexity
- **Queue Processing**: Less than 50ms latency for operation enqueuing
## Security
- No network access required (local AppleScript only)
- No data stored outside of Things 3
- Minimal system permissions needed
- Secure AppleScript execution with timeouts
- Input validation on all parameters
## Contributing
Contributions are welcome! Please follow these guidelines:
- Set up a virtual environment and install dependencies
- Follow existing code style and patterns
- Add tests for new features
- Submit pull requests with clear descriptions
## Documentation
- [Troubleshooting Guide](docs/TROUBLESHOOTING.md) - Common issues and solutions
- [Development Roadmap](docs/ROADMAP.md) - Implementation status and missing features
## License
This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the [LICENSE](LICENSE) file for details.
## Support
- **Issues**: [GitHub Issues](https://github.com/ebowman/mcp-server-things/issues)
- **Discussions**: [GitHub Discussions](https://github.com/ebowman/mcp-server-things/discussions)
- **Email**: ebowman@boboco.ie
## Roadmap
### Phase 1: Core Stability (Current)
- Complete MCP tool implementation (Completed)
- Robust error handling and logging (Completed)
- Comprehensive testing suite (Completed)
- Documentation and examples (Completed)
### Phase 2: Enhanced Features
- Multi-client concurrency support with operation queuing (Completed)
- Configurable tag creation policies (Completed)
- Reminder support with datetime scheduling (Completed)
- Date-range query tools (Completed)
- Bulk move operations (Completed)
- Real-time sync with Things 3 changes (Planned)
- Advanced natural language processing (Planned)
- Integration with calendar and email (Planned)
### Phase 3: Advanced Integration
- Multi-user support (Planned)
- API rate limiting (Planned)
- Webhook support (Planned)
- Analytics and reporting (Planned)
---
Built for the Things 3 and MCP community.