plane-mcp-server

Plane MCP

Connect Claude to your Plane workspace to manage projects, work items, cycles, modules, and more — directly from Claude.

How is this different from the official Plane MCP?

The official Plane MCP server is Python-based and supports both cloud and self-hosted Plane instances. It offers OAuth, hosted HTTP endpoints (mcp.plane.so), and Redis-backed sessions. This package is a lightweight Node.js alternative:

• Zero infrastructure — runs locally via npx, no Python/Docker/Redis needed
• Single dependency — just @modelcontextprotocol/sdk, installs in seconds
• Optimized tool count — 77 core tools by default (vs 80+ in the official server) tuned for reliable AI model tool selection, with an opt-in extended mode for full 108-tool coverage
• Bulk operations — bulk_create_work_items with automatic rate-limit handling (not in the official server)

Use the official server if you need OAuth or hosted HTTP transport. Use this one if you want a fast, minimal Node.js MCP that works over stdio.

Prerequisites

You need a Plane API key. To generate one:

1. Go to https://<your-plane-host>/<workspace>/settings/account/api-tokens
2. Click Add personal access token
3. Copy the token

You also need your workspace slug (the URL path segment for your workspace, e.g. my-workspace).

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Setup

Install the package from npm and configure Claude Desktop or Claude Code to use it. The MCP server runs locally on each user's machine — no hosted infrastructure required.

How it works

Your machine                              Cloud
┌─────────────────────────────┐
│ Claude Desktop / Claude Code│
│   ↕ stdio (stdin/stdout)    │
│ plane-mcp-server (Node.js)  │ ──HTTP──→  Plane Instance
└─────────────────────────────┘            (plane.company.com)

Each user runs the server locally via npx. The server receives tool calls from Claude over stdio and calls the Plane REST API directly using the user's API key.

Claude Desktop

Add to your claude_desktop_config.json:

macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "plane": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@zethictech/plane-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "PLANE_BASE_URL": "https://your-plane-instance.com",
        "PLANE_API_KEY": "YOUR_PLANE_API_KEY",
        "DEFAULT_WORKSPACE_SLUG": "your-workspace-slug",
        "PLANE_MCP_EXTENDED": "false"
      }
    }
  }
}

Set PLANE_MCP_EXTENDED to "true" to enable all 108 tools (admin, archives, intake, time tracking, etc.). Leave as "false" or omit for the default 77 core tools.

Restart Claude Desktop after saving.

Claude Code

claude mcp add plane \
  --command npx \
  --args "@zethictech/plane-mcp-server" \
  --env PLANE_BASE_URL=https://your-plane-instance.com \
  --env PLANE_API_KEY=YOUR_PLANE_API_KEY \
  --env DEFAULT_WORKSPACE_SLUG=your-workspace-slug \
  --env PLANE_MCP_EXTENDED=false

Add --env PLANE_MCP_EXTENDED=true for the full 108-tool set.

Environment Variables

Variable	Required	Description
PLANE_BASE_URL	Yes	Your Plane instance URL
PLANE_API_KEY	Yes	Personal Plane API token
DEFAULT_WORKSPACE_SLUG	Yes	Workspace slug from your Plane URL
PLANE_MCP_EXTENDED	No	Set to true to enable all 108 tools (default: 77)

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Available Tools

By default, the server exposes 77 core tools — optimized for reliable tool selection by AI models. Set PLANE_MCP_EXTENDED=true to enable all 108 tools including admin, archive, and niche features.

Core Tools (always available)

Category	Tools
Projects	list, create, retrieve, update, delete projects; get members
Work Items	list, search, create, update, delete; retrieve by identifier (e.g. DEV-42)
States & Labels	list, create, retrieve, update, delete states and labels
Cycles	list, create, retrieve, update, delete; manage cycle work items; transfer
Modules	list, create, retrieve, update, delete; manage module work items
Epics	list, create, retrieve, update, delete epics
Milestones	list, create, retrieve, update, delete; manage milestone work items
Initiatives	list, create, retrieve, update, delete initiatives
Comments	list, create, retrieve, update, delete comments on work items
Relations & Links	manage work item relations and external links
Activities	list work item activities (audit log)
Pages	create, retrieve pages (workspace or project)
Workspace	get current user, get members
Bulk Operations	bulk_create_work_items — create many items with rate-limit handling

Extended Tools (PLANE_MCP_EXTENDED=true)

Category	Tools
Project Admin	get/update project features; project worklog summary
Workspace Admin	get/update workspace features
Cycle Archives	archive, unarchive, list archived cycles
Module Archives	archive, unarchive, list archived modules
Work Item Types	list, create, retrieve, update, delete work item types
Work Item Properties	list, create, retrieve, update, delete custom properties
Intake	list, create, retrieve, update, delete intake work items
Time Tracking	list, create, update, delete work logs
Activities (extra)	retrieve individual activity entries

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Troubleshooting

Server not starting?

• Verify all three environment variables are set (PLANE_BASE_URL, PLANE_API_KEY, DEFAULT_WORKSPACE_SLUG)
• Check that your Plane instance URL has no trailing slash
• Run npx @zethictech/plane-mcp-server --version to verify the package loads

Stale npx cache?

npx --yes @zethictech/plane-mcp-server

API errors?

• Ensure your API key is valid and has access to the workspace
• Check that the workspace slug matches the URL path in your Plane instance

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Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md for setup instructions and how to add new tools.

License

MIT