@shortcut/mcp

The MCP server for Shortcut.

Usage

Windsurf

See the official Windsurf docs for more information.

1. Open the Windsurf MCP Configuration Panel
2. Click Add custom server.
3. Add the following details and save the file:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "shortcut": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@shortcut/mcp@latest"
      ],
      "env": {
        "SHORTCUT_API_TOKEN": "<YOUR_SHORTCUT_API_TOKEN>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Cursor

See the official Cursor docs for more information.

1. Open (or create) the mcp.json file (it should be in ~/.cursor/mcp.json or <project-root>/.cursor/mcp.json, but see Cursor docs for more details).
2. Add the following details and save the file:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "shortcut": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@shortcut/mcp@latest"
      ],
      "env": {
        "SHORTCUT_API_TOKEN": "<YOUR_SHORTCUT_API_TOKEN>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Claude Code

See the official Claude Code docs for more information.

You can add a new MCP server from the Claude Code CLI. But modifying the json file directly is simpler!

You can either add a new MCP server from the command line:

# Grab your Shortcut token here: https://app.shortcut.com/settings/account/api-tokens
claude mcp add shortcut --transport=stdio -e SHORTCUT_API_TOKEN=$SHORTCUT_API_TOKEN -- npx -y @shortcut/mcp@latest

Or you can edit the local JSON file directly:

1. Open the Claude Code configuration file (it should be in ~/.claude.json).
2. Find the projects > mcpServers section and add the following details and save the file:

{
  "projects": {
    "mcpServers": {
      "shortcut": {
        "command": "npx",
        "args": [
          "-y",
          "@shortcut/mcp@latest"
        ],
        "env": {
          "SHORTCUT_API_TOKEN": "<YOUR_SHORTCUT_API_TOKEN>"
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Zed

Zed MCP Documentation

1. Open your settings.json file. Instructions here
2. Add the following details and save the file:

  "context_servers": {
    "shortcut": {
      "settings":{},
      "command": {
        "path": "<PATH/TO/NPX>",
        "args": [
          "-y",
          "@shortcut/mcp@latest"
        ],
        "env": {
          "SHORTCUT_API_TOKEN": "<YOUR_SHORTCUT_API_TOKEN>"
        }
      }
    }
  }

Available Tools

Stories

• stories-get-by-id - Get a single Shortcut story by ID
• stories-search - Find Shortcut stories with filtering and search options
• stories-get-branch-name - Get the recommended branch name (based on workspace settings) for a specific story.
• stories-create - Create a new Shortcut story
• stories-update - Update an existing Shortcut story
• stories-upload-file - Upload a file and link it to a story
• stories-assign-current-user - Assign the current user as the owner of a story
• stories-unassign-current-user - Unassign the current user as the owner of a story
• stories-create-comment - Create a comment on a story
• stories-create-subtask - Add a new sub-task to a story
• stories-add-subtask - Add an existing story as a sub-task
• stories-remove-subtask - Remove a sub-task from a story.
• stories-add-task - Add a task to a story
• stories-update-task - Update a task in a story
• stories-add-relation - Add a story relationship (relates to, blocks, duplicates, etc.)
• stories-add-external-link - Add an external link to a Shortcut story
• stories-remove-external-link - Remove an external link from a Shortcut story
• stories-set-external-links - Replace all external links on a story with a new set of links
• stories-get-by-external-link - Find all stories that contain a specific external link

Labels

• labels-list - List all labels in the Shortcut workspace.
• labels-create - Create a new label in Shortcut.

Epics

• epics-get-by-id - Get a Shortcut epic by ID
• epics-search - Find Shortcut epics with filtering and search options
• epics-create - Create a new Shortcut epic

Iterations

• iterations-get-stories - Get stories in a specific iteration by iteration ID
• iterations-get-by-id - Get a Shortcut iteration by ID
• iterations-search - Find Shortcut iterations with filtering and search options
• iterations-create - Create a new Shortcut iteration with start/end dates
• iterations-get-active - Get active iterations for the current user based on team memberships
• iterations-get-upcoming - Get upcoming iterations for the current user based on team memberships

Objectives

• objectives-get-by-id - Get a Shortcut objective by ID
• objectives-search - Find Shortcut objectives with filtering and search options

Teams

• teams-get-by-id - Get a Shortcut team by ID
• teams-list - List all Shortcut teams

Workflows

• workflows-get-default - Get the default workflow for a specific team or the workspace default
• workflows-get-by-id - Get a Shortcut workflow by ID
• workflows-list - List all Shortcut workflows

Users

• users-get-current - Get the current user information
• users-get-current-teams - Get a list of teams where the current user is a member
• users-list - Get all workspace users

Documents

• documents-create - Create a new document in Shortcut with HTML content
• documents-list - List all documents in Shortcut
• documents-search - Search for documents
• documents-get-by-id - Retrieve a specific document in markdown format by its ID

Limit tools

You can limit the tools available to the LLM by setting the SHORTCUT_TOOLS environment variable to a comma-separated list.

• Tools can be limited by entity type by just adding the entity, eg stories or epics.
• Individual tools can also be limitied by their full name, eg stories-get-by-id or epics-search.

By default, all tools are enabled.

Example:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "shortcut": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@shortcut/mcp@latest"
      ],
      "env": {
        "SHORTCUT_API_TOKEN": "<YOUR_SHORTCUT_API_TOKEN>",
        "SHORTCUT_TOOLS": "stories,epics,iterations-create"
      }
    }
  }
}

The following values are accepted in addition to the full tool names listed above under Available Tools:

• users
• stories
• epics
• iterations
• labels
• objectives
• teams
• workflows
• documents

Read-only mode

You can run the MCP server in read-only mode by setting the SHORTCUT_READONLY environment variable to true. This will disable all tools that modify data in Shortcut.

Additionally, Shortcut now supports read-only API tokens, which you can use to ensure that the MCP server is limited to read-only operations at the API level. This provides an additional layer of security since the restriction is enforced by the Shortcut API itself, not just the MCP server. You can create a read-only token from your Shortcut API tokens settings.

Example:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "shortcut": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@shortcut/mcp@latest"
      ],
      "env": {
        "SHORTCUT_API_TOKEN": "<YOUR_SHORTCUT_API_TOKEN>",
        "SHORTCUT_READONLY": "true"
      }
    }
  }
}

Issues and Troubleshooting

Before doing anything else, please make sure you are running the latest version!

If you run into problems using this MCP server, you have a couple of options:

• Open an issue on GitHub
• Ask for help in the community Slack

You can also check the list of common issues below to see if there is a known solution already.

Common Issues and Solutions

NPX command not working when using MISE for version management

If you are using MISE for managing Node and NPM versions, you may encounter a "Client closed" error when trying to run the MCP server. Installing this extension into your IDE might help: https://github.com/hverlin/mise-vscode/.

Development

Installation

npm install

Build

npm run build

Running the Development Server Locally

To test your local development version of the MCP server rather than using the published package, follow these steps:

1. Build the project:

   npm run build

2. Create or modify your mcp.json file to reference your local build:

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "shortcut": {
         "command": "node",
         "args": [
           "/path/to/your/local/mcp-server-shortcut/dist/index.js"
         ],
         "env": {
           "SHORTCUT_API_TOKEN": "<YOUR_SHORTCUT_API_TOKEN>"
         }
       }
     }
   }

3. Place this mcp.json file in one of the following locations:

   • For Cursor: In your home directory (~/.cursor/mcp.json) or in your project directory (.cursor/mcp.json)
   • For Windsurf: Use the MCP Configuration Panel to add the custom server

4. Restart your AI assistant (Cursor or Windsurf) to load the new configuration.

This allows you to instantly test changes to the MCP server without having to publish a new version.