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Getting Started

This guide walks through running the Todoist MCP server and connecting it to Todoist.

Prerequisites

  • Docker and Docker Compose (for containerized deployment)
  • A Todoist account and API token
  • Optionally, Claude Desktop for MCP integration

Clone and Configure

cd todoist-mcp
cp .env.example .env.local

Edit .env.local and set at least:

TODOIST_API_TOKEN=your-todoist-api-token-here
DEBUG=false

You can also configure optional Redis caching variables here.

Run with Docker Compose

docker-compose up --build

The server will start in stdio mode inside the container, ready to accept MCP connections.

Connect to Claude Desktop

Update your Claude Desktop configuration file:

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

Example configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "todoist": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": ["compose", "-f", "/path/to/todoist-mcp/docker-compose.yml", "run", "--rm", "todoist-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop to activate the server.