productivity

Things

wbopan

by wbopan

Integrate with the best to do list app for macOS—Things. Enjoy advanced task management, database export, and project cr

Integrates with Things.app task management for macOS, enabling task and project creation with full metadata support, update operations including completion status, database export functionality, and summary generation through URL scheme and direct database access.

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Both formats append explainx.ai attribution and the canonical URL for this MCP server listing.

macOS only - requires Things.appNeeds Things authorization token for updatesDirect database access for exports

best for

  • / macOS users managing tasks through Things.app
  • / Daily planning and task organization workflows
  • / AI-assisted project management and scheduling

capabilities

  • / Create new tasks and projects in Things.app
  • / Update existing tasks and completion status
  • / Schedule tasks for specific dates
  • / Export and view task database summaries
  • / Organize tasks with areas, tags, and deadlines
  • / Generate task reports and overviews

what it does

Connects AI assistants to the Things.app task manager on macOS, allowing direct creation and management of tasks and projects.

about

Things is a community-built MCP server published by wbopan that provides AI assistants with tools and capabilities via the Model Context Protocol. Integrate with the best to do list app for macOS—Things. Enjoy advanced task management, database export, and project cr It is categorized under productivity.

how to install

You can install Things in your AI client of choice. Use the install panel on this page to get one-click setup for Cursor, Claude Desktop, VS Code, and other MCP-compatible clients. This server runs locally on your machine via the stdio transport.

license

MIT

Things is released under the MIT license. This is a permissive open-source license, meaning you can freely use, modify, and distribute the software.

readme

Things MCP Server

npm version License: MIT macOS

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. 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

2. Configure Your AI Assistant

<details> <summary><strong>Claude Desktop</strong></summary>

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

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "things": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@wenbopan/things-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "THINGS_AUTH_TOKEN": "your-token-here"
      }
    }
  }
}
</details> <details> <summary><strong>Cursor IDE</strong></summary>

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

{
  "things": {
    "command": "npx",
    "args": ["@wenbopan/things-mcp"],
    "env": {
      "THINGS_AUTH_TOKEN": "your-token-here"
    }
  }
}
</details>

3. 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."

License

MIT

Contributing

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

FAQ

What is the Things MCP server?
Things is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server profile on explainx.ai. MCP lets AI hosts (e.g. Claude Desktop, Cursor) call tools and resources through a standard interface; this page summarizes categories, install hints, and community ratings.
How do MCP servers relate to agent skills?
Skills are reusable instruction packages (often SKILL.md); MCP servers expose live capabilities. Teams frequently combine both—skills for workflows, MCP for APIs and data. See explainx.ai/skills and explainx.ai/mcp-servers for parallel directories.
How are reviews shown for Things?
This profile displays 46 aggregated ratings (sample rows for discoverability plus signed-in user reviews). Average score is about 4.5 out of 5—verify behavior in your own environment before production use.

Use Cases

Extended AI Capabilities

Add new capabilities to Claude beyond text generation

Example

Access external data sources, execute code, interact with tools and services

Transform Claude from chatbot to action-taking agent

Context Enhancement

Provide Claude with access to relevant context and data

Example

Load project documentation, access knowledge bases, query databases

Get more accurate, context-aware responses

Workflow Automation

Automate multi-step workflows combining AI and external tools

Example

Research → Summarize → Create document → Send notification

Complete complex tasks end-to-end without manual steps

Implementation Guide

Prerequisites

  • Claude Desktop 0.7.0+ or Cursor IDE with MCP support
  • Basic understanding of MCP architecture and capabilities
  • Access credentials for integrated services (if required)
  • Willingness to experiment and iterate on configuration

Time Estimate

15-60 minutes depending on server complexity

Installation Steps

  1. 1.Install MCP server: npm install -g [package-name] or via GitHub
  2. 2.Add server configuration to ~/.claude/mcp.json
  3. 3.Provide required credentials and configuration
  4. 4.Restart Claude Desktop to load new server
  5. 5.Test basic functionality with simple prompts
  6. 6.Explore capabilities and experiment with use cases
  7. 7.Document successful patterns for reuse

Troubleshooting

  • MCP server not loading: Check config syntax, verify installation
  • Connection errors: Check network, firewall, credentials
  • Feature not working: Read server docs, check required parameters
  • Performance issues: Monitor resource usage, check for network latency
  • Conflicts with other servers: Check port assignments, namespace collisions

Best Practices

✓ Do

  • +Read server documentation thoroughly before setup
  • +Start with simple use cases to validate functionality
  • +Test in non-production environment first
  • +Monitor resource usage and performance
  • +Keep servers updated for bug fixes and new features
  • +Document configuration for team members
  • +Use environment variables for sensitive configuration

✗ Don't

  • Don't grant overly permissive access to MCP servers
  • Don't skip reading security considerations in docs
  • Don't expose sensitive data without proper controls
  • Don't run untrusted MCP servers without code review
  • Don't ignore error messages—investigate root cause

💡 Pro Tips

  • Combine multiple MCP servers for powerful workflows
  • Create custom MCP servers for your specific needs
  • Share successful configurations with team
  • Use MCP inspector for debugging
  • Join MCP community for tips and troubleshooting

Technical Details

Architecture

Model Context Protocol standardizes how AI hosts (Claude, Cursor) communicate with external tools and data sources through server implementations.

Protocols

  • Model Context Protocol (MCP)
  • JSON-RPC 2.0
  • stdio or HTTP transport

Compatibility

  • Claude Desktop
  • Cursor IDE
  • Custom MCP clients

When to Use This

✓ Use When

Use when you need Claude to access external data, execute actions, or integrate with tools. Best for extending AI capabilities beyond conversation.

✗ Avoid When

Avoid when native integrations exist (use official APIs directly), for real-time critical systems, or when security/compliance requires zero external dependencies.

Integration

  • Tool composition: Chain multiple MCP tools in workflows
  • Context augmentation: Provide AI with relevant external data
  • Action delegation: Let AI execute tasks on external systems
  • Bidirectional sync: Keep AI context and external systems in sync

Discussion

Product Hunt–style comments (not star reviews)
  • No comments yet — start the thread.

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Ratings

4.546 reviews
  • Fatima Jackson· Dec 28, 2024

    Useful MCP listing: Things is the kind of server we cite when onboarding engineers to host + tool permissions.

  • Tariq Johnson· Dec 28, 2024

    We wired Things into a staging workspace; the listing’s GitHub and npm pointers saved time versus hunting across READMEs.

  • Daniel Verma· Dec 28, 2024

    According to our notes, Things benefits from clear Model Context Protocol framing — fewer ambiguous “AI plugin” claims.

  • Yuki Tandon· Dec 16, 2024

    Strong directory entry: Things surfaces stars and publisher context so we could sanity-check maintenance before adopting.

  • Yusuf Liu· Dec 8, 2024

    I recommend Things for teams standardizing on MCP; the explainx.ai page compares cleanly with sibling servers.

  • James Liu· Nov 27, 2024

    Things is a well-scoped MCP server in the explainx.ai directory — install snippets and categories matched our Claude Code setup.

  • Tariq Garcia· Nov 19, 2024

    Things reduced integration guesswork — categories and install configs on the listing matched the upstream repo.

  • Daniel Menon· Nov 19, 2024

    Things has been reliable for tool-calling workflows; the MCP profile page is a good permalink for internal docs.

  • James Gupta· Nov 7, 2024

    Things is among the better-indexed MCP projects we tried; the explainx.ai summary tracks the official description.

  • Daniel Smith· Oct 26, 2024

    Things reduced integration guesswork — categories and install configs on the listing matched the upstream repo.

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