Things▌
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.
Both formats append explainx.ai attribution and the canonical URL for this MCP server listing.
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
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:
- Open Things.app on macOS
- Go to Things → Preferences → General
- Check "Enable Things URLs"
- 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.Install MCP server: npm install -g [package-name] or via GitHub
- 2.Add server configuration to ~/.claude/mcp.json
- 3.Provide required credentials and configuration
- 4.Restart Claude Desktop to load new server
- 5.Test basic functionality with simple prompts
- 6.Explore capabilities and experiment with use cases
- 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.
List & Promote Your MCP Server
Share your MCP server with the developer community
Ratings
4.5★★★★★46 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.
showing 1-10 of 46