view_inboxLABSCO SUMMARY
The whole Things workflow, not just capture.
Most task-app bridges stop at creating items; the movement and editing tools here are what let an assistant do triage — pull something out of Today, park it in a project, add a deadline. The backup tool is a quiet bonus: it dumps inbox, today, projects and areas into one JSON file you can keep.
What it is
An MCP server that drives Things 3 on macOS through AppleScript and the app's URL schemes. It covers the full loop — look at what is in the inbox or scheduled for today, create tasks and projects, move them between lists, edit them, and tick them off — rather than just adding items.
What you get
- Read your lists:
view_inbox,view_today,view_projectsandview_areas - Create work:
create_taskwith notes, dates, tags and checklist items, pluscreate_projectandcreate_area - Move things around:
move_task_to_inbox,move_task_to_today,move_task_to_projectandmove_task_to_area - Change what exists:
edit_taskfor title, notes, dates and tags, andedit_projectfor project metadata - Find and finish:
search_tasksby title or content, andcomplete_task - Back up and inspect:
backup_things3writes every task, project and area to a JSON file, andrestore_things3reads one back for analysis
Requirements
macOS with Things 3 installed and running, and macOS AppleScript permission granted to the host app. Node.js 18.0.0 or higher. The documented client entry runs node against server/index.js after npm install in the server directory; packaging as a DXT extension is a zip of the folder. Calls carry a 10 second timeout.
Setup effort
Build from source — git clone https://github.com/upup666/things3-mcp-dxt-extension.git
USE CASES
01
Clearing the inbox by talking through it
Read what is sitting in the inbox, then move each item to a project or area, or schedule it for today.
02
Capturing a task with all its detail at once
Create a task with notes, a due date, tags and a checklist in a single call instead of typing it into the app.
03
Rescheduling what did not get done
Search for the tasks you care about, edit their dates, and move the rest back to the inbox.
04
Taking a snapshot before a big reorganisation
Write every task, project and area to a JSON file so the previous state is readable if the cleanup goes wrong.
17 tools
Listed in project docs. Your client may show a different list.
view_todayview_projectsview_areascreate_taskcreate_projectcreate_areamove_task_to_inboxmove_task_to_todaymove_task_to_projectmove_task_to_areaedit_taskedit_projectsearch_taskscomplete_taskbackup_things3restore_things3BEFORE YOU INSTALL
What to know first
Tools you get
17 tools named in the project's documentation.
Requires
Node.js 18.0.0 or later
Where it runs
The documented client runs the server on your machine.
INSTALLATION
Connect your client
You clone this one yourself.
Server setup
TERMINAL
git clone https://github.com/upup666/things3-mcp-dxt-extension.git
cd things3-mcp-dxt-extension
cd server
npm installMCP Clients
Claude Desktop
CLAUDE DESKTOP · JSON
{
"mcpServers": {
"things3-extended": {
"command": "node",
"args": [
"<YOUR_PATH_TO_THINGS3_MCP_DXT_EXTENSION>/server/index.js"
]
}
}
}
