productivity

Shortcut

by useshortcut

Automate sprint planning and task management with Shortcut—supports story management, epics, teams, and more for agile d

Integrates with Shortcut's project management platform to provide story management, epic and iteration operations, team workflows, objective tracking, and comprehensive search capabilities for development teams automating sprint planning and task management.

github stars

89

Remote hosted server availableOAuth authentication - no API tokens needed

best for

  • / Development teams using Shortcut for project management
  • / Engineering managers automating sprint planning
  • / Teams wanting to integrate Shortcut data into development workflows

capabilities

  • / Manage stories and epics in Shortcut
  • / Track iterations and sprint planning
  • / Search across projects and tasks
  • / Monitor team objectives and workflows
  • / Automate sprint planning tasks
  • / Access project management data via OAuth

what it does

Provides integration with Shortcut project management platform for managing stories, epics, iterations, and team workflows. Offers hosted remote connection with OAuth authentication for zero-setup use.

about

Shortcut is an official MCP server published by useshortcut that provides AI assistants with tools and capabilities via the Model Context Protocol. Automate sprint planning and task management with Shortcut—supports story management, epics, teams, and more for agile d It is categorized under productivity.

how to install

You can install Shortcut 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

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

readme

@shortcut/mcp

<img height="125" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/7c3d3b8e-6252-4790-81cd-6640cd46a2d6" alt="Shortcut's logo" align="right">

Version Monthly Downloads GitHub License PRs welcome! X

MCP Server for Shortcut users.

Links: Local Installations | Server Developers

Usage

Cursor

The fastest way to get started is to connect to Shortcut's hosted MCP server. No API token or local setup required — authentication is handled via OAuth.

  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": {
      "url": "https://mcp.shortcut.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}
  1. Restart Cursor. You will be prompted to authorize with your Shortcut account on first use.

VS Code

If all you need need the configuration for the mcp.json file use this. You will be prompted to authorize with your Shortcut account on first use.

{
  "servers": {
    "github-mcp": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://mcp.shortcut.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}

For more detail on installing MCP services in VSCode see the official VS Code MCP docs for more information.

Claude Desktop

Download the package from this repo

Then, either double-click the icon to install or drag the package onto the client window. It should trigger the installation.

Other IDEs / Running Locally

If your IDE doesn't support HTTP-based MCP servers, or you'd prefer to run the server locally, see the Local Server Setup guide. This covers setup for Windsurf, Zed, Claude Code, and any IDE that supports stdio-based MCP servers.

Available Tools

Stories

ToolDescription
stories-get-by-idGet a single Shortcut story by ID
stories-get-historyGet the change history for a story
stories-searchFind Shortcut stories with filtering and search options
stories-get-branch-nameGet the recommended branch name (based on workspace settings) for a specific story
stories-createCreate a new Shortcut story
stories-updateUpdate an existing Shortcut story
stories-upload-fileUpload a file and link it to a story
stories-assign-current-userAssign the current user as the owner of a story
stories-unassign-current-userUnassign the current user as the owner of a story
stories-create-commentCreate a comment on a story
stories-create-subtaskAdd a new sub-task to a story
stories-add-subtaskAdd an existing story as a sub-task
stories-remove-subtaskRemove a sub-task from a story
stories-add-taskAdd a task to a story
stories-update-taskUpdate a task in a story
stories-add-relationAdd a story relationship (relates to, blocks, duplicates, etc.)
stories-add-external-linkAdd an external link to a Shortcut story
stories-remove-external-linkRemove an external link from a Shortcut story
stories-set-external-linksReplace all external links on a story with a new set of links
stories-get-by-external-linkFind all stories that contain a specific external link

Labels

ToolDescription
labels-listList all labels in the Shortcut workspace
labels-get-storiesGet all stories with a specific label
labels-createCreate a new label in Shortcut

Custom Fields

ToolDescription
custom-fields-listList all custom fields in the workspace with their possible values

Epics

ToolDescription
epics-get-by-idGet a Shortcut epic by ID
epics-searchFind Shortcut epics with filtering and search options
epics-createCreate a new Shortcut epic
epics-updateUpdate an existing Shortcut epic
epics-deleteDelete a Shortcut epic

Iterations

ToolDescription
iterations-get-storiesGet stories in a specific iteration by iteration ID
iterations-get-by-idGet a Shortcut iteration by ID
iterations-searchFind Shortcut iterations with filtering and search options
iterations-createCreate a new Shortcut iteration with start/end dates
iterations-updateUpdate an existing Shortcut iteration
iterations-deleteDelete a Shortcut iteration
iterations-get-activeGet active iterations for the current user based on team memberships
iterations-get-upcomingGet upcoming iterations for the current user based on team memberships

Objectives

ToolDescription
objectives-get-by-idGet a Shortcut objective by ID
objectives-searchFind Shortcut objectives with filtering and search options

Teams

ToolDescription
teams-get-by-idGet a Shortcut team by ID
teams-listList all Shortcut teams

Projects

ToolDescription
projects-listList all projects in the Shortcut workspace
projects-get-by-idGet a Shortcut project by public ID
projects-get-storiesGet all stories in a specific project

Workflows

ToolDescription
workflows-get-defaultGet the default workflow for a specific team or the workspace default
workflows-get-by-idGet a Shortcut workflow by ID
workflows-listList all Shortcut workflows

Users

ToolDescription
users-get-currentGet the current user information
users-get-current-teamsGet a list of teams where the current user is a member
users-listGet all workspace users

Documents

ToolDescription
documents-createCreate a new document in Shortcut with Markdown content
documents-updateUpdate content of an existing document by its ID
documents-listList all documents in Shortcut
documents-searchSearch for documents
documents-get-by-idRetrieve 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 (when running locally):

{
  "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
  • custom-fields
  • objectives
  • teams
  • projects
  • 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.

Example (when running locally):

{
  "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:

OptionLink
Open an issueGitHub
Ask for helpSlack

FAQ

What is the Shortcut MCP server?
Shortcut 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 Shortcut?
This profile displays 10 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.
MCP server reviews

Ratings

4.510 reviews
  • Shikha Mishra· Oct 10, 2024

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

  • Piyush G· Sep 9, 2024

    We evaluated Shortcut against two servers with overlapping tools; this profile had the clearer scope statement.

  • Chaitanya Patil· Aug 8, 2024

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

  • Sakshi Patil· Jul 7, 2024

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

  • Ganesh Mohane· Jun 6, 2024

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

  • Oshnikdeep· May 5, 2024

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

  • Dhruvi Jain· Apr 4, 2024

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

  • Rahul Santra· Mar 3, 2024

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

  • Pratham Ware· Feb 2, 2024

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

  • Yash Thakker· Jan 1, 2024

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