Trello Automation via Rube MCP

Automate Trello board management, card creation, and team workflows through Composio's Rube MCP integration.

Toolkit docs

:

composio.dev/toolkits/trello

Prerequisites

Rube MCP must be connected (RUBE_SEARCH_TOOLS available)

Active Trello connection via

RUBE_MANAGE_CONNECTIONS

with toolkit

trello

Always call

RUBE_SEARCH_TOOLS

first to get current tool schemas

Setup

Get Rube MCP

Add

https://rube.app/mcp

as an MCP server in your client configuration. No API keys needed — just add the endpoint and it works.

Verify Rube MCP is available by confirming

RUBE_SEARCH_TOOLS

responds

Call

RUBE_MANAGE_CONNECTIONS

with toolkit

trello

If connection is not ACTIVE, follow the returned auth link to complete Trello auth

Confirm connection status shows ACTIVE before running any workflows

Core Workflows

1. Create a Card on a Board

When to use

User wants to add a new card/task to a Trello board

Tool sequence

:

TRELLO_GET_MEMBERS_BOARDS_BY_ID_MEMBER

- List boards to find target board ID [Prerequisite]

TRELLO_GET_BOARDS_LISTS_BY_ID_BOARD

- Get lists on board to find target list ID [Prerequisite]

TRELLO_ADD_CARDS

- Create the card on the resolved list [Required]

TRELLO_ADD_CARDS_CHECKLISTS_BY_ID_CARD

- Add a checklist to the card [Optional]

TRELLO_ADD_CARDS_CHECKLIST_CHECK_ITEM_BY_ID_CARD_BY_ID_CHECKLIST

- Add items to the checklist [Optional]

Key parameters

:

idList

24-char hex ID (NOT list name)

name

Card title

desc

Card description (supports Markdown)

pos

Position ('top'/'bottom')

due

Due date (ISO 8601 format)

Pitfalls

:

Store returned id (idCard) immediately; downstream checklist operations fail without it

Checklist payload may be nested (data.data); extract idChecklist from inner object

One API call per checklist item; large checklists can trigger rate limits

2. Manage Boards and Lists

When to use

User wants to view, browse, or restructure board layout

Tool sequence

:

TRELLO_GET_MEMBERS_BOARDS_BY_ID_MEMBER

- List all boards for the user [Required]

TRELLO_GET_BOARDS_BY_ID_BOARD

- Get detailed board info [Required]

TRELLO_GET_BOARDS_LISTS_BY_ID_BOARD

- Get lists (columns) on the board [Optional]

TRELLO_GET_BOARDS_MEMBERS_BY_ID_BOARD

- Get board members [Optional]

TRELLO_GET_BOARDS_LABELS_BY_ID_BOARD

- Get labels on the board [Optional]

Key parameters

:

idMember

Use 'me' for authenticated user

filter

'open', 'starred', or 'all'

idBoard

24-char hex or 8-char shortLink (NOT board name)

Pitfalls

:

Some runs return boards under response.data.details[]—don't assume flat top-level array

Lists may be nested under results[0].response.data.details—parse defensively

ISO 8601 timestamps with trailing 'Z' must be parsed as timezone-aware

3. Move Cards Between Lists

When to use

User wants to change a card's status by moving it to another list

Tool sequence

:

TRELLO_GET_SEARCH

- Find the card by name or keyword [Prerequisite]

TRELLO_GET_BOARDS_LISTS_BY_ID_BOARD

- Get destination list ID [Prerequisite]

TRELLO_UPDATE_CARDS_BY_ID_CARD

- Update card's idList to move it [Required]

Key parameters

:

idCard

Card ID from search

idList

Destination list ID

pos

Optional ordering within new list

Pitfalls

:

Search returns partial matches; verify card name before updating

Moving doesn't update position within new list; set pos if ordering matters

4. Assign Members to Cards

When to use

User wants to assign team members to cards

Tool sequence

:

TRELLO_GET_BOARDS_MEMBERS_BY_ID_BOARD

- Get member IDs from the board [Prerequisite]

TRELLO_ADD_CARDS_ID_MEMBERS_BY_ID_CARD

- Add a member to the card [Required]

Key parameters

:

idCard

Target card ID

value

Member ID to assign

Pitfalls

:

UPDATE_CARDS_ID_MEMBERS replaces entire member list; use ADD_CARDS_ID_MEMBERS to append

Member must have board permissions

5. Search and Filter Cards

When to use

User wants to find specific cards across boards

Tool sequence

:

TRELLO_GET_SEARCH

- Search by query string [Required]

Key parameters

:

query

Search string (supports board:, list:, label:, is:open/archived operators)

modelTypes

Set to 'cards'

partial

Set to 'true' for prefix matching

Pitfalls

:

Search indexing has delay; newly created cards may not appear for several minutes

For exact name matching, use TRELLO_GET_BOARDS_CARDS_BY_ID_BOARD and filter locally

Query uses word tokenization; common words may be ignored as stop words

6. Add Comments and Attachments

When to use

User wants to add context to an existing card

Tool sequence

:

TRELLO_ADD_CARDS_ACTIONS_COMMENTS_BY_ID_CARD

- Post a comment on the card [Required]

TRELLO_ADD_CARDS_ATTACHMENTS_BY_ID_CARD

- Attach a file or URL [Optional]

Key parameters

:

text

Comment text (1-16384 chars, supports Markdown and @mentions)

url

OR

file

Attachment source (not both)

name

Attachment display name

mimeType

File MIME type

Pitfalls

:

Comments don't support file attachments; use the attachment tool separately

Attachment deletion is irreversible

Common Patterns

ID Resolution

Always resolve display names to IDs before operations:

Board name → Board ID

:

TRELLO_GET_MEMBERS_BOARDS_BY_ID_MEMBER

with idMember='me'

List name → List ID

:

TRELLO_GET_BOARDS_LISTS_BY_ID_BOARD

with resolved board ID

Card name → Card ID

:

TRELLO_GET_SEARCH

with query string

Member name → Member ID

:

TRELLO_GET_BOARDS_MEMBERS_BY_ID_BOARD

Pagination

Most list endpoints return all items. For boards with 1000+ cards, use

limit

and

before

parameters on card listing endpoints.

Rate Limits

300 requests per 10 seconds per token. Use

TRELLO_GET_BATCH

for bulk read operations to stay within limits.

Known Pitfalls

ID Requirements

Nearly every tool requires IDs, not display names. Always resolve names to IDs first.

Board ID Format

Board IDs must be 24-char hex or 8-char shortLink. URL slugs like 'my-board' are NOT valid.

Search Delays

Search indexing has delays; newly created/updated cards may not appear immediately.

Nested Responses

Response data is often nested (data.data or data.details[]); parse defensively.

Rate Limiting

300 req/10s per token. Batch reads with TRELLO_GET_BATCH. Quick Reference Task Tool Slug Key Params List user's boards TRELLO_GET_MEMBERS_BOARDS_BY_ID_MEMBER idMember='me', filter='open' Get board details TRELLO_GET_BOARDS_BY_ID_BOARD idBoard (24-char hex) List board lists TRELLO_GET_BOARDS_LISTS_BY_ID_BOARD idBoard Create card TRELLO_ADD_CARDS idList, name, desc, pos, due Update card TRELLO_UPDATE_CARDS_BY_ID_CARD idCard, idList (to move) Search cards TRELLO_GET_SEARCH query, modelTypes='cards' Add checklist TRELLO_ADD_CARDS_CHECKLISTS_BY_ID_CARD idCard, name Add comment TRELLO_ADD_CARDS_ACTIONS_COMMENTS_BY_ID_CARD idCard, text Assign member TRELLO_ADD_CARDS_ID_MEMBERS_BY_ID_CARD idCard, value (member ID) Attach file/URL TRELLO_ADD_CARDS_ATTACHMENTS_BY_ID_CARD idCard, url OR file Get board members TRELLO_GET_BOARDS_MEMBERS_BY_ID_BOARD idBoard Batch read TRELLO_GET_BATCH urls (comma-separated paths) Powered by Composio