Local monday.com Platform MCP (IBM Bob)

Natural-language monday.com task management via the official Platform MCP package @mondaydotcomorg/monday-api-mcp, running locally on this Mac and wired into IBM Bob.

Auth decision

Path	Status
Hosted MCP + OAuth (https://mcp.monday.com/mcp)	Supported by monday; not used here (not local)
Local MCP + OAuth	Not supported by the official local server
Local MCP + personal API token	Implemented

Token is loaded from macOS Keychain (monday-api-token) or ~/.bob/monday.env (mode 600). Nothing secret is committed.

Prerequisites

• Node.js 20+ (this machine: Node 22)
• npm
• monday.com personal API token (Developers → My access tokens)

cd /Users/lalit/Developments/bob-mcp-monday-v3.0
npm install
./scripts/store-monday-token.sh   # or: MONDAY_TOKEN='...' ./scripts/store-monday-token.sh

IBM Bob MCP configuration (reference)

Official docs: Using MCP in Bob · Bob Shell MCP · Server transports

Config file locations

Bob supports two MCP config levels. Project overrides global when the same server name appears in both.

Level	Path on this machine	Scope
Global (Bob IDE)	/Users/lalit/.bob/mcp.json	All workspaces
Project	/Users/lalit/Developments/bob-mcp-monday-v3.0/.bob/mcp.json	This repo only (can be shared via git; no secrets)
Bob Shell / settings sync	/Users/lalit/.bob/settings/mcp_settings.json	Kept in sync with the same monday-api-mcp entry for Shell

Related (not Bob MCP JSON, but used by our launcher):

File	Role
scripts/monday-mcp.sh	STDIO entrypoint Bob runs (command)
/Users/lalit/.bob/monday.env	Token fallback (chmod 600) — never commit
macOS Keychain service monday-api-token	Preferred token store

Edit config from Bob UI

1. Open the Bob panel → settings (gear) → MCP tab.
2. Edit Global MCP → opens ~/.bob/mcp.json.
3. Edit Project MCP → opens .bob/mcp.json in the project root (created if missing).
4. Ensure Use MCP Servers is checked.
5. Expand monday-api-mcp to enable/disable individual tools if you want a smaller tool set.

After JSON edits: reload MCP or restart Bob so the server reconnects.

Active server entry (copy/paste)

Transport: STDIO (local process). Format matches Bob’s mcpServers schema (command, args, disabled; optional cwd, env, alwaysAllow).

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "monday-api-mcp": {
      "command": "/Users/lalit/Developments/bob-mcp-monday-v3.0/scripts/monday-mcp.sh",
      "args": ["--enable-dynamic-api-tools", "true"],
      "disabled": false
    }
  }
}

Field	Value / notes
Server name	monday-api-mcp (shown in Bob MCP tab)
command	Absolute path to the Keychain-backed launcher
args	Full CRUD + all_monday_api escape hatch
Read-only mode	Use "args": ["--read-only"] instead (cannot combine with dynamic API tools)
disabled	true to stop Bob from spawning the server

Token is not in the JSON — the launcher loads MONDAY_TOKEN from Keychain / ~/.bob/monday.env.

Start / stop in Bob

There is no long-running daemon. Bob spawns the STDIO server when MCP is enabled.

1. Bob panel → MCP → Use MCP Servers = on.
2. Confirm monday-api-mcp is listed and not disabled.
3. After config or token changes: restart Bob or toggle MCP off/on.
4. To stop: uncheck Use MCP Servers, set "disabled": true, or remove the server entry.

Smoke test without Bob:

./scripts/verify-mcp.sh --enable-dynamic-api-tools true get_user_context '{}'

Create / rotate credentials

1. monday avatar (bottom-left) → Developers → My access tokens → copy token.
2. Store securely:

./scripts/store-monday-token.sh
# or non-interactive:
MONDAY_TOKEN='paste_token_here' ./scripts/store-monday-token.sh

This updates Keychain service monday-api-token and ~/.bob/monday.env.

3. Rotate: generate a new token in monday, re-run the store script, then reload Bob MCP. Revoke the old token in monday.

Example natural-language commands

• “Who am I in monday?”
• “Show my boards”
• “Show schema for board project-tasks-update (columns and groups)”
• “Create a task on that board in group Y with status Working on it, due Friday”
• “Move item Z to Done and assign it to me”
• “List overdue items on the Marketing board”
• “Add a comment on item …”
• “Archive/delete this item” (assistant must confirm first)

See assistant-instructions.md for tool-mapping and safety rules.

Capability checklist

Area	Tools
READ	get_user_context, list_workspaces, search, get_board_info, get_board_schema, get_board_items_page, get_updates, list_users_and_teams, …
CREATE	create_board, create_group, create_item, create_update, column values via create/change tools
UPDATE	change_item_column_values, move_item_to_group, item name via API tools
DELETE	delete_item, delete_update (confirm first); archive via dedicated tool or all_monday_api
Escape hatch	all_monday_api, get_graphql_schema, get_type_details

Apps MCP (--mode apps) is not enabled — Platform workspace data only.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Fix
Bob doesn’t show monday-api-mcp	Check /Users/lalit/.bob/mcp.json and project .bob/mcp.json; Bob panel → MCP → Use MCP Servers on; restart Bob
Editing the wrong file	IDE global = ~/.bob/mcp.json; project override = .bob/mcp.json; Shell also reads ~/.bob/settings/mcp_settings.json
Project config ignored	Project entry wins only when this workspace is open; otherwise global applies
Auth / 401 / “not authenticated”	Re-run ./scripts/store-monday-token.sh with a fresh token; reload Bob
Server won’t start	npm install in this repo; confirm node_modules/@mondaydotcomorg/monday-api-mcp/dist/index.js exists; command path must be absolute
Missing tools	Ensure args include --enable-dynamic-api-tools true (not --read-only); reload Bob; check per-tool toggles in Bob MCP tab
Rate limits	MCP calls count toward monday’s daily API limit — batch reads, avoid tight loops
Permission denied on a board	Token only sees boards your user can access; ask a board owner for access
Hosted OAuth preferred later	In Bob MCP JSON use streamable HTTP: "type": "streamable-http", "url": "https://mcp.monday.com/mcp" (see Bob transport docs); may require monday AI Connectors / marketplace MCP app
Disk full / npx slow	Prefer local npm install (wrapper already uses local dist/index.js when present)

Scripts

Script	Purpose
scripts/monday-mcp.sh	Bob MCP command entrypoint
scripts/store-monday-token.sh	Save token to Keychain + ~/.bob/monday.env
scripts/verify-mcp.sh	Stdio initialize + tools/list + optional tools/call
scripts/run-acceptance-tests.sh	Full CRUD acceptance suite

Latest verified run: ACCEPTANCE_RESULTS.md (all 8 checks passed).

References

IBM Bob

• Using MCP in Bob — global ~/.bob/mcp.json vs project .bob/mcp.json
• Bob Shell MCP
• MCP server transports — STDIO vs streamable HTTP

monday.com

• Package: @mondaydotcomorg/monday-api-mcp
• Repo: https://github.com/mondaycom/mcp
• Hosted MCP: https://mcp.monday.com/mcp
• Platform MCP overview: https://developer.monday.com/api-reference/docs/monday-mcp-overview# bob-mcp-monday-v3.0