WorkFlowy MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that integrates WorkFlowy's outline and task management capabilities with LLM applications like Claude Desktop.

Features

• 8 MCP Tools for complete WorkFlowy node management
• FastMCP Framework for reliable MCP implementation
• High Performance with async operations and rate limiting
• Automatic Retry with exponential backoff
• Structured Logging for debugging and monitoring

MCP Tools Available

Tool	Description
workflowy_create_node	Create new nodes with name, notes, and priority
workflowy_update_node	Update existing node properties
workflowy_get_node	Retrieve a specific node by ID
workflowy_list_nodes	List nodes with filtering and pagination
workflowy_delete_node	Delete a node and its children
workflowy_complete_node	Mark a node as completed
workflowy_uncomplete_node	Mark a node as uncompleted
workflowy_search_nodes	Search nodes by text query

Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Python 3.10 or higher
• WorkFlowy account with API access
• Claude Desktop or other MCP-compatible client

Installation

Option 1: Install from PyPI (Recommended)

# Install the package
pip install workflowy-mcp

Option 2: Quick Setup Script

# Download and run the setup script
curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/yourusername/workflowy-mcp/main/install.sh | bash

# Or on Windows:
# irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/yourusername/workflowy-mcp/main/install.ps1 | iex

Option 3: Manual Installation from Source

# Clone the repository (if you want to contribute or modify)
git clone https://github.com/vladzima/workflowy-mcp.git
cd workflowy-mcp
pip install -e .

Configuration

1. Get your WorkFlowy API key:

   • From WorkFlowy

2. Configure Claude Desktop or another client: Edit your client configuration (Claude Desktop example):

   • Mac: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
   • Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

   Add to the mcpServers section:

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "workflowy": {
         "command": "python3",
         "args": ["-m", "workflowy_mcp"],
         "env": {
           "WORKFLOWY_API_KEY": "your_actual_api_key_here",
           // Optional settings (uncomment to override defaults):
           // "WORKFLOWY_API_BASE_URL": "https://beta.workflowy.com/api",
           // "WORKFLOWY_REQUEST_TIMEOUT": "30",
           // "WORKFLOWY_MAX_RETRIES": "3",
           // "WORKFLOWY_RATE_LIMIT_REQUESTS": "60",
           // "WORKFLOWY_RATE_LIMIT_WINDOW": "60"
         }
       }
     }
   }
   

3. Restart your client to load the MCP server

Usage

Once configured, you can use WorkFlowy tools with your agent:

"Create a new WorkFlowy node called 'Project Ideas' with high priority"

"List all my uncompleted tasks"

"Search for nodes containing 'meeting'"

"Mark the node with ID abc123 as completed"

"Update the 'Weekly Goals' node with new notes"

Development

Setup Development Environment

# Create virtual environment
python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate  # On Windows: venv\Scripts\activate

# Install in development mode
pip install -e ".[dev]"

# Run tests
pytest

# Run with coverage
pytest --cov=workflowy_mcp

# Run linting
ruff check src/
mypy src/
black src/ --check

Project Structure

workflowy-mcp/
├── src/
│   └── workflowy_mcp/
│       ├── __init__.py
│       ├── __main__.py          # Entry point
│       ├── server.py            # FastMCP server & tools
│       ├── config.py            # Configuration
│       ├── transport.py         # STDIO transport
│       ├── client/
│       │   ├── api_client.py    # WorkFlowy API client
│       │   ├── rate_limit.py    # Rate limiting
│       │   └── retry.py         # Retry logic
│       ├── models/
│       │   ├── node.py          # Node models
│       │   ├── requests.py      # Request models
│       │   ├── config.py        # Config models
│       │   └── errors.py        # Error models
│       └── middleware/
│           ├── errors.py        # Error handling
│           └── logging.py       # Request logging
├── tests/
│   ├── contract/                # Contract tests
│   ├── integration/              # Integration tests
│   ├── unit/                     # Unit tests
│   └── performance/              # Performance tests
├── pyproject.toml                # Project configuration
├── README.md                     # This file
├── CONTRIBUTING.md               # Contribution guide
├── install.sh                    # Unix/Mac installer
└── install.ps1                   # Windows installer

Running Tests

# Run all tests
pytest

# Run specific test categories
pytest tests/unit/
pytest tests/contract/
pytest tests/integration/
pytest tests/performance/

# Run with coverage report
pytest --cov=workflowy_mcp --cov-report=html

# Run with verbose output
pytest -xvs

API Reference

Node Structure

{
    "id": "unique-node-id",
    "nm": "Node name",
    "no": "Node notes/description",
    "cp": false,  # Completed status
    "priority": 2,  # 0-3 (0=none, 1=low, 2=normal, 3=high)
    "ch": [],  # Child nodes
    "created": 1234567890,  # Unix timestamp
    "modified": 1234567890  # Unix timestamp
}

Error Handling

All tools return a consistent error format:

{
    "success": false,
    "error": "error_type",
    "message": "Human-readable error message",
    "context": {...}  // Additional error context
}

Performance

• Automatic rate limiting prevents API throttling
• Token bucket algorithm for smooth request distribution
• Adaptive rate limiting based on API responses
• Connection pooling for efficient HTTP requests

Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md for development setup and contribution guidelines.

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.

Support

• Report bugs
• Request features

Acknowledgments

• Built with FastMCP framework
• Integrates with WorkFlowy API
• Compatible with Claude Desktop and other MCP clients