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MCP Kanban in VS Code

A task board per project that hands off to the time tracker. It keeps tasks per project in columns with due dates, estimates, priorities and tags, shows the board, overdue items and a weekly review of planned versus done, and starts a time-tracker timer from a task with the link recorded on it.

In agent mode task_add and task_done are tools the agent can reach mid-task, so "mark NOVA-3 done and log 40 minutes" is one instruction instead of opening the board separately to close it out.

What you get in VS Code

You say	Tool
Add a task to the nova site board: write the launch email, due Friday, 90 minutes.	`task_add`
What's overdue, and start the timer on the API task.	`overdue then task_start_timer`
Weekly review.	`weekly_review`

Two server processes on one data directory firing 40 concurrent task_add calls at the same board all persisted with unique ids and the counter landed on exactly 41, which is what the advisory lock around the id counter is there to guarantee.

Install it in VS Code

The file is .vscode/mcp.json, and the key inside it is servers.

Scope	Path
This workspace	`<workspace>/.vscode/mcp.json`
Every workspace	`the user profile mcp.json, opened by the MCP: Open User Configuration command`

// .vscode/mcp.json  (the key is "servers")
{
  "servers": {
    "kanban": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@theluckystrike/mcp-kanban"]
    }
  }
}

Or from a terminal:

code --add-mcp '{"name":"kanban","command":"npx","args":["-y","@theluckystrike/mcp-kanban"]}'

VS Code asks you to confirm you trust the server and its capabilities before it starts. Nothing runs until you answer.

The npm publish of @theluckystrike/mcp-kanban is pending; until then use the .mcpb bundle or a clone and build from the latest release.

No install: the hosted endpoint

There is no hosted endpoint for this one yet. MCP Kanban runs locally over stdio with the config above, which is also the only form in which it reads and writes files on your own disk. Three of the servers in this collection are served at https://mcp.zovo.one/mcp/<name> over MCP streamable HTTP: time-tracker, price-tracker and invoice.

VS Code notes worth knowing first

The top-level key is "servers", not "mcpServers". A config pasted from a Claude Desktop or Cursor README parses cleanly, contributes no servers, and gives you no error to read, which makes it the most expensive one-word mistake here. Alongside it an "inputs" array holds secrets. The newer Agent Host reads a workspace .mcp.json instead.

Free: 3 project boards, 200 open tasks, the default five columns. Pro is $19 once, verified offline.

Questions

Why does my mcp.json do nothing?

The key is servers, not mcpServers. A config copied from a Claude Desktop README parses cleanly and contributes nothing. Rename it. On the newer Agent Host, use a workspace .mcp.json instead.

Do I have to edit the file at all?

No. code --add-mcp takes the server object on the command line, and MCP: Add Server in the palette asks whether the target is Workspace or Global.

Where do the MCP Kanban tools show up?

In Chat, behind the tools picker, once the server has started. Adding or changing one raises a prompt asking you to confirm you trust it; if the picker is empty, that prompt is usually still waiting.

MCP Kanban in detail · The same server in Cursor and Windsurf · Every server in VS Code · Guides · VS Code docs