YNAB MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for interacting with YNAB (You Need A Budget). Provides tools for accessing budget data through MCP-enabled clients like Claude Desktop.

MCP Client Configuration

Basic Configuration

Add this to your MCP client’s configuration (e.g. cline_mcp_settings.json for Claude Desktop):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ynab-mcp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["run", "ynab-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "YNAB_API_KEY": "your-api-key-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Advanced Configuration

If you’re running from a specific directory:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ynab-mcp": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": ["--directory", "/path/to/ynab-mcp", "run", "ynab-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "YNAB_API_KEY": "your-api-key-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Debugging

To debug with the MCP Inspector:

1. Install the inspector:

npm install -g @modelcontextprotocol/inspector

2. Update your configuration to use the inspector with uv:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ynab-mcp": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": ["--directory", "/path/to/ynab-mcp", "run", "@modelcontextprotocol/inspector", "ynab-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "YNAB_API_KEY": "your-api-key-here"
      },
      "disabled": false,
      "autoApprove": []
    }
  }
}

The inspector provides:

• Real-time logs of tool calls and responses
• Request/response inspection
• Tool schema validation
• Interactive testing interface

Available Tools

GetUser

Retrieves information about the authenticated YNAB user, including user ID and email.

ListBudgets

Lists all budgets accessible to the authenticated user, including budget IDs and names.

GetBudget

Retrieves detailed information about a specific budget, including transactions, categories, and balances. Supports optional date filtering and transaction limiting.

Note: Monetary amounts are returned in milliunits (e.g., 1000 = $1.00)

GetBudgetCategories

Retrieves all categories defined in the specified budget, including category groups, names, and IDs.

GetBudgetSettings

Retrieves settings for the specified budget, including currency format, date format, and other preferences.