MCP Server for Claude Code

Claude Code is Anthropic's CLI tool for agentic coding. By connecting the Plane MCP Server to Claude Code, you can manage your Plane workspace directly from the terminal — create work items, plan cycles, search across projects, and more, all through natural language.

Prerequisites

• Claude Code: Install Claude Code if you haven't already.
• Node.js 22+: Required for HTTP transports. Verify with node --version.
• Python 3.10+ and uvx: Required only for the local Stdio transport. Verify with python --version and uvx --version.
• Plane API Key: For PAT or Stdio transports, generate one from Workspace Settings > API Tokens in Plane.

Setup methods

Choose the transport method that fits your setup.

Method	Best for	Auth
HTTP with OAuth	Plane Cloud, interactive use	Browser-based OAuth
HTTP with PAT	CI/CD, automated workflows	API key in headers
Local Stdio	Self-hosted Plane instances	Environment variables

HTTP with OAuth

The simplest way to connect to Plane Cloud. Run this in your terminal:

claude mcp add --transport http plane https://mcp.plane.so/http/mcp

After adding the server, start Claude Code and run /mcp to authenticate via your browser.

HTTP with PAT token

For automated workflows or when you prefer token-based auth:

claude mcp add-json plane '{
  "type": "http",
  "url": "https://mcp.plane.so/http/api-key/mcp",
  "headers": {
    "Authorization": "Bearer <YOUR_API_KEY>",
    "X-Workspace-slug": "<YOUR_WORKSPACE_SLUG>"
  }
}'

Replace <YOUR_API_KEY> and <YOUR_WORKSPACE_SLUG> with your actual values.

Local Stdio

For self-hosted Plane instances, use the Stdio transport which runs locally:

claude mcp add-json plane '{
  "type": "stdio",
  "command": "uvx",
  "args": ["plane-mcp-server", "stdio"],
  "env": {
    "PLANE_API_KEY": "<YOUR_API_KEY>",
    "PLANE_WORKSPACE_SLUG": "<YOUR_WORKSPACE_SLUG>",
    "PLANE_BASE_URL": "https://your-plane-instance.com"
  }
}'

Environment variables

Variable	Required	Description
PLANE_API_KEY	Yes	API key from your workspace settings
PLANE_WORKSPACE_SLUG	Yes	Your workspace slug (found in your Plane URL)
PLANE_BASE_URL	No	API URL for self-hosted instances. Defaults to https://api.plane.so

Scope options

Control where the MCP server configuration is stored by adding a --scope flag:

# Available only to you in the current project (default)
claude mcp add --scope local --transport http plane https://mcp.plane.so/http/mcp

# Shared via .mcp.json, committed to version control
claude mcp add --scope project --transport http plane https://mcp.plane.so/http/mcp

# Available across all your projects
claude mcp add --scope user --transport http plane https://mcp.plane.so/http/mcp

Verify the connection

After setup, verify the Plane MCP Server is connected:

# List all configured MCP servers
claude mcp list

# Get details for the Plane server
claude mcp get plane

Inside Claude Code, run /mcp to check the server status and see the available tools.

Available tools

The Plane MCP Server exposes 55+ tools across these categories:

Category	Tools	Examples
Projects	9	List, create, update, delete projects; get members and features
Work Items	7	Create, list, search, update, delete work items
Cycles	12	Manage cycles, add/remove work items, transfer, archive
Modules	11	Manage modules, add/remove work items, archive
Initiatives	5	Create and manage workspace-level initiatives
Intake	5	Manage intake work items for triage
Work Item Properties	5	Manage custom properties on work items
Users	1	Get current authenticated user info

Examples

Here are common tasks you can perform by chatting with Claude Code after connecting the Plane MCP Server.

List projects in your workspace

Prompt:

List all projects in my workspace.

Claude Code calls list_projects and returns a summary of all projects including their identifiers, lead, and status.

Create a work item

Prompt:

Create a bug in project WEB titled "Fix login redirect loop" and assign it to me.

Claude Code calls get_me to find your user ID, then create_work_item with the project ID, name, and assignee.

Search across work items

Prompt:

Search for work items related to "authentication" across the workspace.

Claude Code calls search_work_items with the query string and returns matching results from all projects.

Plan a cycle

Prompt:

Create a new cycle called "Sprint 24" in project WEB starting today and
ending in 2 weeks. Add work items WEB-102, WEB-115, and WEB-118 to it.

Claude Code calls create_cycle with the name and dates, then add_work_items_to_cycle to attach the specified items.

Triage intake items

Prompt:

Show me all intake items in project MOBILE and accept the ones related to
crash reports.

Claude Code calls list_intake_work_items to retrieve pending items, then update_intake_work_item to accept the relevant ones.

Get a project overview

Prompt:

Give me a summary of project BACKEND — what cycles are active, how many
open work items are there, and who are the members?

Claude Code calls retrieve_project, list_cycles, list_work_items, and get_project_members to assemble a full overview.

Manage modules

Prompt:

Create a module called "Auth Revamp" in project WEB and add all work items
tagged with the "auth" label to it.

Claude Code calls create_module, then list_work_items with label filtering, and finally add_work_items_to_module to associate the items.

Move work items between cycles

Prompt:

Transfer all incomplete work items from "Sprint 23" to "Sprint 24" in
project WEB.

Claude Code calls list_cycles to find both cycle IDs, then transfer_cycle_work_items to move unfinished items.

Managing the server

# Remove the Plane MCP server
claude mcp remove plane

# Re-add with a different transport
claude mcp add --transport http plane https://mcp.plane.so/http/mcp

Troubleshooting

MCP server not connecting

If the server fails to start, launch Claude Code with the debug flag:

claude --mcp-debug

This shows detailed logs during MCP server initialization.

Authentication errors (OAuth)

Clear saved OAuth tokens and re-authenticate:

rm -rf ~/.mcp-auth

Then restart Claude Code and run /mcp to authenticate again.

Server timeout on startup

If the MCP server times out during initialization, increase the timeout:

MCP_TIMEOUT=10000 claude

This sets a 10-second startup timeout (default is lower).

Python or Node.js not found

Ensure the required runtime is installed and available on your PATH:

# For HTTP transports
node --version   # Should be 22+

# For Stdio transport
python --version # Should be 3.10+
uvx --version

Getting help

If issues persist:

1. Check your credentials and workspace slug
2. Run claude mcp list to verify the configuration
3. Contact support at support@plane.so for Plane-specific issues
4. Visit the Plane MCP Server repository for known issues