Guide · Agent skill

How to use the Trello Board Manager agent skill

Updated 2026-10-29 · written with AI from the project's own documentation and checked against our catalogue data

This guide explains what the trello agent skill does, how to install it, and how to ask your agent to work with your Trello boards in plain language. It is written for people who have never used an agent skill before. By the end you will have the skill installed, your Trello credentials set up, and a clear idea of which requests it can handle.

Trello Board Managerspinabot/brigade · MIT Download the skill

Quick start

1Create your API key. Open https://trello.com/app-key to get your API key.
2Generate a token. On the same page, click the Token link to generate a token.
3Set environment variables. Export TRELLO_API_KEY and TRELLO_TOKEN in your shell with the values you received.
4Install jq. Install jq with brew install jq if it is not already on your machine.
5Install the skill. Unzip the downloaded ZIP into ~/.claude/skills/ or a project's .claude/skills/ folder, or upload it under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.
6Ask in plain language. Request an action such as listing boards or moving a card, and check the result.

What the Trello skill lets your agent do

Once installed, the skill lets your agent look up your Trello boards, lists and cards, create new cards, move cards between lists, add comments, and archive cards. It does this by running curl commands against the official Trello REST API, using your personal API key and token. It uses jq to format the results.

Trello is a web app for organising tasks on visual boards, where work is arranged as cards in lists.

List your boards, the lists on a board, and the cards in a list
Create a card in a list
Move a card to another list
Add a comment to a card
Archive a card

Install the Trello skill

The skill ships as a single SKILL.md file. You can install it in one of two ways. Download the ZIP from the directory page and unzip it into your personal skills folder at ~/.claude/skills/, or into a project's .claude/skills/ folder if you want it only for that project. Alternatively, in the Claude apps, go to Settings → Capabilities → Skills and upload the ZIP.

Personal: unzip into ~/.claude/skills/
Per project: unzip into the project's .claude/skills/ folder
Claude apps: Settings → Capabilities → Skills, then upload the ZIP

Install the requirements: jq, curl and a Trello account

The skill needs jq, a command-line JSON tool, and curl. The skill's metadata lists jq as installable with brew. You also need a Trello account, because the skill cannot work without one.

jq (command-line JSON tool), installable via brew
curl
A Trello account

brew install jq

Get your Trello API key and token

Get your API key from https://trello.com/app-key. On that same page, click the Token link to generate a token. Then set two environment variables, TRELLO_API_KEY and TRELLO_TOKEN, with those values.

The API key and token together give full access to your Trello account. Keep them secret.

export TRELLO_API_KEY="your-api-key"
export TRELLO_TOKEN="your-token"

How to trigger the skill with natural requests

You do not need to type commands yourself. Describe what you want in plain language and the agent will choose the matching API call. Mention Trello and be specific about the board, list or card, using names or IDs where you have them. Board, list and card IDs can be found in the Trello URL or by asking the agent to list them first.

"List my Trello boards."
"Show the lists on my Work board."
"Create a card called Write Q3 report in the To Do list with the description Draft by Friday."
"Move the card Fix login bug to Done."
"Add the comment Waiting on design review to the card Homepage refresh."
"Archive the card Old onboarding checklist."

Useful commands the skill uses

These are the underlying calls the agent runs. Reading them helps you check what it is about to do. Replace the placeholders in braces with real IDs.

curl -s "https://api.trello.com/1/members/me/boards?key=$TRELLO_API_KEY&token=$TRELLO_TOKEN" | jq '.[] | {name, id}'

curl -s -X POST "https://api.trello.com/1/cards?key=$TRELLO_API_KEY&token=$TRELLO_TOKEN" \
  -d "idList={listId}" \
  -d "name=Card Title" \
  -d "desc=Card description"

curl -s -X PUT "https://api.trello.com/1/cards/{cardId}?key=$TRELLO_API_KEY&token=$TRELLO_TOKEN" \
  -d "closed=true"

Safety notes: scripts and network access

This skill runs scripts and uses the network. Every command sends requests to api.trello.com using your key and token, and can change your boards by creating, moving, commenting on, or archiving cards. The API key and token provide full access to your Trello account, not just one board. Only install it if you are comfortable with an agent making those changes.

Trello enforces rate limits: 300 requests per 10 seconds per API key, 100 requests per 10 seconds per token, and 100 requests per 900 seconds for /1/members endpoints.

Use a token you are comfortable giving an agent full account access through
Review requests that move or archive cards, especially on boards you care about
Rotate or revoke the token if you stop using the skill

What people use it for

Filing a new task card into a To Do list from a conversation with the agent
Moving finished cards to a Done list as part of board housekeeping
Adding a status comment to a card during a workflow
Listing the cards in a list to review what is pending

Frequently asked questions

How do I install the Trello agent skill?

Download the ZIP from the directory page and unzip it into ~/.claude/skills/, or into a project's .claude/skills/ folder. In the Claude apps, you can instead upload the ZIP under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.

What do I need to use the Trello skill?

You need jq, curl, a Trello account, and two environment variables: TRELLO_API_KEY and TRELLO_TOKEN. Get the API key from trello.com/app-key and generate the token on the same page.

Is the Trello skill free?

The skill is released under the MIT licence. The source does not state pricing for Trello itself, so check Trello's own plans for any costs on your account.

Where do I get the TRELLO_API_KEY and TRELLO_TOKEN?

Go to https://trello.com/app-key. The API key is shown on that page, and clicking the Token link there generates your token. Store both as environment variables.

Can the agent delete Trello cards?

The documented commands create, move, comment on and archive cards. Archiving sets a card as closed. The skill does not document a delete command.

Does the Trello skill support labels, attachments or webhooks?

No. The skill covers boards, lists, and cards plus comments and archiving. Attachments, labels and webhooks are not documented in this skill, so it cannot be relied on for them.

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Our verdict

Use this skill if you already use Trello and want an agent to file, move, comment on or archive cards from plain-language requests. Skip it if you are not comfortable giving an agent full read and write access to your Trello account, if you need features beyond these commands, or if you do not have a Trello account.

Download the skill