MCP Server

niftycli ships a companion Model Context Protocol (MCP) server, niftycli-mcp, so AI assistants like Claude can create Nifty tasks and manage projects directly - no typing commands, no prompts.

It runs locally on your machine (over stdio) and reuses the same config file (~/.niftycli/config.json) and SMTP setup as the niftycli CLI. It is not a hosted service - each MCP client launches it as a local process when you use it.

Requires niftycli v1.5.0 or later - the MCP server (niftycli-mcp) isn't included in earlier versions. Run npm install -g niftycli@latest to get the latest version.

Prerequisites

Run niftycli init at least once in a terminal to save your SMTP credentials and first project. The MCP server reads that same configuration; it does not handle first-time setup.

Connecting to Claude Code

With niftycli installed globally (npm i -g niftycli@latest):

claude mcp add niftycli -- niftycli-mcp

Connecting to Claude Desktop

Add this to your claude_desktop_config.json. With niftycli installed globally:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "niftycli": {
      "command": "niftycli-mcp"
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop after saving the config.

Checking the connection

Once connected, ask your MCP client to call niftycli_hello (no arguments needed). A reply like Hello! niftycli-mcp v1.4.0 is connected and working. confirms the server is reachable - this works even before you've run niftycli init.

Available tools

Tool	Does
niftycli_hello	Connectivity check - confirms the server is reachable
niftycli_update	Checks for a newer niftycli version and updates it globally if found
niftycli_status	Reports configuration status and lists saved projects
niftycli_list_projects	Lists saved projects and their forwarding emails
niftycli_add_project	Adds a project (name + forwarding email)
niftycli_edit_project	Renames a project and/or updates its forwarding email
niftycli_remove_project	Removes a saved project
niftycli_create_task	Creates a task by emailing it to a project's forwarding address

Every tool takes structured arguments instead of interactive prompts - for example, niftycli_create_task expects project, name, and optionally description and status.

note

niftycli init (SMTP setup) is intentionally not exposed as an MCP tool, since it involves entering account credentials. Run it in a terminal instead.

FAQ

Why does npx niftycli-mcp fail with a 404?

update niftycli to the latest version globally (npm i -g niftycli@latest) and try again.