YNAB MCP Server
An MCP server for YNAB: an agent reads budgets and accounts and edits transactions with a personal token, launched via uvx.
- 100 ★ on the repository
- Last commit
Broad access
Why this level
- The token opens the account budgets and allows creating, changing and deleting transactions.
- Financial data from tool responses lands in the model context and reaches its provider.
Install
- Works in
In your terminal, with SkillFoxx CLI
npx skillfoxx add mcp/ynab-mcp-serverDetects the agents on your machine, shows the access level and pins the version.
Other ways to install
Access and checks
How we reviewBroad accessThe tool can change data, run commands or handle secrets.
- The token opens the account budgets and allows creating, changing and deleting transactions.
- Financial data from tool responses lands in the model context and reaches its provider.
This is third-party code. Review the repository files before installing.
What it does
A FastMCP server turns every YNAB API endpoint into an MCP tool. An agent gets budgets, accounts, categories, payees, months and transactions, can create, change, delete and import transactions and manage scheduled ones. The repository has a `.skills` folder with the skill-creator skill. It turns personal bookkeeping rules, such as categorizing purchases and removing duplicates between a bank and Venmo, into a standalone skill the agent applies by itself.
Who it is for. YNAB users who sort unapproved transactions and duplicates with Claude Code, Cursor or Claude Desktop.
Good fit when
- Unapproved transactions have piled up and need sorting into categories.
- You want to find duplicates between a bank statement and a Venmo entry.
- Questions about an account balance and monthly spending are asked right in chat.
- You want to write your bookkeeping rules into a skill once and apply them every time.
Not a fit when
- You have no personal YNAB token: access works only through a Personal Access Token.
- Budget data must not be shown to a model: transactions go to the agent and the model provider.
- You need read-only reports: the token also opens data changes.
Example request
Show unapproved transactions from last week and suggest categories without changing anything until I confirm.MCP
- Transport
- stdio
- Authentication
- API key
Environment variables
YNAB_API_TOKENrequired, secret- Personal Access Token from YNAB Developer Settings.
Limitations
It needs the uv package manager and a personal YNAB token from Account Settings, Developer Settings. The token is shown once and opens the account budgets, and it sits in the `YNAB_API_TOKEN` variable of the client configuration. The server exposes every API endpoint, including `createTransaction`, `updateTransaction` and `deleteTransaction`, so an agent mistake changes real budget data. The documentation describes no read-only mode. You create skills with your own rules yourself: the repository ships only skill-creator.
How to disable. Run `claude mcp remove ynab --scope user` or with `--scope local`, or delete the ynab entry from the client configuration. Remove the token from there as well.
FAQ
How do I get a YNAB token?
In app.ynab.com open Account Settings, then Developer Settings, click New Token under Personal Access Tokens and save the token right away: it will not be shown again.
How do I connect YNAB MCP to Claude Code?
Run `claude mcp add ynab --scope user -e YNAB_API_TOKEN=<token> -- uvx ynab-mcp-tools`. Check the connection with `claude mcp list`.
Which tools are available?
Among them are `getBudgets`, `getAccounts`, `getCategories`, `getTransactions`, `createTransaction`, `importTransactions` and `getScheduledTransactions`. The server exposes every YNAB API endpoint.
What is the .skills folder for?
It holds skill-creator. It helps turn your categorization and duplicate-removal rules into your own skill that the agent applies by itself.
Do I need to clone the repository?
No. The ynab-mcp-tools package runs with `uvx` from PyPI in an isolated environment, so neither a clone nor a virtualenv is needed.
Discussion
No questions or reviews yet.
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README in short
The server launches with `uvx ynab-mcp-tools` from PyPI without cloning the repository. Configurations for Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor and OpenCode are described, along with a path from interactive budget work to your own skill.