Motion MCP Server

What is Motion MCP Server?

An open-source MCP server that enables AI assistants to interact with the Motion API for intelligent task and project management. It bridges conversational AI with Motion’s AI-powered platform, allowing users to manage tasks, projects, and schedules using natural language through assistants like Claude Desktop or Cursor.

How to use Motion MCP Server?

Clone the repository, ensure your Node.js version matches the one used by your MCP client (to avoid better-sqlite3 ABI mismatch), run npm install, set the MOTION_API_KEY environment variable, then configure the server in your MCP client’s settings (e.g., Claude Desktop’s claude_desktop_config.json). The server starts automatically when a tool is invoked.

Key features of Motion MCP Server

• MCP tools for Motion API endpoints (projects, tasks, users, etc.)
• Automatic rate limiting (12 calls per 3 minutes) to respect Motion quotas
• Persistent rate‑limiting state via a local SQLite database
• Smart data retrieval with sensible defaults and user‑controlled specificity
• Efficient handling of complex data (e.g., formatted dates, nested fields)

Use cases of Motion MCP Server

• Manage tasks and projects via natural language with Claude Desktop or Cursor
• Quickly retrieve filtered task summaries without flooding an AI’s context window
• Automate scheduling and prioritization by interacting with Motion’s AI calendar
• Test and debug Motion API calls through an MCP client or Inspector

FAQ from Motion MCP Server

What is Motion?

Motion is an AI‑powered platform that unifies task management, project planning, and calendar scheduling. It automatically schedules tasks based on priorities, deadlines, and dependencies, and dynamically adjusts as plans change.

How do I set up the server for my MCP client?

Clone the repo, install dependencies with the same Node.js version used by your client, set the MOTION_API_KEY environment variable, and add a “motion” entry to your client’s MCP server configuration (see the “Usage with Claude Desktop” section for an example).

What about rate limiting?

The server enforces Motion’s API limit of 12 calls per 3 minutes. Rate‑limit state is persisted across restarts using a local SQLite database; you’ll see a “Rate limit exceeded” error if you hit the cap.

Why do I get an ERR_DLOPEN_FAILED error?

This occurs when npm install was run with a different Node.js version than your MCP client uses. The better-sqlite3 native module must be compiled against the same ABI. Switch to the client’s Node.js version and run npm rebuild better-sqlite3 --update-binary or reinstall.

What data does the server return by default?

Tools return a curated set of default fields to keep responses token‑efficient. You can instruct your AI assistant to request additional or specific fields from the Motion API, including full data sets for any item.