YNAB MCP

Name: YNAB MCP
Author: EthanKang1

@EthanKang1

Repository

About YNAB MCP

No overview available yet

#ynab #budgeting #mcp-server

Basic information

Config

Add this server to your MCP-compatible client using the configuration below.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ynab-mcp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "ynab-mcp"
      ],
      "env": {
        "YNAB_API_KEY": "your-api-key-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Tools

No tools detected

We auto-extract tools from the README. The maintainer can list them under a ## Tools heading to populate this section.

Overview

What is YNAB MCP?

YNAB MCP is a Model Context Protocol server for interacting with YNAB (You Need A Budget). It provides tools for accessing budget data through MCP-enabled clients like Claude Desktop.

How to use YNAB MCP?

Add a configuration entry to your MCP client’s settings (e.g., cline_mcp_settings.json) using the command uvx with arguments ["run", "ynab-mcp"] and the environment variable YNAB_API_KEY. For advanced setups, you can run from a specific directory using uv. Debugging is supported via the MCP Inspector.

Key features of YNAB MCP

Retrieve authenticated user information (GetUser).
List all accessible budgets with IDs and names (ListBudgets).
Get detailed budget info, including transactions and balances (GetBudget).
Fetch all categories defined in a budget (GetBudgetCategories).
Retrieve budget settings like currency and date formats (GetBudgetSettings).

Use cases of YNAB MCP

Automate budget data retrieval for personal finance analysis.
Integrate YNAB data into AI-powered assistants for spending insights.
Quickly look up category balances and transaction history.
Validate budget configurations across multiple budgets.
Build custom budgeting workflows without manual YNAB API calls.

FAQ from YNAB MCP

What configuration is required to use YNAB MCP?

You need a valid YNAB API key set as the YNAB_API_KEY environment variable, and the server is launched via uvx run ynab-mcp in your MCP client configuration.

How are monetary amounts returned?

All monetary amounts are returned in milliunits (e.g., 1000 = $1.00). Divide by 1000 to convert to standard currency units.

What data does the GetBudget tool return?

It returns detailed information about a specific budget, including transactions, categories, and balances. It also supports optional date filtering and transaction limiting.

How can I debug YNAB MCP?

Use the MCP Inspector by installing it via npm and updating your configuration to run the inspector alongside the server. It provides real-time logs, request/response inspection, tool schema validation, and an interactive testing interface.