Smackdab Work MCP Server

The Smackdab Work MCP Server lets an MCP-compatible AI assistant work on your Smackdab Work board for you: find cards, open them, create, claim, update, comment, ask a question and close. Describe what you want in plain language instead of calling the Work API yourself.

The server holds no permissions of its own. Every request goes to Smackdab Work with your own API key, and Work decides what that key may see and change. The key alone decides the workspace; no tool accepts a workspace ID.

Connect your AI client

Add a remote Streamable HTTP MCP server with these values:

Setting	Value
Name	Smackdab Work
URL	https://mcp.work.smackdab.ai/mcp
Header	Authorization: Bearer YOUR_WORK_API_KEY

Use your MCP client's secure secret or environment-variable support for the key. Do not paste the key into a chat message, tool argument, source file or shared configuration.

In clients that accept JSON MCP configuration, the connection has this shape:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "smackdab-work": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://mcp.work.smackdab.ai/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer ${SMACKDAB_WORK_API_KEY}"
      }
    }
  }
}

Create a key

In the Smackdab Auth hub, open API Keys, choose Create API Key and pick the application Smackdab Work. A personal key acts as you, so when the assistant claims a card it is assigned to you. Give the key these permissions:

Permission	Used for
work:records.read, work:records.write	Finding, opening, creating, claiming, updating and closing cards, and questions
work:comments.read, work:comments.write	Reading and adding comments
work:structure.read	Who you are and your workspace, Spaces, Folders, Lists and fields

A key without a permission is refused by Work for the tools that need it.

What the assistant can do

Tool	What it does
work_where_am_i	Who the key belongs to, its workspace, Spaces, Folders, Lists and custom fields
work_find_cards	Search a Space or List by words, status or person
work_my_cards	Your open cards
work_open_card	One card by ID or key (for example TASK-123): details, fields, subtasks, latest comments and questions
work_create_card	A new card or subtask in a List
work_claim_card	Move a card to In Progress and assign it to you; refuses if someone else holds it or moved it first
work_update_card	Change status, title, description, assignees, due date and custom fields
work_comment	Add a comment
work_ask_question	Post a question on the card for the team to decide, with optional answer choices
work_close_card	Post a closing summary, then mark the card Complete

There are no delete, automation, access or ownership tools. Tools that create something return an operation_key; reuse it when retrying an uncertain call so the change is not made twice.

Ask for the outcome you want

You do not need to name tools or IDs. For example:

In Smackdab Work, show me my open cards. Open TASK-123, claim it if nobody
else has it, and add a comment that I am starting today.

More examples:

• "Find cards in the Engineering list about the login page."
• "Create a card in my team's list for the invoice export bug, due Friday at 5 PM."
• "On TASK-456, ask whether we ship the new layout this week, with the choices yes or next week."
• "Close TASK-789 with a short summary of what was done."

Security and operating guidance

• Treat the key like a password. Revoke it in the Auth hub if it is exposed.
• Give the key only the permissions the assistant needs. A read-only key (work:records.read, work:comments.read, work:structure.read) cannot change anything.
• The server passes each request to Smackdab Work under your key's existing access. It does not bypass Work permissions or rate limits.
• For automated workflows, state whether writes are allowed and which Lists and cards are in scope.