Workflows

These examples show tool names and JSON arguments. They describe calls made by an MCP client; paste the natural-language request into your assistant, or use the arguments in a client that provides a tool-call interface. All IDs below are illustrative: replace them with IDs returned by your company.

Find my active cards

Find my active cards and group them by board. Show overdue work first.

1. Call kaiten_get_current_user with {} and read item.id.
2. Search using that user ID as an owner filter:

{
  "owner_ids": [5],
  "archived": false,
  "states": [1, 2],
  "limit": 25
}

Use these arguments with kaiten_search_cards. State 1 is queued, 2 is in progress, and 3 is done. Add overdue: true for an overdue-only search. For a board-specific request, discover the board ID through kaiten_list_spaces and kaiten_list_boards, then add board_id.

Ownership, membership and responsibility have separate filters: owner_ids, member_ids and responsible_ids. Choose the relation the request means. Run separate searches and deduplicate by card ID when combining those relations.

Continue a search

If the result contains next_cursor: "offset:25", repeat the original filters and add cursor:

{
  "owner_ids": [5],
  "archived": false,
  "states": [1, 2],
  "limit": 25,
  "cursor": "offset:25"
}

Stop when next_cursor is null. A full final page can require one additional empty request. Results are ordered by card ID; matching cards changing between requests can shift offset pages. The cursor carries a position, so preserve the original filters yourself.

Other list tools return next_offset. Pass that number as offset, retaining filters and limit, until next_offset is null.

Understand a card

Read card 123, its comments and checklists. Summarize the blocker and unfinished tasks.

Step	Tool	Arguments
Read description and references	kaiten_get_card	{"card_id":123}
Read discussion	kaiten_list_comments	{"card_id":123,"limit":100}
Read a referenced checklist	kaiten_get_checklist	{"card_id":123,"checklist_id":8}

Follow comment pagination. Fetch each checklist referenced in the card; kaiten_list_checklists can also list those references. Card details contain checklist references, while kaiten_get_checklist returns the item text and completion flags. Card search summaries omit descriptions and discussions.

Create a card and checklist

Create a release card on the Delivery board with an Implementation checklist.

First discover the space and board. Read kaiten_get_board to obtain valid column and lane IDs belonging to that board. Then call kaiten_create_card:

{
  "title": "Prepare the release",
  "board_id": 2,
  "column_id": 3,
  "lane_id": 4,
  "description": "## Goal\nDeliver the agreed release.",
  "due_date": "2026-10-15"
}

Use the returned item.id for subsequent calls. For a card with ID 123, call kaiten_create_checklist with {"card_id":123,"name":"Implementation"}. Use its returned checklist ID in kaiten_add_checklist_item:

{
  "card_id": 123,
  "checklist_id": 8,
  "text": "Review release notes",
  "responsible_id": 5
}

To complete the returned item, call kaiten_update_checklist_item:

{
  "card_id": 123,
  "checklist_id": 8,
  "item_id": 13,
  "changes": {"checked": true}
}

Each call is a separate operation. If a later step fails, earlier successful writes remain in Kaiten. After a timed-out create, inspect existing cards or checklist items before repeating it; the server performs no automatic retries.

Move, update or archive a card

Use kaiten_move_card with all four location IDs:

{"card_id": 123, "board_id": 2, "column_id": 30, "lane_id": 40}

Read the target board first to discover its columns and lanes. To edit content, use kaiten_update_card with a nonempty changes object:

{
  "card_id": 123,
  "changes": {"description": null, "due_date": "2026-10-15"}
}

Omitted fields retain their values. null clears supported fields; see the editable fields. Archive with kaiten_archive_card and restore with kaiten_restore_card, each using {"card_id":123}. Archiving changes the card condition; the queued/in-progress/done state is a separate field.

Assign members and custom properties

To add an existing user, call kaiten_add_card_member with card_id and user_id. To make that member responsible, obtain the membership's id from kaiten_list_card_members and use it as member_id in kaiten_update_card_member_role with type: 2.

For custom fields:

1. Read kaiten_get_board for the board's property configuration.
2. Find the property with kaiten_list_custom_properties and inspect it with kaiten_get_custom_property.
3. Read existing options using kaiten_list_select_values, kaiten_list_catalog_values or the custom-directory tools as appropriate.
4. Call kaiten_set_card_properties using the discovered IDs:

{"card_id": 123, "properties": {"id_7": [12, 13], "id_8": null}}

Here id_7 is an example select property and id_8 is cleared. The server validates property keys and JSON values; Kaiten validates field types and permissions. See the property value formats.