Ynab MCP Server
Budget data management and transaction analysis for AI assistants using YNAB.
Data last scanned 2 days ago · Reviewed 2 days ago
Overview
This server allows AI assistants to interface directly with You Need A Budget (YNAB). It enables users to perform comprehensive budget management, including tracking account balances, monitoring category spending, and managing transactions or payees through an MCP-compatible environment.
Our verdict
With a security score of 23/100, this project carries a high risk level. The server has not been updated in over a year, and because it is a community-maintained project rather than an official YNAB release, users should exercise extreme caution before providing sensitive financial credentials.
- Zero direct dependencies reduce potential supply-chain vulnerabilities.
- Includes documentation for configuration across multiple MCP platforms.
- Supports a configurable read-only mode for limited access.
- Project has not received a commit in 397 days.
- Lacks official vendor maintenance and security review.
- Limited bus-factor with only two contributors.
Tools
| Tool | Description | Risk |
|---|---|---|
| manage-financial-overview | Get, update, or refresh a high-level financial overview. | medium |
| list-accounts | List all accounts for a given budget. | low |
| get-month-info | Get detailed budget information for a single month, including age of money and total amounts budgeted, spent, and available. | low |
| list-categories | List all categories, groups, and their budgeting details. | low |
| list-transactions | List transactions for a specific account or an entire month. | low |
| list-scheduled-transactions | List all upcoming scheduled transactions. | low |
| manage-budgeted-amount | Assign a budgeted amount to a category or move money between categories. | medium |
| bulk-manage-transactions | Create, update, or delete multiple transactions at once. | high |
| manage-scheduled-transaction | Create, update, or delete a single scheduled (recurring) transaction. | high |
| list-payees | List all payees for a given budget. | low |
Compatibility
| Client | Local | Docker | Remote | Read-only |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Desktop | ||||
| Cursor | ||||
| VS Code | ||||
| Windsurf | ||||
| ChatGPT |
Frequently asked questions
›What is the mandatory credential required to run the YNAB MCP server?
You must provide a YNAB Personal Access Token (PAT), which can be obtained via the YNAB Developer Settings page.
›Can I prevent the MCP server from making changes to my budget data?
Yes, you can set the YNAB_READ_ONLY environment variable to true to disable all tools that perform write operations.
›What happens if I set the YNAB_DEFAULT_BUDGET_ID environment variable?
Setting this variable puts the server into single-budget mode, where it will only operate on the specified budget and hide the list-budgets tool.
›Is it necessary to install the server manually?
No, you can run the server directly using uvx, which eliminates the need for manual installation.
Changelog
Badge
Maintain this server? Add the live badge to your README.