MCP or Not?

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Community onlyClaude connector: not verified

YNAB MCP server & Claude connector

Does YNAB have an official MCP server or Claude connector?

Community only

As of October 2026, no official YNAB MCP server is verified. YNAB's API documentation lists three community-built MCP servers and says it does not support them. The one reviewed, by Oliver Ames, runs locally with a personal access token, starts read-only, and needs an explicit opt-in to write.

Last checked

Verdict and evidence

What we checked
Local MCP Server for YNAB (oliverames)
Published by
Oliver Ames (community)
Runs
Runs locally
Sign-in
API key or token
Stage
unknown
Plan
Needs a YNAB subscription and personal access token.

Evidence

What an AI can do in YNAB

Read

  • List budgetslist_budgets
  • List accountslist_accounts
  • List categorieslist_categories
  • Get transactionsget_transactions

Create

  • Create a transaction (write mode)create_transaction

Update

  • Update transactions in bulk (write mode)update_transactions
  • Update a month's category budget (write mode)update_month_category

Run

  • Undo a journaled changeundo_operation

From the publisher’s documentation for the version we checked. Not every tool is listed.

Setup

Claude Code

Register the npm package with your token (read-only by default).

claude mcp add ynab --scope user \
  -e YNAB_API_TOKEN=your-token-here \
  -- npx -y @oliverames/mcp-server-for-ynab@latest
Source

Safety check

  • Flag

    Publisher verified

    Individual GitHub account, not YNAB. YNAB's own API docs list it under community-built tools and state they provide no support for them.

  • Flag

    Auth model

    Local use needs a long-lived YNAB personal access token. The README also advertises a hosted OAuth connector on a third-party domain (ames-ynab.link) that stores your OAuth tokens in Cloudflare KV.

  • Pass

    Write and delete access

    Read-only by default (45 read-only operations); writes need YNAB_ALLOW_WRITES=1, a preview token and confirmed: true per write.

  • Flag

    Tool-description injection scan

    README includes agent-directed setup text (asking the user about a 1Password token and permission before using it). Benign, but it is text aimed at the AI. Tool descriptions not read.

  • Pass

    Repo maintenance

    Pushed 2026-10-17, 40 stars, MIT, not archived.

FAQ

Does YNAB have an official MCP server?

No official YNAB MCP server is verified as of October 2026. YNAB's API docs list community-built ones only.

Which community servers does YNAB list?

Avenir-mcp, a Local MCP Server for YNAB (oliverames) and MCP for YNAB, under Works with YNAB > Third Party.

What credential does it need?

A YNAB personal access token from Developer Settings, which grants broad access to your budget; keep it out of shared configs.

Is there a read-only mode?

Yes for the reviewed server: it registers only read tools unless you set YNAB_ALLOW_WRITES=1.

Is YNAB a Claude connector?

Not verified; claude.com/connectors/ynab returned 404.

Last reviewed .

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