What is You Need An Mcp

you-need-an-mcp is an MCP server that provides access to YNAB (You Need A Budget) budgets for Large Language Models (LLMs).

Use cases

Use cases include automating budget management, retrieving budget data for analysis, and integrating YNAB data into other applications or services.

How to use

To use you-need-an-mcp, install the necessary dependencies, obtain a YNAB Personal Access Token, set the required environment variables, and run the server using the provided commands.

Key features

Key features include the ability to list budgets, accounts, categories, and category groups with pagination support for managing large datasets.

Where to use

you-need-an-mcp can be used in personal finance applications, budgeting tools, and any scenario where integration with YNAB is beneficial.

you-need-an-mcp

An MCP server providing LLMs access to a YNAB budget.

Setup

1. Install Dependencies

uv sync

2. Get YNAB Access Token

To use this MCP server, you need a YNAB Personal Access Token:

1. Log into your YNAB account at https://app.youneedabudget.com
2. Go to Account Settings (click your email in the top right corner)
3. Click on Developer Settings in the left sidebar
4. Click New Token
5. Enter a token name (e.g., “MCP Server”)
6. Click Generate
7. Copy the generated token (you won’t be able to see it again)

3. Set Environment Variables

export YNAB_ACCESS_TOKEN=your_token_here

Optionally, set a default budget ID to avoid having to specify it in every call:

export YNAB_DEFAULT_BUDGET=your_budget_id_here

4. Run the Server

uv run python server.py

Available Tools

• list_budgets() - Returns all your YNAB budgets
• list_accounts(budget_id=None, limit=100, offset=0, include_closed=False) - Returns accounts with pagination and filtering
• list_categories(budget_id=None, limit=50, offset=0, include_hidden=False) - Returns categories with pagination and filtering
• list_category_groups(budget_id=None) - Returns category groups with totals (lighter weight overview)

Pagination

The list_accounts and list_categories tools support pagination. Use the offset parameter to get subsequent pages:

• First page: list_categories(limit=50, offset=0)
• Second page: list_categories(limit=50, offset=50)
• Check pagination.has_more to see if there are more results

Security Note

Keep your YNAB access token secure and never commit it to version control. The token provides read access to all your budget data.