Trello CLI Skill

This skill enables you to use the trello CLI tool as a power shell user for Trello operations. It provides a structured way to interact with your Trello workspace through command-line operations.

Overview

The trello-cli is a Node.js-based command-line interface that allows you to:

• Manage boards, cards, lists, and labels
• Handle authentication securely
• Search across your workspace
• Export data in multiple formats (JSON, CSV)

Authentication Setup

Before using any commands, ensure you're authenticated:

trello auth --help
trello interactive  # Launches a browser-based OAuth flow

Or set environment variables:

export TRELLO_KEY="your-api-key"
export TRELLO_TOKEN="your-api-token"

Core Operations

Board Management

List all boards

trello board:list --format json
trello board:list --format csv  # For spreadsheet export

Show board details

trello board:show -i <board-id> --format json

Create a new board

trello board:create -n "Project Name" \
    -d "Board description" \
    --prefs.permissionLevel public \
    --defaultLists

Update board settings

trello board:update -i <board-id> \
    -n "Updated Board Name" \
    --prefs.cardAging pirate

Delete a board

trello board:delete -i <board-id>

Card Management

List cards in a list

trello card:list -l <list-id> --format json

Show card details

trello card:show -i <card-id> --format json

Create a new card

trello card:create \
    -n "Task Title" \
    --board <board-id> \
    --list <list-id> \
    --description "Detailed description here"
    --due "2026-03-25T17:00:00.000Z"

Move a card to another list

trello card:move -i <card-id> \
    --board <board-id> \
    --list <target-list-id>

Add label to card

trello card:label -i <card-id> \
    --board <board-id> \
    "Red Label" "Blue Label"

Remove label from card

trello card:unlabel -i <card-id> \
    --board <board-id> \
    "Red Label"

Add comment to card

trello card:comment -i <card-id> \
    --text "This is a new comment"

List all comments on a card

trello card:comments -i <card-id> --format json

Archive a card

trello card:archive -i <card-id>

List Management

List lists in a board

trello list:list -b <board-id> --format json

Create a new list

trello list:create \
    -b <board-id> \
    -n "New List Name"

Rename a list

trello list:rename -i <list-id> \
    --name "Updated List Name"

Archive all cards in a list

trello list:archive-cards -i <list-id>

Label Management

Create a label on board

trello label:create \
    -b <board-id> \
    --name "Bug" \
    --color "darkred"

List all labels on a board

trello label:list -b <board-id> --format json

Search Across Trello

trello search -q "urgent task" --format json

Output Formats

All commands support multiple output formats:

• default: Human-readable formatted output
• silent: Minimal output, just results
• json: Structured JSON for scripting
• csv: Comma-separated values for spreadsheets

trello card:list -l <list-id> --format json | jq .
trello board:list --format csv > boards.csv

Common Workflows

Backup your workspace

# Export all boards as JSON
for board in $(trello board:list --format json | jq -r '.[].id'); do
    trello board:show -i $board --format json > "${board}.json"
done

Bulk card creation from CSV

# Read cards from CSV and create them
while IFS=',' read name description; do
    trello card:create \
        -n "$name" \
        --board $BOARD_ID \
        --list $LIST_ID \
        --description "$description"
done < cards.csv

Automated status updates

# Move all "Done" cards to Done list
for card in $(trello card:list -l InProgress --format json | jq -r '.[] | select(.name | contains("Done")) | .id'); do
    trello card:move -i $card \
        --board $BOARD_ID \
        --list DoneListID
done

Integration with Shell Tools

Using jq for JSON parsing

# Get all cards assigned to me
trello card:assigned-to --format json | jq '.[] | {name, due}'

# Count open tasks per list
for list in $(trello list:list -b $BOARD_ID --format json | jq -r '.[].id'); do
    count=$(trello card:list -l $list --format json | jq '[.[] | select(.closed == false)] | length')
    echo "$count cards in $(trello list:list -b $BOARD_ID --format json | jq -r ".[] | select(.id==\"$list\") | .name")"
done

piping to other tools

# Create a report of overdue tasks
trello card:assigned-to --format json | \
    jq '[.[] | select(..due != null and .due < now * 1000)]' > \
    overdue-tasks.json

Best Practices

1. Always use --format json for scripting - Makes parsing predictable
2. Cache board/list IDs - Use trello sync to build local ID mappings
3. Handle pagination - Large boards may need multiple requests
4. Rate limiting awareness - Respect Trello's API rate limits (~10 req/sec)
5. Use environment variables for sensitive credentials
6. Test with dry-run flags first when available
7. Combine with jq, sed, awk for powerful text processing pipelines

Troubleshooting

# Debug installation issues
trello debug

# Check authentication status
trello auth --help

# View all installed plugins
trello plugins

Examples

Quick Status Report

#!/bin/bash
BOARD_ID="your-board-id"
echo "=== Trello Workspace Summary ==="
echo "Boards: $(trello board:list | wc -l)"
echo "Cards in progress: $(trello card:list -l $(trello list:list -b $BOARD_ID --format json | jq -r '.[] | select(.name=="In Progress") | .id') | grep -c '^[a-z]')"

Weekly Digest Email

# Generate weekly summary
trello card:assigned-to --format json | \
    jq '[.[] | {name, due, tags}]' > weekly-digest.json
mail -s "Weekly Trello Update" team@company.com < weekly-digest.json

Reference

For complete command reference:

• trello help - Main help
• trello <topic> --help - Topic-specific help (board, card, list, label)
• trello <command> --help - Specific command help (e.g., trello board:create --help)