Trello API setup guide for the Luthien board

trello-setup.md

Trello API Setup for the Luthien Board

1. Create a Trello Power-Up (to get API credentials)

1. Go to https://trello.com/power-ups/admin (you must be logged into Trello)
2. Click "New"
3. Fill out the form:
   • App name: Whatever you like (e.g. "Claude CLI")
   • Workspace: Pick any workspace you belong to
   • Email: Your email
   • Support contact: Your email
   • Author: Your name
   • Iframe connector URL: Leave blank
4. Click Create

2. Generate an API key

1. You'll land on the app's settings page. Click "API key" in the left sidebar.
2. Click "Generate a new API key", then confirm in the dialog.
3. Copy the API key shown on the page.

3. Generate a token

1. On the same API key page, click the "Token" link in the right-hand instructions.
2. This opens an authorization page — review the permissions and click "Allow".
3. Copy the token shown on the next page.

4. Store your credentials

Add to a .env file in your project:

TRELLO_API_KEY=your-api-key
TRELLO_TOKEN=your-token

Make sure .env is in your .gitignore.

You'll need to source this file in whatever context uses the credentials — e.g. source .env in your shell, or load it via a Claude Code hook/startup script so Claude has access to the variables.

5. Verify it works

source .env

# Should return your Trello profile
curl -s "https://api.trello.com/1/members/me?key=$TRELLO_API_KEY&token=$TRELLO_TOKEN" | jq '{fullName, username}'

# Should return the Luthien board's lists
curl -s "https://api.trello.com/1/boards/ehoxykPf/lists?key=$TRELLO_API_KEY&token=$TRELLO_TOKEN" | jq '.[] | {name, id}'

6. Install the Trello skill for Claude Code

npx skills add https://github.com/steipete/clawdis --skill trello

This gives Claude Code the ability to interact with Trello boards directly.

7. Use it with Claude

Once set up, you can ask Claude things like:

• "Show me the cards on the Luthien board"
• "What's in the In Progress list?"
• "Create a card called 'Fix login bug' in the Current Sprint Backlog"
• "Move the 'Fix login bug' card to In Progress"
• "Add a comment to the 'Fix login bug' card saying 'Blocked on API access'"
• "Archive all cards in Done"

Claude will use the Trello REST API with your credentials from .env to carry out these actions.

Notes

• The board URL is https://trello.com/b/ehoxykPf/luthien
• Tokens don't expire unless revoked (the authorization page says "until you disable it")
• Rate limits: 300 requests/10s per API key, 100 requests/10s per token
• The /members/me endpoint has a stricter limit: 100 requests per 900 seconds