Zoho Projects MCP Server

An enhanced Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for Zoho Projects API integration. This server enables AI assistants to interact with Zoho Projects for managing projects, tasks, issues, milestones, comments, attachments, and more.

Note: This is an enhanced fork with additional features for task lookup by prefix, tasklist management, comments, attachments, and inline image handling. Based on qpiai/zoho-projects-mcp.

Features

Supported Operations

• Portal Management

  • List all portals
  • Get portal details

• Project Management

  • List projects
  • Get project details
  • Create new projects
  • Update existing projects
  • Delete projects (move to trash)

• Task Management

  • List tasks (portal or project level)
  • Get task details
  • Find task by prefix/key (e.g., CA6-T282) ⭐
  • Create tasks
  • Update tasks (with status and tasklist support)
  • Delete tasks

• Tasklist Management ⭐

  • Create tasklists
  • Move tasks between tasklists
  • Delete tasklists

• Task Comments ⭐

  • List comments on a task
  • Add comments to tasks
  • Edit existing comments

• Task Attachments ⭐

  • Upload file attachments to tasks
  • List task attachments
  • Download inline images from task descriptions
  • Extract image URLs from HTML descriptions

• Issue Management

  • List issues (portal or project level)
  • Get issue details
  • Create issues
  • Update issues

• Phase/Milestone Management

  • List phases
  • Create phases

• Task Statuses ⭐

  • List available statuses for a project

• Search

  • Search across portal or project
  • Filter by module (projects, tasks, issues, milestones, forums, events)

• User Management

  • List users in portal or project

Additional Enhancements ⭐

• Automatic OAuth token refresh - No more manual token management
• Empty response handling - Properly handles 204 No Content responses
• API parameter mapping - Correct handling of status_id and tasklist_id

Prerequisites

1. Node.js (v18 or higher)
2. Zoho Projects Account with API access
3. Zoho OAuth Credentials

Setup

1. Get Zoho OAuth Credentials (Detailed Guide)

Step 1: Create a Zoho Developer Application

1. Go to Zoho API Console
2. Click "Add Client" button
3. Choose "Self Client" (recommended for personal use) or "Server-based Applications"
4. Fill in the application details:
   • Client Name: e.g., "Zoho Projects MCP"
   • Homepage URL: Your website or http://localhost for testing
   • Authorized Redirect URIs: http://localhost:8080/callback (or your preferred redirect URL)
5. Click "Create" and note down:
   • Client ID (e.g., 1000.XXXXXXXXXX)
   • Client Secret (keep this secure!)

Step 2: Generate Authorization Code

1. Build the authorization URL with required scopes:

   https://accounts.zoho.{REGION}/oauth/v2/auth?
     scope=ZohoProjects.portals.ALL,ZohoProjects.projects.ALL,ZohoProjects.tasks.ALL,ZohoProjects.bugs.ALL,ZohoProjects.milestones.ALL,ZohoProjects.users.READ,ZohoSearch.securesearch.READ
     &client_id=YOUR_CLIENT_ID
     &response_type=code
     &access_type=offline
     &redirect_uri=YOUR_REDIRECT_URI
   

   Replace {REGION} with your region:

   • US: com
   • EU: eu
   • IN: in
   • AU: com.au
   • CN: com.cn

2. Open this URL in your browser

3. Log in to your Zoho account and authorize the application

4. You'll be redirected to your redirect URI with a code parameter in the URL:

   http://localhost:8080/callback?code=1000.XXXXX.XXXXX&location=in&accounts-server=https://accounts.zoho.in
   

5. Copy the code value (valid for ~2 minutes, use it immediately!)

Step 3: Exchange Code for Tokens

Use this curl command to get your access and refresh tokens:

curl -X POST https://accounts.zoho.{REGION}/oauth/v2/token \
  -d "code=YOUR_AUTHORIZATION_CODE" \
  -d "client_id=YOUR_CLIENT_ID" \
  -d "client_secret=YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET" \
  -d "redirect_uri=YOUR_REDIRECT_URI" \
  -d "grant_type=authorization_code"

Response will contain:

{
  "access_token": "1000.xxxx.yyyy",
  "refresh_token": "1000.zzzz.aaaa",
  "expires_in": 3600,
  "api_domain": "https://www.zohoapis.in",
  "token_type": "Bearer"
}

Important: Save both tokens:

• access_token: Valid for 1 hour (auto-refreshed by the server)
• refresh_token: Long-lived, used to get new access tokens

Step 4: Find Your Portal ID

Method 1: From URL

1. Go to your Zoho Projects in browser
2. Look at the URL: https://projects.zoho.{REGION}/portal/{PORTAL_ID}/...
3. The number after /portal/ is your Portal ID (e.g., 60028147039)

Method 2: Using API

curl -X GET https://projectsapi.zoho.{REGION}/api/v3/portals \
  -H "Authorization: Zoho-oauthtoken YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN"

Response will list all your portals with their IDs.

Step 5: Verify Credentials

Test your setup with this API call:

curl -X GET https://projectsapi.zoho.{REGION}/api/v3/portal/YOUR_PORTAL_ID/projects \
  -H "Authorization: Zoho-oauthtoken YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN"

Expected: JSON response with your projects list If error: Check token, portal ID, and API domain match your region

Required Scopes Summary

Make sure your OAuth token has these scopes:

• ✅ ZohoProjects.portals.ALL - Portal operations
• ✅ ZohoProjects.projects.ALL - Project management
• ✅ ZohoProjects.tasks.ALL - Task management
• ✅ ZohoProjects.bugs.ALL - Issue/bug management
• ✅ ZohoProjects.milestones.ALL - Milestone/phase management
• ✅ ZohoProjects.users.READ - User information
• ✅ ZohoSearch.securesearch.READ - Search functionality

2. Setup and Installation

<!--

Docker Setup (NOT CURRENTLY WORKING - DISABLED)

Docker support is currently disabled due to npm package installation issues in containerized environments. If you need Docker support, please open an issue on GitHub and we can work on a solution.

Option A: Docker Setup (Recommended - Easiest) 🐳

Prerequisites:

• Docker and Docker Compose installed

Steps:

1. Clone the repository:

git clone <repository-url>
cd zoho-mcp

2. Create .env file with your credentials:

cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env with your credentials

3. Run with Docker Compose:

For HTTP Server (remote access):

docker-compose --profile http up -d

For Stdio Server (local/Claude Desktop):

docker-compose --profile stdio up

4. Check the server is running:

# For HTTP server
curl http://localhost:3001/health

# View logs
docker-compose logs -f

-->

Node.js Setup

Prerequisites:

• Node.js (v18 or higher)

Steps:

1. Clone and install:

git clone <repository-url>
cd zoho-mcp
npm install
npm run build

2. Create .env file with your credentials (see Configuration section below)

3. Run the server:

# Stdio server (for local MCP clients)
npm start

# HTTP server (for remote access)
npm run start:http

3. Configuration

Create a .env file in the project root with the following variables:

# OAuth credentials (required)
ZOHO_ACCESS_TOKEN=your_access_token_here
ZOHO_REFRESH_TOKEN=your_refresh_token_here
ZOHO_CLIENT_ID=your_client_id_here
ZOHO_CLIENT_SECRET=your_client_secret_here

# Portal configuration (required)
ZOHO_PORTAL_ID=your_portal_id_here

# API domain (optional, choose based on your region)
ZOHO_API_DOMAIN=https://projectsapi.zoho.com
ZOHO_ACCOUNTS_DOMAIN=https://accounts.zoho.com

# HTTP Server configuration (optional, for remote access)
HTTP_PORT=3001
ALLOWED_ORIGINS=http://localhost:3000
ALLOWED_HOSTS=127.0.0.1,localhost

Region-specific domains:

• US: projectsapi.zoho.com / accounts.zoho.com
• EU: projectsapi.zoho.eu / accounts.zoho.eu
• IN: projectsapi.zoho.in / accounts.zoho.in
• AU: projectsapi.zoho.com.au / accounts.zoho.com.au
• CN: projectsapi.zoho.com.cn / accounts.zoho.com.cn

4. Configure Claude Desktop

Add to your Claude Desktop configuration file:

macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

For Node.js Setup:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "zoho-projects": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/zoho-mcp/dist/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "ZOHO_ACCESS_TOKEN": "your_access_token_here",
        "ZOHO_REFRESH_TOKEN": "your_refresh_token_here",
        "ZOHO_CLIENT_ID": "your_client_id_here",
        "ZOHO_CLIENT_SECRET": "your_client_secret_here",
        "ZOHO_PORTAL_ID": "your_portal_id_here",
        "ZOHO_API_DOMAIN": "https://projectsapi.zoho.in",
        "ZOHO_ACCOUNTS_DOMAIN": "https://accounts.zoho.in"
      }
    }
  }
}

<!--

For Docker Setup (NOT CURRENTLY WORKING - DISABLED):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "zoho-projects": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": ["run", "-i", "--rm", "--env-file", "/absolute/path/to/zoho-mcp/.env", "zoho-mcp-stdio"],
      "env": {}
    }
  }
}

Note: For Docker setup, first build the image:

cd /path/to/zoho-mcp
docker build -t zoho-mcp-stdio .

-->

Usage Examples

Once configured, you can use Claude to interact with Zoho Projects:

List Projects

Can you list all my Zoho Projects?

Create a New Project

Create a new project called "Website Redesign" with description "Redesign company website" starting on 2025-01-15 and ending on 2025-03-31

List Tasks

Show me all tasks in project ID 1234567890

Create a Task

Create a high priority task called "Design homepage mockup" in project 1234567890, due on 2025-02-15

Search

Search for "bug fix" in all modules

List Issues

Show me all issues in project 1234567890

Find Task by Prefix ⭐

Get the task CA6-T282

Add a Comment to a Task ⭐

Add a comment "Work in progress - will complete by EOD" to task 12345 in project 1234567890

Upload an Attachment ⭐

Upload /path/to/screenshot.png to task 12345 in project 1234567890

Move Task to Different Tasklist ⭐

Move task 12345 to tasklist 67890 in project 1234567890

Download Task Images ⭐

Download all images from task CA6-T282 to /tmp/task-images/

Project Structure

zoho-projects-mcp/
├── src/
│   └── index.ts          # Main server implementation
├── dist/                  # Compiled JavaScript (generated)
├── package.json
├── tsconfig.json
├── FORMATTING.md         # Guide for Zoho HTML formatting
├── CLAUDE.md             # Instructions for Claude Code
└── README.md

Available Tools

The server provides the following MCP tools:

Portal & Project

Tool	Description
list_portals	Get all portals
get_portal	Get portal details
list_projects	List all projects
get_project	Get project details
create_project	Create a new project
update_project	Update a project
delete_project	Delete a project (move to trash)

Tasks

Tool	Description
list_tasks	List tasks (portal or project level)
get_task	Get task details by ID
get_task_by_prefix	Find task by prefix (e.g., CA6-T282) ⭐
create_task	Create a task
update_task	Update a task (supports status_id, tasklist_id)
delete_task	Delete a task

Tasklists ⭐

Tool	Description
create_tasklist	Create a new tasklist in a project
move_task	Move a task to a different tasklist
delete_tasklist	Delete a tasklist

Comments ⭐

Tool	Description
list_task_comments	List comments on a task
add_task_comment	Add a comment to a task
edit_task_comment	Edit an existing comment

Attachments & Images ⭐

Tool	Description
upload_task_attachment	Upload a file attachment to a task
list_task_attachments	List attachments on a task
download_inline_image	Download an inline image from task description
extract_inline_images	Extract image URLs from HTML
download_task_images	Download all images from a task description

Issues

Tool	Description
list_issues	List issues (portal or project level)
get_issue	Get issue details
create_issue	Create an issue
update_issue	Update an issue

Phases & Other

Tool	Description
list_phases	List phases/milestones
create_phase	Create a phase
list_statuses	List available task statuses for a project ⭐
search	Search portal or project
list_users	List users in portal or project

Troubleshooting

Authentication Issues

• Ensure your access token is valid and not expired
• Verify the token has the required scopes
• Check that the portal ID is correct

API Errors

• Check the Zoho API documentation for rate limits
• Ensure you're using the correct API domain for your region
• Verify that the user has appropriate permissions

Connection Issues

• Restart Claude Desktop after configuration changes
• Check the Claude Desktop logs for error messages
• Verify the server path in the configuration

OAuth Token Management

Token Expiration

Access tokens expire after 1 hour (3600 seconds). This MCP server automatically refreshes tokens using the refresh token.

Manual Token Refresh

If you need to manually refresh your access token:

# For India region (accounts.zoho.in)
curl -X POST https://accounts.zoho.in/oauth/v2/token \
  -d "refresh_token=YOUR_REFRESH_TOKEN" \
  -d "client_id=YOUR_CLIENT_ID" \
  -d "client_secret=YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET" \
  -d "grant_type=refresh_token"

# For other regions, use the appropriate accounts domain:
# US: https://accounts.zoho.com/oauth/v2/token
# EU: https://accounts.zoho.eu/oauth/v2/token
# AU: https://accounts.zoho.com.au/oauth/v2/token
# CN: https://accounts.zoho.com.cn/oauth/v2/token

Response example:

{
  "access_token": "1000.xxx.yyy",
  "scope": "ZohoProjects.portals.ALL ZohoProjects.projects.ALL...",
  "api_domain": "https://www.zohoapis.in",
  "token_type": "Bearer",
  "expires_in": 3600
}

Automatic Token Refresh

The MCP server automatically handles token refresh. Configure the following environment variables:

ZOHO_REFRESH_TOKEN=your_refresh_token_here
ZOHO_CLIENT_ID=your_client_id_here
ZOHO_CLIENT_SECRET=your_client_secret_here
ZOHO_ACCOUNTS_DOMAIN=https://accounts.zoho.in  # Match your region

The server will automatically refresh the access token before it expires.

API Reference

For detailed API documentation, visit: https://projects.zoho.com/api-docs

License

MIT

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit issues or pull requests.

Support

For issues related to:

• MCP Server: Open an issue in this repository
• Zoho Projects API: Contact Zoho support or check their documentation
• Claude Desktop: Check Anthropic's documentation