Claude Things 3 integration over MCP

What your agent can do with Things 3

Treat this connection as an inbox capture tool. Ask Claude to prepare a short title and useful notes, review them, then approve creation. A request to “move this task to next week” cannot be fulfilled through this adapter because it has no read or update tool.

The distinction matters for meeting follow-ups. An agent can propose three tasks from notes, but it cannot inspect your Things Inbox for duplicates first. Review the titles yourself or give the agent a task list as conversation context; do not imply that pasted context grants live access to Things.

How the Things 3 connector works

Mail to Things uses the message subject as the task title and the plain-text body as notes. AIPx sends from aip@agentmail.to to the personal address stored in the connection. Delivery goes to Inbox. No Mac needs to remain running for this email path.

Keep the private address inside the connection instead of placing it in a shared prompt. It is a task-capture destination, not a general mailbox the agent can search. AIPx does not promise attachments, project assignment or scheduling through this path.

Things 3 MCP options and local access

Things’ Mail to Things guide describes the official email capture behavior. The community things-mcp project uses a different local route and can suit workflows needing broader task control.

Choose local automation when reading or changing the task database is essential and you accept the local runtime requirements. AIPx is useful for remote capture alongside Gmail or meeting notes, but it adds a service handling task content and should not be mistaken for a full Things API.

Connect Things 3 to Claude

Enable Mail to Things in Things and copy your personal @things.email destination into the AIPx connection. No Apple OAuth or local Mac automation is used.

1. Open the AIPx dashboard, choose Things 3 under Integrations and complete its connection form or authorization.
2. Create an MCP agent, enable that connection and choose the tools this particular agent needs. Save the rules before opening your AI client.
3. Copy the agent’s complete URL. The examples below use AGENT_ID; replace it with the actual value from your dashboard.

An endpoint identifies the AIPx agent, not a provider API key. Client authentication to AIPx is separate from connecting Things 3; adding the URL does not grant extra provider permissions. Our MCP gateway guide explains how several approved connections can share that endpoint.

Connect Claude to Things 3

In Claude, open Customize → Connectors and add a custom connector with your AIPx URL. Continue through AIPx sign-in, then check the tools available in a conversation. Custom connector access depends on account and workspace policy; administrators can restrict it. The Claude MCP setup guide covers the current controls. A direct vendor connection can be simpler when Things 3 is the only service you need.

Things 3 MCP in Claude Code

claude mcp add --transport http aipx https://dash.aipx.run/mcp/AGENT_ID

Authorize with /mcp, then ask Claude Code to draft a task title and notes in the conversation. This adapter has no read tool: only approve create_task when the draft is ready. See Claude Code MCP setup for registration.

Things 3 MCP in Cursor

Add this server to .cursor/mcp.json for the project or ~/.cursor/mcp.json for your user:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "aipx": { "url": "https://dash.aipx.run/mcp/AGENT_ID" }
  }
}

Sign in from Cursor and prepare the intended Things Inbox task before calling create_task. The tool cannot read existing tasks or choose a project. Cursor MCP setup covers configuration and client approvals.

Things 3 MCP in Codex

codex mcp add aipx --url https://dash.aipx.run/mcp/AGENT_ID
codex mcp login aipx
codex mcp list

Codex uses the HTTP endpoint and browser OAuth; it does not need a copy of the Things 3 credential in its config. See Codex MCP setup for TOML configuration and project trust requirements.

Where ChatGPT allows custom MCP, the endpoint can offer create_task for Things Inbox capture. It cannot inspect or complete tasks. The ChatGPT MCP guide describes separate account and workspace requirements.

Scope Things 3 task creation per agent

A meeting assistant can have create_task on Confirm while a coding researcher has it hidden. Because this is a write-only connector, there is no harmless read subset to enable. The general write default is Confirm, and the recommendation keeps it there.

Confirm depends on the client’s approval behavior. If the task must remain a proposal, hide the creation tool and have the agent return text instead. MCP access control explains that practical distinction.

Granola and Fireflies can supply source action items. Apple Calendar or Google Calendar can provide dates, but those dates will remain task notes unless you schedule the task yourself. A reviewed Notion checklist can supply task context without giving this adapter live Things database access.

Things 3 delivery and duplicate limits

The tool sends a task-capture email; it does not provide the broader database feedback a local task manager API might offer. Check Things Inbox when confirming delivery. Repeating a creation request can produce another task, so do not blindly retry a request whose outcome is uncertain.

A deadline mentioned in notes is still text. It is not an actual scheduled date, reminder or project assignment. If those fields matter, set them in Things after capture or use a suitable local integration.

Browse all MCP integrations to choose another connection for this agent.

The Things 3 connection can use AIPx Free with 3 active accounts and 1 agent; check AIPx pricing for gateway plans and keep provider or client charges separate.