YNAB

Name: YNAB
Author: smirnovlabs

@smirnovlabsMCP server · External

Hosted remote MCP server for YNAB on Cloudflare Workers with OAuth

Personal financev2.0.0TypeScript

Freeno charge per call

One address for any MCP client. You sign in at mcpforynab.smirnovlabs.com once, after adding it.

What it does

Reads
Writes
High impact

At most: moves money, runs code or commands, deletes data, or sends messages for you.

What it costs

Free

Odel charges nothing per call. The publisher may charge for its own service.

Tools

None listed · checked 12 Oct 2026

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README7 min readView on GitHub

ynab-mcp-server

Connect YNAB to ChatGPT or Claude with a hosted MCP server.

Use this if you want your AI assistant to read and manage your YNAB plans, categories, transactions, and goals — and review balances and net worth — after you sign in with your own YNAB account.

What You Need

a YNAB account
the hosted MCP URL: https://mcpforynab.smirnovlabs.com/mcp
ChatGPT or Claude with support for custom MCP connectors

Quick Start

Get your hosted MCP URL.
Add that URL in ChatGPT or Claude.
Click Connect.
Sign in with YNAB when prompted.
Return to your chat and start asking YNAB questions.

Set Up in ChatGPT

These steps are for the ChatGPT web app.

As of March 25, 2026, OpenAI requires developer mode for custom MCP connectors.

Before you start

You need a ChatGPT plan that supports custom MCP connectors.
If you are on a workspace plan, your admin may need to enable developer mode first.
You need this hosted MCP URL: https://mcpforynab.smirnovlabs.com/mcp.

Step-by-step

Open chatgpt.com.
Open Settings.
Enable developer mode if it is not already enabled.
Go to Apps or Connectors and choose to create a custom app or connector.
Paste your hosted MCP URL.
Choose OAuth if ChatGPT asks for an authentication method.
Save or create the connector.
Start a new chat.
Open the tools menu and enable the new connector.
When redirected, sign in with YNAB and approve access.
Return to ChatGPT and send a test prompt.

Good first prompts

Show me the balances of all my plan accounts.
List my plan categories with available amounts.
Find my most recent grocery transactions.
What were my largest spending categories last month?

Set Up in Claude

These steps are for claude.ai.

As of March 25, 2026, Anthropic supports remote MCP connectors in the Connectors settings.

Before you start

You need a Claude plan that supports remote MCP connectors.
You need this hosted MCP URL: https://mcpforynab.smirnovlabs.com/mcp.
If you are on Claude Team or Enterprise, your workspace owner may need to add the connector first.

Step-by-step for Claude Pro or Max

Open claude.ai.
Open Settings.
Open Connectors.
Click Add custom connector.
Paste your hosted MCP URL.
Save the connector.
Click Connect.
When redirected, sign in with YNAB and approve access.
Start a new chat.
Use the + menu to enable the connector for that conversation.
Send a test prompt.

Step-by-step for Claude Team or Enterprise

Ask your workspace owner to open Organization settings -> Connectors.
Have them add the custom connector using your hosted MCP URL.
After that is done, open your own Claude settings.
Go to Connectors.
Find the new custom connector.
Click Connect.
When redirected, sign in with YNAB and approve access.
Start a new chat.
Use the + menu to enable the connector for that conversation.
Send a test prompt.

Good first prompts

Show me my current account balances in YNAB.
What categories are overspent right now?
Find transactions from Amazon in the last 30 days.
Summarize my spending by category this month.

What Happens When You Connect

ChatGPT or Claude connects to the hosted MCP URL.
The MCP server sends you to YNAB sign-in.
You approve access to your YNAB account.
The service stores the OAuth tokens needed to make future YNAB requests on your behalf.
Your assistant can then use YNAB tools and resources in chat.

Available Tools

Once connected, your assistant can use the tools below. Read tools only look at your data; Write tools change your budget (and ones marked delete remove data).

Budgets & setup

Tool	What it does	Access
`ynab_list_budgets`	List your YNAB budgets	Read
`ynab_budget_summary`	Month summary of categories, balances, and accounts	Read
`ynab_set_default_budget`	Remember a default budget so you don't name it every time	Setup

Categories & goals

Tool	What it does	Access
`ynab_list_categories`	List category groups and categories with balances and goals	Read
`ynab_create_category`	Create a category in a group	Write
`ynab_update_category`	Rename a category, edit its note, or move it between groups	Write
`ynab_create_category_group`	Create a category group	Write
`ynab_update_category_group`	Rename a category group	Write
`ynab_set_category_goals`	Create, update, or remove a category's goal	Write

Transactions

Tool	What it does	Access
`ynab_list_transactions`	List and filter transactions by account, category, payee, or date	Read
`ynab_get_unapproved_transactions`	List transactions waiting for approval	Read
`ynab_create_transaction`	Add a transaction	Write
`ynab_update_transaction`	Edit an existing transaction	Write
`ynab_approve_transaction`	Approve one pending transaction	Write
`ynab_bulk_approve_transactions`	Approve many pending transactions at once	Write
`ynab_delete_transaction`	Delete a transaction	Write (delete)

Scheduled (recurring) transactions

Tool	What it does	Access
`ynab_list_scheduled_transactions`	List scheduled/recurring transactions	Read
`ynab_create_scheduled_transaction`	Schedule a future or recurring transaction	Write
`ynab_update_scheduled_transaction`	Edit a scheduled transaction	Write
`ynab_delete_scheduled_transaction`	Delete a scheduled transaction	Write (delete)

Budgeting workflows

Tool	What it does	Access
`ynab_move_funds_between_categories`	Move budgeted dollars between categories	Write
`ynab_auto_distribute_funds`	Allocate "Ready to Assign" money across categories by goal	Write
`ynab_handle_overspending`	Cover overspent categories by moving funds	Write
`ynab_budget_from_history`	Allocate based on historical spending	Write
`ynab_reconcile_account`	Reconcile an account to a statement balance	Write

Analytics & insights (read-only)

Tool	What it does
`ynab_analyze_spending_patterns`	Spot spending trends and anomalies
`ynab_goal_progress_report`	Track progress toward category goals
`ynab_cash_flow_forecast`	Project upcoming cash flow from history
`ynab_category_performance_review`	Compare budgeted vs. actual by category
`ynab_net_worth_analysis`	Summarize net worth across accounts

YNAB API Coverage

How these tools line up with the official YNAB API (accessed through the ynab JavaScript SDK). ✅ = covered, ◐ = partial, — = not yet.

YNAB API area	Covered	Tools / notes
Budgets (plans)	✅	`ynab_list_budgets`, `ynab_budget_summary`; plan settings are not exposed
Accounts	◐	Balances read via `ynab_budget_summary`, `ynab_net_worth_analysis`, `ynab_reconcile_account`; no create-account or standalone account list
Categories & groups	✅	List, create, and update categories and groups; goals; per-month funding
Months	✅	Surfaced through `ynab_budget_summary` and the analytics tools
Transactions	✅	List, create, update, delete, approve, bulk-approve (file `import` is not exposed)
Scheduled transactions	✅	List, create, update, delete
Payees	—	Referenced implicitly by name in the transaction tools; no list/update-payee tool
Payee locations	—	Not exposed
User	—	Identity is handled by OAuth; `getUser` is not exposed

Beyond the raw API, this server adds composite tools that have no single API endpoint: the budgeting workflows (move funds, auto-distribute, handle overspending, budget from history, reconcile) and the analytics tools (spending patterns, goal progress, cash flow, category performance, net worth).

Troubleshooting

The connector does not appear in ChatGPT

Confirm your plan supports custom MCP connectors.
Confirm developer mode is enabled.
If you are on a workspace plan, confirm your admin enabled the required settings.

The connector does not appear in Claude

Confirm your plan supports remote MCP connectors.
On Team or Enterprise, confirm your workspace owner added the connector first.

I connected, but YNAB tools are not working

Disconnect and reconnect the connector.
Make sure you completed the YNAB OAuth approval step.
Start a fresh chat and re-enable the connector for that conversation.

The MCP URL is not working

Make sure you pasted the full HTTPS URL.
Do not remove the trailing /mcp if your hosted URL includes it.

Privacy

This service uses OAuth to connect to your YNAB account. It does not ask for your YNAB password directly.

This app is not officially supported by YNAB in any way. Use it at your own risk.

Read the privacy policy here:

PRIVACY.md

For Self-Hosting or Operators

If you are trying to deploy or host this service yourself, use CONTRIBUTING.md. This README is intentionally written for end users connecting the hosted service in ChatGPT or Claude.

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