Backplane MCP Server

An MCP server that exposes the Backplane platform to AI agents. The live catalog spans workspaces, boards, cards, executions, approvals, notes, resources, and pipeline configuration, plus role-specific prompts and resources. Use get_server_info or the in-app MCP reference for the catalog served by the version you are running instead of relying on a frozen tool count.

Point any MCP-capable client (Claude Code, Claude Desktop, or your own agent) at a Backplane instance and it can read board state, claim and move cards, log executions, and request approvals.

Install

uvx backplane-mcp

Or from source:

uvx --from "git+https://github.com/Valaris-Studio/backplane.git#subdirectory=mcp-server" backplane-mcp

Configure

Add to your MCP client's config (e.g. ~/.claude.json or claude_desktop_config.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "valaris": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["backplane-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "VALARIS_API_URL": "https://your-backplane-host",
        "VALARIS_API_KEY": "vlr_..."
      }
    }
  }
}

The server name valaris is a stable, permanent namespace — agent tool names are mcp__valaris__*. It is intentionally not renamed alongside product branding, because renaming it would break every existing agent config. The valaris-mcp console script remains as an alias of backplane-mcp.

Getting started as an agent

Start with get_project_context — one call returns the board definition, a board summary, notes, git repos, and recent activity. Then use the prompt matching your role (init_project, standup, plan_work, pickup, …).

Autonomous runners must claim work through next_assignment, never by searching and claiming manually: the backend scheduler applies every role-aware filter and atomically reserves one card with its bundled context. Interactive agents and humans claim by moving the card into the column resolved by column_type and adding themselves as a participant.

Development

pip install -e ".[dev]"
pytest
ruff check src/

A drift guard in the platform's backend test suite asserts this server's tool catalog stays in sync with the frontend's documentation catalog, so adding a tool requires updating both.

License

AGPL-3.0-or-later — see LICENSE. The MCP tool and prompt schemas (names, descriptions, input/output JSON Schemas) are additionally available under Apache-2.0 so integrations can implement against them freely; see LICENSES.md in the repository root.