trelloctl

A command-line interface for Trello, written in Python.

Requirements

• Python 3.11+

Installation

Simply run it via uv:

uvx trelloctl

Or install via pipx. Or manually via pip:

pip install trelloctl

Usage

Authentication

Before using the CLI, you need to authenticate with Trello:

1. Go to the Trello Power-Up Admin Portal
2. Create a new Power-Up (required even for personal use)
3. Copy your API key from the Power-Up's "API Key" section
4. Run the login command:

trelloctl auth login

The CLI will guide you through entering your API key and generating a token. Credentials are stored securely in your system keychain.

For an ephemeral or managed environment, set TRELLOCTL_API_KEY and TRELLOCTL_TOKEN instead. Environment values take precedence over the keyring and are never written to it. This supports credential gateways that replace placeholder query parameters at the network boundary.

To check your authentication status:

trelloctl auth status

To remove stored credentials:

trelloctl auth logout

Headless Systems

On a Linux server without a desktop environment there is usually no keychain available, and keyring will fail to store the credentials. Install the file-based backend from keyrings.alt alongside trelloctl:

uv tool install trelloctl --with keyrings.alt

If trelloctl is already installed, add --force to the command above. With pipx, run pipx inject trelloctl keyrings.alt instead.

Then select the backend, either per shell session:

export PYTHON_KEYRING_BACKEND=keyrings.alt.file.PlaintextKeyring

or permanently in ~/.config/python_keyring/keyringrc.cfg:

[backend]
default-keyring=keyrings.alt.file.PlaintextKeyring

Finally, log in by passing both values directly, which skips the browser prompts:

trelloctl auth login --api-key YOUR_KEY --token YOUR_TOKEN

The credentials are then written to ~/.local/share/python_keyring/keyring_pass.cfg. They are only base64-encoded, not encrypted, so restrict the permissions with chmod 600. There is also a keyrings.alt.file.EncryptedKeyring backend, but it asks for a master password on every command, which makes it impractical for cron jobs and scripts.

If you already use pass, install keyring-pass instead and set default-keyring=keyring_pass.PasswordStoreBackend to get proper GPG encryption.

Basic Command Examples

# List all boards
trelloctl board list

# List lists on a board (by name or ID)
trelloctl list list "My Board"
trelloctl list list Development

# List cards in a list
trelloctl list cards "To Do" --board Development

# Show board details
trelloctl board show Development

# Create a card
trelloctl card create "To Do" --board Development --name "New task"

# Move a card to another list
trelloctl card move <card_id> Done --board Development

# Output as JSON
trelloctl --format json board list

# Output as CSV
trelloctl --format csv board list

Names support partial matching (case-insensitive). If multiple items match, you'll be prompted to be more specific.

Command Reference

Global Options

Option	Description
--format, -f	Output format: table (default), json, csv, plain
--profile, -p	Configuration profile to use (default: default)
--version	Show version and exit
--help	Show help and exit

trelloctl auth

Authentication commands.

Command	Description
auth login	Set up authentication with Trello
auth status	Check authentication status
auth logout	Remove stored credentials

trelloctl board

Board management commands.

Command	Description
board list [--filter]	List all accessible boards
board show <board>	Show details of a board
board create --name <name>	Create a new board
board close <board>	Close (archive) a board
board delete <board>	Delete a board permanently
board labels <board>	List labels on a board
board members <board>	List members of a board

trelloctl list

List management commands.

Command	Description
list list <board>	List all lists on a board
list show <list> --board <board>	Show details of a list
list create <board> --name <name>	Create a new list
list archive <list> --board <board>	Archive a list
list cards <list> --board <board>	List all cards in a list

trelloctl card

Card management commands.

Command	Description
card show <card_id>	Show details of a card
card create <list> --board <board> --name <name>	Create a new card
card move <card_id> <target_list> --board <board>	Move a card to another list
card update <card_id> [--name] [--description] [--due]	Update a card
card archive <card_id>	Archive a card
card delete <card_id>	Delete a card permanently
card assign <card_id> <member_id>	Assign a member to a card
card unassign <card_id> <member_id>	Remove a member from a card
card comment <card_id> <text>	Add a comment to a card
card comments <card_id>	List comments on a card

trelloctl checklist

Checklist management commands.

Command	Description
checklist list <card_id>	List all checklists and items on a card
checklist create <card_id> --name <name>	Create a checklist on a card
checklist delete <checklist_id>	Delete a checklist
checklist add-item <checklist_id> --name <name> [--checked] [--member <member>] [--due <date>] [--due-reminder <minutes>]	Add an item to a checklist
checklist check <card_id> <item_id> [--uncheck]	Mark a checklist item as complete or incomplete
checklist assign <card_id> <item_id> <member>	Assign a member to a checklist item
checklist unassign <card_id> <item_id>	Remove the assigned member from a checklist item
checklist set-due <card_id> <item_id> <due> [--reminder <minutes>]	Set or clear a checklist item's due date (null to clear)
checklist edit-item <card_id> <item_id> --name <name>	Edit a checklist item's text
checklist delete-item <checklist_id> <item_id>	Delete a checklist item

The <member> argument accepts a member ID, username, or full name (partial, case-insensitive matching), the same way board, list, and card names are resolved.

Per-item members and due dates (add-item --member/--due, assign, unassign, set-due) use Trello's advanced checklists, which require a paid Trello plan. On free plans the API accepts the request without error but does not store the value.

Multiple Profiles

You can use multiple Trello accounts by specifying a profile:

# Set up a work profile
TRELLOCTL_PROFILE=work trelloctl auth login

# Use the work profile
trelloctl --profile work board list

License

MIT License

Copyright (c) 2025 Werner Robitza

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.