ticktick-sdk: A TickTick MCP Server & Full Python SDK

ticktick-sdk: A TickTick MCP Server & Full Python SDK

A comprehensive async Python SDK for TickTick with MCP (Model Context Protocol) server support.

Includes full support for Dida365 (滴答清单) as well.

Use TickTick programmatically from Python, or let AI assistants manage your tasks.

Table of Contents

• Features
• Why This Library?
• Installation
• MCP Server Setup & Usage
  • Step 1: Register Your App
  • Step 2: Get OAuth2 Access Token
  • Step 3: Configure Your AI Assistant
  • CLI Reference
  • Example Conversations
  • Available MCP Tools
• Python Library Setup & Usage
  • Setup
  • Quick Start
  • Tasks
  • Projects & Folders
  • Tags
  • Habits
  • Focus/Pomodoro
  • User & Statistics
  • Error Handling
• Architecture
• API Reference
• TickTick API Quirks
• Environment Variables
• Running Tests
• Troubleshooting
• Contributing

Features

MCP Server

• 43 Tools: Streamlined coverage of TickTick functionality
• Batch Operations: All mutations accept lists (1-100 items) for bulk operations
• AI-Ready: Works with Claude, GPT, and other MCP-compatible assistants
• Dual Output: Markdown for humans, JSON for machines

Python Library

• Full Async Support: Built on httpx for high-performance async operations
• Batch Operations: Create, update, delete, complete up to 100 tasks in a single call
• Complete Task Management: Create, read, update, delete, complete, move, pin tasks
• Kanban Boards: Full column management (create, update, delete, move tasks between columns)
• Project Organization: Projects, folders, kanban boards
• Tag System: Hierarchical tags with colors
• Habit Tracking: Full CRUD for habits with batch check-ins, streaks, and goals
• Focus/Pomodoro: Access focus session data and statistics
• User Analytics: Productivity scores, levels, completion rates

Developer Experience

• Type-Safe: Full Pydantic v2 validation with comprehensive type hints
• Well-Tested: 300+ tests covering both mock and live API interactions
• Documented: Extensive docstrings and examples

Why This Library?

The Two-API Problem

TickTick has two different APIs:

The official V1 API is limited. Most of TickTick's power features (tags, habits, focus tracking) are only available through the undocumented V2 web API. This library combines both, routing each operation to the appropriate API automatically.

Compared to Other Libraries

Based on analysis of the actual source code of available TickTick Python libraries:

Key Differentiators:

• MCP Server: Only ticktick-sdk provides AI assistant integration via Model Context Protocol
• Unified API Routing: Automatically routes operations to V1 or V2 based on feature requirements
• Full Habit CRUD: Complete habit management including check-ins, streaks, archive/unarchive
• Async-First: Built on httpx for high-performance async operations

Installation

pip install ticktick-sdk

Requirements:

• Python 3.11+
• TickTick account (free or Pro)

MCP Server Setup & Usage

Use TickTick with AI assistants like Claude through the Model Context Protocol.

Step 1: Register Your App

1. Go to the TickTick Developer Portal
2. Click "Create App"
3. Fill in:
   • App Name: e.g., "My TickTick MCP"
   • Redirect URI: http://127.0.0.1:8080/callback
4. Save your Client ID and Client Secret

Step 2: Get OAuth2 Access Token

Run the auth command with your credentials:

TICKTICK_CLIENT_ID=your_client_id \
TICKTICK_CLIENT_SECRET=your_client_secret \
ticktick-sdk auth

This will:

1. Open your browser to TickTick's authorization page
2. Authorize the app - Click "Authorize" to grant access
3. Return to terminal - After authorizing, you'll see output like this:

============================================================
  SUCCESS! Here is your access token:
============================================================

a]234abc-5678-90de-f012-34567890abcd

============================================================

NEXT STEPS:

For Claude Code users:
  Run (replace YOUR_* placeholders):
    claude mcp add ticktick \
      -e TICKTICK_CLIENT_ID=YOUR_CLIENT_ID \
      ...

4. Copy this token - You'll need it in the next step

Note: Sometimes the browser shows an "invalid credentials" error page. Just refresh the page and it should work.

SSH/Headless Users: Add --manual flag for a text-based flow that doesn't require a browser.

Step 3: Configure Your AI Assistant

Claude Code (Recommended)

claude mcp add ticktick \
  -e TICKTICK_CLIENT_ID=your_client_id \
  -e TICKTICK_CLIENT_SECRET=your_client_secret \
  -e TICKTICK_ACCESS_TOKEN=your_access_token \
  -e TICKTICK_USERNAME=your_email \
  -e TICKTICK_PASSWORD=your_password \
  -- ticktick-sdk

Note: For TICKTICK_ACCESS_TOKEN, paste the token you copied from Step 2.

Verify it's working:

claude mcp list        # See all configured servers
/mcp                   # Within Claude Code, check server status

Claude Desktop

Add to your Claude Desktop config:

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

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ticktick": {
      "command": "ticktick-sdk",
      "env": {
        "TICKTICK_CLIENT_ID": "your_client_id",
        "TICKTICK_CLIENT_SECRET": "your_client_secret",
        "TICKTICK_ACCESS_TOKEN": "your_access_token",
        "TICKTICK_USERNAME": "your_email",
        "TICKTICK_PASSWORD": "your_password"
      }
    }
  }
}

Other MCP-Compatible Tools

This server works with any tool that supports the Model Context Protocol, which includes most modern AI assistants and IDEs. The configuration is similar - you just need to provide the command (ticktick-sdk) and the environment variables shown above.

CLI Reference

The ticktick-sdk command provides several subcommands:

Tool Filtering (reduces context window usage for AI assistants):

# Enable only task and project tools
ticktick-sdk server --enabledModules tasks,projects

# Enable specific tools only
ticktick-sdk server --enabledTools ticktick_create_tasks,ticktick_list_tasks

# Available modules: tasks, projects, folders, columns, tags, habits, user, focus

Example Conversations

Once configured, you can ask Claude things like:

• "What tasks do I have due today?"
• "Create a task to call John tomorrow at 2pm"
• "Show me my high priority tasks"
• "Mark the grocery shopping task as complete"
• "What's my current streak for the Exercise habit?"
• "Check in my meditation habit for today"
• "Create a new habit to drink 8 glasses of water daily"

Available MCP Tools (43 Total)

All mutation tools accept lists for batch operations (1-100 items).

Task Tools (Batch-Capable)

Project Tools

Folder Tools

Kanban Column Tools

Tag Tools

Habit Tools (Batch-Capable)

User & Analytics Tools

Python Library Setup & Usage

Use TickTick programmatically in your Python applications.

Setup

Step 1: Register Your App

Same as MCP setup - go to the TickTick Developer Portal and create an app.

Step 2: Create Your .env File

Create a .env file in your project directory:

# V1 API (OAuth2)
TICKTICK_CLIENT_ID=your_client_id_here
TICKTICK_CLIENT_SECRET=your_client_secret_here
TICKTICK_REDIRECT_URI=http://127.0.0.1:8080/callback
TICKTICK_ACCESS_TOKEN=  # Will be filled in Step 3

# V2 API (Session)
[email protected]
TICKTICK_PASSWORD=your_ticktick_password

# Optional
TICKTICK_TIMEOUT=30

Step 3: Get OAuth2 Access Token

# Source your .env file first, or export the variables
ticktick-sdk auth

Copy the access token to your .env file.

Step 4: Verify Setup

import asyncio
from ticktick_sdk import TickTickClient

async def test():
    async with TickTickClient.from_settings() as client:
        profile = await client.get_profile()
        print(f'Connected as: {profile.display_name}')

asyncio.run(test())

Quick Start

import asyncio
from ticktick_sdk import TickTickClient

async def main():
    async with TickTickClient.from_settings() as client:
        # Create a task
        task = await client.create_task(
            title="Learn ticktick-sdk",
            tags=["python", "productivity"],
        )
        print(f"Created: {task.title} (ID: {task.id})")

        # List all tasks
        tasks = await client.get_all_tasks()
        print(f"You have {len(tasks)} active tasks")

        # Complete the task
        await client.complete_task(task.id, task.project_id)
        print("Task completed!")

asyncio.run(main())

Tasks

Creating Tasks

from datetime import datetime, timedelta
from ticktick_sdk import TickTickClient

async with TickTickClient.from_settings() as client:
    # Simple task
    task = await client.create_task(title="Buy groceries")

    # Task with due date and priority
    task = await client.create_task(
        title="Submit report",
        due_date=datetime.now() + timedelta(days=1),
        priority="high",  # none, low, medium, high
    )

    # Task with tags and content
    task = await client.create_task(
        title="Review PR #123",
        content="Check for:\n- Code style\n- Tests\n- Documentation",
        tags=["work", "code-review"],
    )

    # Recurring task (MUST include start_date!)
    task = await client.create_task(
        title="Daily standup",
        start_date=datetime(2025, 1, 20, 9, 0),
        recurrence="RRULE:FREQ=DAILY;BYDAY=MO,TU,WE,TH,FR",
    )

    # Task with reminder
    task = await client.create_task(
        title="Meeting with team",
        due_date=datetime(2025, 1, 20, 14, 0),
        reminders=["TRIGGER:-PT15M"],  # 15 minutes before
    )

    # All-day task
    task = await client.create_task(
        title="Project deadline",
        due_date=datetime(2025, 1, 31),
        all_day=True,
    )

Managing Tasks

async with TickTickClient.from_settings() as client:
    # Get a specific task
    task = await client.get_task(task_id="...")

    # Update a task
    task.title = "Updated title"
    task.priority = 5  # high priority
    await client.update_task(task)

    # Complete a task
    await client.complete_task(task_id="...", project_id="...")

    # Delete a task (moves to trash)
    await client.delete_task(task_id="...", project_id="...")

    # Move task to another project
    await client.move_task(
        task_id="...",
        from_project_id="...",
        to_project_id="...",
    )

Subtasks

async with TickTickClient.from_settings() as client:
    # Create parent task
    parent = await client.create_task(title="Main task")

    # Create child task
    child = await client.create_task(title="Subtask")

    # Make it a subtask (parent_id in create is ignored by API)
    await client.make_subtask(
        task_id=child.id,
        parent_id=parent.id,
        project_id=child.project_id,
    )

    # Remove parent relationship
    await client.unparent_subtask(
        task_id=child.id,
        project_id=child.project_id,
    )

Querying Tasks

async with TickTickClient.from_settings() as client:
    # All active tasks
    all_tasks = await client.get_all_tasks()

    # Tasks due today
    today = await client.get_today_tasks()

    # Overdue tasks
    overdue = await client.get_overdue_tasks()

    # Tasks by tag
    work_tasks = await client.get_tasks_by_tag("work")

    # Tasks by priority
    urgent = await client.get_tasks_by_priority("high")

    # Search tasks
    results = await client.search_tasks("meeting")

    # Recently completed
    completed = await client.get_completed_tasks(days=7, limit=50)

    # Abandoned tasks ("won't do")
    abandoned = await client.get_abandoned_tasks(days=30)

    # Deleted tasks (in trash)
    deleted = await client.get_deleted_tasks(limit=50)

Projects & Folders

Projects

async with TickTickClient.from_settings() as client:
    # List all projects
    projects = await client.get_all_projects()
    for project in projects:
        print(f"{project.name} ({project.id})")

    # Get project with all its tasks
    project_data = await client.get_project_tasks(project_id="...")
    print(f"Project: {project_data.project.name}")
    print(f"Tasks: {len(project_data.tasks)}")

    # Create a project
    project = await client.create_project(
        name="Q1 Goals",
        color="#4A90D9",
        view_mode="kanban",  # list, kanban, timeline
    )

    # Update a project
    await client.update_project(
        project_id=project.id,
        name="Q1 Goals 2025",
        color="#FF5500",
    )

    # Delete a project
    await client.delete_project(project_id="...")

Folders (Project Groups)

async with TickTickClient.from_settings() as client:
    # List all folders
    folders = await client.get_all_folders()

    # Create a folder
    folder = await client.create_folder(name="Work Projects")

    # Create project in folder
    project = await client.create_project(
        name="Client A",
        folder_id=folder.id,
    )

    # Rename a folder
    await client.rename_folder(folder_id=folder.id, name="Work")

    # Delete a folder
    await client.delete_folder(folder_id="...")

Tags

Tags in TickTick support hierarchy (parent-child relationships) and custom colors.

async with TickTickClient.from_settings() as client:
    # List all tags
    tags = await client.get_all_tags()
    for tag in tags:
        print(f"{tag.label} ({tag.name}) - {tag.color}")

    # Create a tag
    tag = await client.create_tag(
        name="urgent",
        color="#FF0000",
    )

    # Create nested tag
    child_tag = await client.create_tag(
        name="critical",
        parent="urgent",  # Parent tag name
    )

    # Rename a tag
    await client.rename_tag(old_name="urgent", new_name="priority")

    # Update tag color or parent
    await client.update_tag(
        name="priority",
        color="#FF5500",
    )

    # Merge tags (move all tasks from source to target)
    await client.merge_tags(source="old-tag", target="new-tag")

    # Delete a tag
    await client.delete_tag(name="obsolete")

Habits

TickTick habits are recurring activities you want to track daily.

Habit Types

Creating and Managing Habits

async with TickTickClient.from_settings() as client:
    # List all habits
    habits = await client.get_all_habits()

    # Boolean habit (yes/no)
    exercise = await client.create_habit(
        name="Exercise",
        color="#4A90D9",
        reminders=["07:00", "19:00"],
        target_days=30,
        encouragement="Stay strong!",
    )

    # Numeric habit
    reading = await client.create_habit(
        name="Read",
        habit_type="Real",
        goal=30,           # 30 pages per day
        step=5,            # +5 button increment
        unit="Pages",
    )

    # Check in a habit (today)
    habit = await client.checkin_habit("habit_id")
    print(f"Streak: {habit.current_streak} days!")

    # Check in for a past date (backdate)
    from datetime import date
    habit = await client.checkin_habit("habit_id", checkin_date=date(2025, 12, 15))

    # Archive/unarchive
    await client.archive_habit("habit_id")
    await client.unarchive_habit("habit_id")

Habit Repeat Rules (RRULE Format)

Focus/Pomodoro

from datetime import date, timedelta

async with TickTickClient.from_settings() as client:
    # Focus heatmap (like GitHub contribution graph)
    heatmap = await client.get_focus_heatmap(
        start_date=date.today() - timedelta(days=90),
        end_date=date.today(),
    )

    # Focus time by tag
    by_tag = await client.get_focus_by_tag(days=30)
    for tag, seconds in sorted(by_tag.items(), key=lambda x: -x[1]):
        hours = seconds / 3600
        print(f"  {tag}: {hours:.1f} hours")

User & Statistics

async with TickTickClient.from_settings() as client:
    # User profile
    profile = await client.get_profile()
    print(f"Username: {profile.username}")

    # Account status
    status = await client.get_status()
    print(f"Pro User: {status.is_pro}")
    print(f"Inbox ID: {status.inbox_id}")

    # Productivity statistics
    stats = await client.get_statistics()
    print(f"Level: {stats.level}")
    print(f"Score: {stats.score}")
    print(f"Tasks completed today: {stats.today_completed}")

Error Handling

from ticktick_sdk import (
    TickTickClient,
    TickTickError,
    TickTickNotFoundError,
    TickTickAuthenticationError,
    TickTickRateLimitError,
    TickTickValidationError,
)

async with TickTickClient.from_settings() as client:
    try:
        task = await client.get_task("nonexistent-id")
    except TickTickNotFoundError as e:
        print(f"Task not found: {e}")
    except TickTickAuthenticationError:
        print("Authentication failed - check credentials")
    except TickTickRateLimitError:
        print("Rate limited - wait and retry")
    except TickTickValidationError as e:
        print(f"Invalid input: {e}")
    except TickTickError as e:
        print(f"TickTick error: {e}")

Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    Your Application                         │
│              (or MCP Server for AI Assistants)              │
└─────────────────────────┬───────────────────────────────────┘
                          │
┌─────────────────────────▼───────────────────────────────────┐
│                    TickTickClient                           │
│            High-level, user-friendly async API              │
│   (tasks, projects, tags, habits, focus, user methods)      │
└─────────────────────────┬───────────────────────────────────┘
                          │
┌─────────────────────────▼───────────────────────────────────┐
│                  UnifiedTickTickAPI                         │
│        Routes calls to V1 or V2, converts responses         │
│              to unified Pydantic models                     │
└─────────────────────────┬───────────────────────────────────┘
                          │
           ┌──────────────┴──────────────┐
           ▼                             ▼
┌──────────────────────┐      ┌──────────────────────┐
│      V1 API          │      │      V2 API          │
│     (OAuth2)         │      │     (Session)        │
│                      │      │                      │
│ • Official API       │      │ • Unofficial API     │
│ • Project with tasks │      │ • Tags, folders      │
│ • Limited features   │      │ • Habits, focus      │
│                      │      │ • Full subtasks      │
└──────────────────────┘      └──────────────────────┘

Key Design Decisions

1. V2-First: Most operations use V2 API (more features), falling back to V1 only when needed
2. Unified Models: Single set of Pydantic models regardless of which API provides the data
3. Async Throughout: All I/O operations are async for performance
4. Type Safety: Full type hints and Pydantic validation

API Reference

Models

Enums

Exceptions

Important: TickTick API Quirks

TickTick's API has several unique behaviors you should know about:

1. Recurrence Requires start_date

If you create a recurring task without a start_date, TickTick silently ignores the recurrence rule.

# WRONG - recurrence will be ignored!
task = await client.create_task(
    title="Daily standup",
    recurrence="RRULE:FREQ=DAILY",
)

# CORRECT
task = await client.create_task(
    title="Daily standup",
    start_date=datetime(2025, 1, 20, 9, 0),
    recurrence="RRULE:FREQ=DAILY",
)

2. Subtasks Require Separate Call

Setting parent_id during task creation is ignored by the API:

# Create the child task first
child = await client.create_task(title="Subtask")

# Then make it a subtask
await client.make_subtask(
    task_id=child.id,
    parent_id="parent_task_id",
    project_id=child.project_id,
)

3. Soft Delete

Deleting tasks moves them to trash (deleted=1) rather than permanently removing them.

4. Date Clearing

To clear a task's due_date, you must also clear start_date:

task.due_date = None
task.start_date = None
await client.update_task(task)

5. Tag Order Not Preserved

The API does not preserve tag order - tags may be returned in any order.

6. Inbox is Special

The inbox is a special project that cannot be deleted. Get its ID via await client.get_status().

Environment Variables

Running Tests

# Install dev dependencies
pip install -e ".[dev]"

# All tests (mock mode - no API calls)
pytest

# With verbose output
pytest -v

# Live tests (requires credentials)
pytest --live

# With coverage
pytest --cov=ticktick_sdk --cov-report=term-missing

Test Markers

Troubleshooting

"Token exchange failed"

• Verify your Client ID and Client Secret are correct
• Ensure the Redirect URI matches exactly (including trailing slashes)
• Check that you're using the correct TickTick developer portal

"Authentication failed"

• Check your TickTick username (email) and password
• Try logging into ticktick.com to verify credentials

"V2 initialization failed"

• Your password may contain special characters - try changing it
• Check for 2FA/MFA (not currently supported)

"Rate limit exceeded"

• Wait 30-60 seconds before retrying
• Reduce the frequency of API calls

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
3. Write tests for new functionality
4. Ensure all tests pass (pytest)
5. Run type checking (mypy src/)
6. Submit a pull request

Development Setup

git clone https://github.com/dev-mirzabicer/ticktick-sdk.git
cd ticktick-sdk
python3 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
pip install -e ".[dev]"

License

MIT License - see LICENSE for details.

Acknowledgments

• TickTick for the excellent task management app
• Model Context Protocol for the AI integration standard
• FastMCP for the MCP framework
• Pydantic for data validation
• httpx for async HTTP