
This is a radically simplified Shortcut API wrapper deployed on Cloudflare Workers that collapses 52 tools into 10 actions, cutting token overhead by 96%. You get search, get, update, comment, create, plus helpers for workflows, members, and projects. The author ships it as a public endpoint you hit via streamable HTTP, but you provide your own API token in headers. If you're managing Shortcut stories from Claude and don't want to burn thousands of tokens on tool definitions, this is the lightweight option. You can also fork and deploy your own Workers instance if you prefer self hosting.
A lightweight Shortcut MCP deployed on Cloudflare Workers. One tool, eight actions.
Live URL: https://streamshortcut.staycek.workers.dev/mcp
The official @shortcut/mcp uses ~11,652 tokens for tool definitions (52 tools).
StreamShortcut uses ~500 tokens — a ~96% reduction.
| Action | Purpose |
|---|---|
search | Find stories (default: your active stories); text query or structured filters |
get | Story details by ID or URL |
update | Change state, estimate, owner, type, name, or description |
comment | Add comment to story |
create | Create story with type, estimate, state, epic, owner, description |
epic | Epic details with its stories |
api | Raw REST API access for everything else |
help | Documentation |
You must provide your own Shortcut API token. Get one at: https://app.shortcut.com/settings/account/api-tokens
claude mcp add (recommended)One command, no file editing. Replace YOUR_TOKEN with your real token:
claude mcp add --transport http shortcut https://streamshortcut.staycek.workers.dev/mcp --header "X-Shortcut-Token: YOUR_TOKEN"
Use -s user to make it available in every project instead of just the current one.
Add this to your Claude Desktop / Claude Code config:
{
"mcpServers": {
"shortcut": {
"type": "http",
"url": "https://streamshortcut.staycek.workers.dev/mcp",
"headers": {
"X-Shortcut-Token": "your-token-here"
}
}
}
}
Put the literal token in the config. A
"${SHORTCUT_API_TOKEN}"reference only resolves if the variable is present in the environment the app was launched from. On macOS, apps started from the Dock or Finder do not read~/.zshrc, so the variable will be undefined and the server will fail to authenticate. Environment references work reliably only when you launch from a terminal.
Either way, restart Claude afterwards so the new server is picked up.
The server is stateless and stores nothing — every request carries your own token, and it is never persisted. Send it either way:
X-Shortcut-Token: your-token-here
Authorization: Bearer your-token-here
X-Shortcut-Token takes precedence if both are present. There is no OAuth flow;
an unauthenticated request returns 401 with a WWW-Authenticate header.
Check the service is up (no token needed):
curl -s https://streamshortcut.staycek.workers.dev/health
Confirm your token is valid, straight against Shortcut:
curl -s -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}\n" https://api.app.shortcut.com/api/v3/member -H "Shortcut-Token: YOUR_TOKEN"
200 means the token is good; 401 means it's wrong or expired.
Then test the full path — this returns your active stories:
curl -s https://streamshortcut.staycek.workers.dev/mcp -H "Content-Type: application/json" -H "Accept: application/json, text/event-stream" -H "X-Shortcut-Token: YOUR_TOKEN" -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"tools/call","params":{"name":"shortcut","arguments":{"action":"search"}}}'
Once configured in Claude, just ask: "show me my Shortcut stories."
| Symptom | Cause |
|---|---|
401 Missing Shortcut API token | No token sent — use either X-Shortcut-Token or Authorization: Bearer |
Error: API error (401): Unauthorized | Token reached the server but Shortcut rejected it — expired or wrong token, or an unexpanded ${SHORTCUT_API_TOKEN} placeholder sent literally |
403 Forbidden from the worker | Cloudflare bot protection. Some default HTTP clients (e.g. Python's urllib) are blocked by user agent — set a normal User-Agent header |
| Server missing after config edit | Claude needs a restart; it only reads MCP config at startup |
If you prefer to self-host:
Clone and install:
git clone https://github.com/stayce/streamshortcut-cloudflare
cd streamshortcut-cloudflare
npm install
Deploy:
npm run deploy
No server-side secrets needed — users always provide their own token.
npm run dev # local server on http://localhost:8787
npm run typecheck # tsc --noEmit
npm run build # verify the Worker bundles (dry-run deploy)
{"action": "search"}
{"action": "search", "query": {"owner": "me", "state": "In Progress"}}
{"action": "get", "id": "704"}
{"action": "update", "id": "704", "state": "Done"}
{"action": "comment", "id": "704", "body": "Fixed!"}
{"action": "create", "name": "New bug", "type": "bug", "estimate": 3, "state": "Ready", "owner": "me"}
{"action": "epic", "id": "308"}
{"action": "api", "method": "GET", "path": "/workflows"}
{"action": "help"}
MIT