OpenClaw Trello Integration: Automate Kanban Boards and Task Management

The OpenClaw Trello integration lets you manage Kanban boards, create and move cards, assign tasks, and automate workflows — all through natural language messages in WhatsApp, Telegram, or Slack. Instead of switching to the Trello app to update your boards, you text your OpenClaw agent and it handles the API calls for you.

This guide covers the complete setup process, from generating your Trello API credentials to building automated workflows that keep your boards up to date without manual effort.

What Can OpenClaw Do with Trello?

OpenClaw connects to Trello through the official REST API, giving it programmatic access to everything you can do in the Trello interface. Through natural language commands, OpenClaw can perform these core operations:

Card management: Create new cards on any board and list, set titles and descriptions, assign due dates, add labels, attach files, and add checklist items. You can say something like "Create a card on the Marketing board in To Do called 'Write Q2 blog series' with a due date of April 15" and OpenClaw handles it.

Board navigation: List all your boards, view cards in specific lists, search for cards by name or label, and get a summary of what is in each column. This is especially useful for morning briefings — OpenClaw can include a Trello board summary in your daily update.

Card movement: Move cards between lists (columns) on any board. "Move the 'Client proposal' card to Done on the Sales board" is all you need to type. OpenClaw resolves board names, list names, and card names to their internal IDs automatically.

Member assignment: Assign or unassign team members to cards. If your team uses Trello for task delegation, OpenClaw can assign cards as part of a workflow — for example, automatically assigning new cards in the "Review" list to a specific team member.

Comments and updates: Add comments to cards, update descriptions, and modify checklist items. This is useful for logging progress or adding context to tasks without opening Trello.

How Do You Get Trello API Credentials?

Trello uses an API key and token pair for authentication. The API key identifies your application, and the token grants access to a specific Trello account. Here is how to generate both:

Step 1: Go to https://trello.com/power-ups/admin and log in with your Trello account.

Step 2: Click "New" to create a new Power-Up (this is how Trello manages API access). Give it a name like "OpenClaw Integration" and fill in the required fields. The Iframe connector URL can be any valid URL — it is not used for API-only access.

Step 3: Once created, click on your Power-Up and navigate to the "API Key" section. Copy your API key.

Step 4: On the same page, click the link to generate a token. This will ask you to authorize the application to access your Trello account. Click "Allow" and copy the token that appears.

Step 5: Store both the API key and token securely. You will add these to your OpenClaw configuration in the next step.

A few important notes: the token does not expire unless you manually revoke it. If you are setting up OpenClaw for a team, use a dedicated Trello account (like "team-bot@company.com") so the bot's actions appear under a separate user on the board.

How Do You Configure OpenClaw for Trello?

With your API key and token ready, add the Trello configuration to your OpenClaw setup. There are two approaches depending on your setup method.

Environment variable approach (recommended):

export TRELLO_API_KEY="your-api-key-here"
export TRELLO_TOKEN="your-token-here"

Add these to your .env file or your shell profile so they persist across restarts.

Configuration file approach:

In your OpenClaw system prompt or configuration, add a section that tells the agent how to interact with Trello:

# Trello Integration
# Base URL: https://api.trello.com/1
# Authentication: Append ?key=$TRELLO_API_KEY&token=$TRELLO_TOKEN to all requests
# Primary board: "Project Management" (board ID will be resolved on first use)

OpenClaw uses curl or its HTTP skill to make requests to the Trello API. The agent constructs the appropriate API calls based on your natural language instructions and the Trello REST API documentation it has in context.

Testing the connection:

Send your OpenClaw agent a message like "List all my Trello boards" to verify the integration works. You should get back a list of your board names. If you get an authentication error, double-check that the API key and token are correctly set and that the token has not been revoked.

What Trello Automations Can You Build?

Once the basic integration is working, you can build scheduled automations that run without manual input. Here are the most popular setups from our deployments:

Daily board summary: Schedule OpenClaw to send you a morning summary of all cards across your boards, grouped by list. This gives you a quick overview of what is in progress, what is blocked, and what is done — delivered to your WhatsApp at 7am every day.

Overdue card alerts: OpenClaw checks all cards with due dates and sends you a notification whenever a card is past due. You can configure it to also move overdue cards to a "Needs Attention" list automatically.

Recurring task creation: Set up weekly or monthly recurring cards. For example, "Every Monday at 9am, create a card called 'Weekly team standup notes' in the Team board, To Do list, assigned to Sarah." OpenClaw uses its scheduling system to create these cards on a cron-like schedule.

Cross-board workflows: When a card is marked done on one board, OpenClaw can create a follow-up card on a different board. This is useful for handoffs between teams — for example, when a development card is marked done, a QA card is automatically created on the QA board.

Slack or WhatsApp to Trello: Any message you send to OpenClaw can be turned into a Trello card. "Add to Trello: Review the new vendor contract by Friday" creates a card with the title, sets the due date, and puts it in your default list.

How Do You Troubleshoot the Trello Integration?

The most common issues and their solutions:

"Invalid token" error: The token was revoked or expired. Go back to the Power-Up admin page, generate a new token, and update your OpenClaw configuration.

"Board not found" error: OpenClaw could not match your board name to an existing board. Make sure you are using the exact board name as it appears in Trello. Board names are case-sensitive in the API.

Cards created on the wrong board: If you have multiple boards with similar names, OpenClaw might pick the wrong one. Be specific in your commands — use the full board name rather than abbreviations.

Rate limiting: Trello allows 100 requests per 10 seconds per token. If you are running heavy automations, you might hit this limit. Space out bulk operations or use batch endpoints for multiple card operations.

Missing permissions: If the bot cannot perform certain actions, the Trello account associated with the token might not have the right permissions on the board. Make sure the bot account is a board member with appropriate access.

FAQ

Does the OpenClaw Trello integration require a paid Trello plan?

No. The Trello API is available on all plans including the free tier. You get 10 boards on the free plan, which is enough for most personal and small-team setups. The API rate limits are generous at 100 requests per 10 seconds per token.

Can OpenClaw move Trello cards between lists automatically?

Yes. OpenClaw can move cards between lists, add labels, assign members, set due dates, and add comments — all through the Trello REST API. You can set up scheduled automations that move cards based on due dates or other conditions.

How does OpenClaw handle multiple Trello boards?

OpenClaw can manage multiple boards simultaneously. You reference boards by name in your commands, and OpenClaw resolves the board ID internally. For example, you can say "add a card to the Marketing board in the To Do list" and OpenClaw handles the lookup.

Is the Trello API key stored securely in OpenClaw?

Trello API keys and tokens are stored in your OpenClaw configuration file on your local machine or server. We recommend restricting file permissions to the OpenClaw user only (chmod 600) and using environment variables rather than hardcoding credentials in config files.

*Last updated: March 2026. Published by the Remote OpenClaw team at remoteopenclaw.com.*