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Microsoft Tasks and Planner MCP server

Microsoft Tasks and Planner provides two complementary task management services through the Microsoft Graph API. Microsoft To Do is a personal task management service for organizing tasks across Microsoft 365 with support for reminders, due dates, recurrence, and categories. Microsoft Planner is a team-oriented service that enables groups to create plans, organize tasks into buckets, assign work, and track progress. With this MCP server, AI agents can manage personal task lists, create and assign team tasks, organize work into plans and buckets, track progress with checklists, and sync incremental changes — all from natural language instructions.

Setting up an MCP server

This article covers the standard steps for creating an MCP server in AI Gateway and connecting it to an AI client. The steps are the same for every integration — application-specific details (API credentials, OAuth endpoints, and scopes) are covered in the individual application pages.

Before you begin

You'll need:

  • Access to AI Gateway with permission to create MCP servers
  • API credentials for the application you're connecting (see the relevant application page for what to collect)

Create an MCP server

Find the API in the catalog

  1. Sign in to AI Gateway and select MCP Servers from the left navigation.
  2. Select New MCP Server.
  3. Search for the application you want to connect, then select it from the catalog.

Configure the server

  1. Enter a Name for your server — something descriptive that identifies both the application and its purpose (for example, "Zendesk Support — Prod").
  2. Enter a Description so your team knows what the server is for.
  3. Set the Timeout value. 30 seconds works for most APIs; increase to 60 seconds for APIs that return large payloads.
  4. Toggle Production mode on if this server will be used in a live workflow.
  5. Select Next.

Configure authentication

Enter the authentication details for the application. This varies by service — see the Authentication section of the relevant application page for the specific credentials, OAuth URLs, and scopes to use.

Configure security

  1. Set any Rate limits appropriate for your use case and the API's own limits.
  2. Enable Logging if you want AI Gateway to record requests and responses for auditing.
  3. Select Next.

Deploy

Review the summary, then select Deploy. AI Gateway provisions the server and provides a server URL you'll use when configuring your AI client.


Connect to an AI client

Once your server is deployed, you'll need to add it to the AI client your team uses. Select your client for setup instructions:

Tips

  • You can create multiple MCP servers for the same application — for example, a read-only server for reporting agents and a read-write server for automation workflows.
  • If you're unsure which OAuth scopes to request, start with the minimum read-only set and add write scopes only when needed. Most application pages include scope recommendations.
  • You can edit a server's name, description, timeout, and security settings after deployment without redeploying.

Authentication

Microsoft Tasks and Planner uses OAuth 2.0 authentication through Microsoft Graph. Register an application in Azure AD to obtain your client credentials and configure the authorization endpoints.

  • Authorization URL: https://login.microsoftonline.com/common/oauth2/v2.0/authorize
  • Token URL: https://login.microsoftonline.com/common/oauth2/v2.0/token
  • Client ID: Generated from Azure AD app registration
  • Client Secret: Generated from Azure AD app registration

Replace common with your tenant ID for single-tenant configurations.

Required scopes depend on usage:

ScopePurpose
openidOpenID Connect sign-in
profileRead the user's basic profile
User.ReadRead the signed-in user's profile
Group.Read.AllRead group data for Planner plans (delegated/application)
Group.ReadWrite.AllRead and write group data for Planner plans (delegated/application)
Tasks.ReadRead user's To Do and Planner tasks (delegated)
Tasks.ReadWriteRead and write user's To Do and Planner tasks (delegated)
offline_accessMaintain access with a refresh token for long-lived sessions

Available tools

These tools cover personal task management (To Do) and team project planning (Planner) through the Microsoft Graph API.

Microsoft To Do

ToolDescription
List task listsGet all personal task lists from the user's mailbox
Create task listCreate a new personal task list
Get task listRetrieve a specific task list by ID
Update task listRename or modify a task list
Delete task listRemove a task list and its tasks
List tasksGet all tasks within a task list
Create taskCreate a new task with title, due date, reminders, recurrence, and categories
Get taskRetrieve a specific task by ID
Update taskModify task properties such as status, due date, or body
Delete taskRemove a task from a list
Delta syncGet incremental changes to tasks since the last sync

Microsoft Planner

ToolDescription
List my plansGet all Planner plans the current user is a member of
List my tasksGet all Planner tasks assigned to the current user
Create planCreate a new plan within a Microsoft 365 group
Get planRetrieve a specific plan by ID
Update planModify plan properties such as title
Delete planRemove a plan and all its tasks
Get plan detailsRetrieve plan metadata including category descriptions
Update plan detailsModify plan-level category labels and descriptions
List plan tasksGet all tasks within a plan
Create taskCreate a new task with assignments, bucket, priority, due date, and labels
Get taskRetrieve a specific Planner task by ID
Update taskModify task properties such as progress, assignments, or priority
Delete taskRemove a task from a plan
Get task detailsRetrieve extended task data including checklists and external references
Update task detailsModify checklists and references on a task
List bucketsGet all buckets within a plan
Create bucketCreate a new bucket for organizing tasks
Get bucketRetrieve a specific bucket by ID
Update bucketRename or reorder a bucket
Delete bucketRemove a bucket from a plan
List bucket tasksGet all tasks within a specific bucket

Tips

Use To Do for personal tasks and Planner for team projects so the agent routes work to the right service based on whether it's individual or collaborative.

Name task lists and plans descriptively so the agent can find and reference them reliably across conversations.

Organize Planner tasks into buckets like "To Do", "In Progress", and "Done" to give the agent a clear structure for creating and moving tasks.

Set due dates and reminders on tasks so the agent can surface upcoming deadlines and overdue items proactively.

Assign Planner tasks to specific team members to let the agent track ownership and follow up on progress by person.

Limit scopes to read-only (Tasks.Read, Group.Read.All) when the agent only needs to report on tasks, and grant write scopes only when task creation or updates are required.