Trello Automation

Comprehensive skill for automating Trello board management and kanban workflows.

Core Concepts

Board Structure

TRELLO BOARD ANATOMY:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐

│ 📋 Project Board                                        │

├───────────┬───────────┬───────────┬───────────┬────────┤

│  Backlog  │   To Do   │   Doing   │  Review   │  Done  │

├───────────┼───────────┼───────────┼───────────┼────────┤

│ ┌───────┐ │ ┌───────┐ │ ┌───────┐ │ ┌───────┐ │        │

│ │Card 1 │ │ │Card 3 │ │ │Card 5 │ │ │Card 7 │ │        │

│ │Labels │ │ │@Mike  │ │ │@Sarah │ │ │@Lisa  │ │        │

│ │Due    │ │ │Due:3d │ │ │       │ │ │       │ │        │

│ └───────┘ │ └───────┘ │ └───────┘ │ └───────┘ │        │

│ ┌───────┐ │ ┌───────┐ │ ┌───────┐ │           │        │

│ │Card 2 │ │ │Card 4 │ │ │Card 6 │ │           │        │

│ └───────┘ │ └───────┘ │ └───────┘ │           │        │

└───────────┴───────────┴───────────┴───────────┴────────┘

Card Components

card_structure:

  title: "{{task_name}}"

  description: "{{detailed_description}}"

  metadata:

    labels:

      - name: "Bug"

        color: red

      - name: "Feature"

        color: green

      - name: "Urgent"

        color: orange

    members: ["@member1", "@member2"]

    due_date: "2024-01-20"

    start_date: "2024-01-15"

  attachments:

    - type: file

      url: "{{attachment_url}}"

    - type: link

      url: "{{external_link}}"

  checklists:

    - name: "Acceptance Criteria"

      items:

        - "Requirement 1"

        - "Requirement 2"

        - "Requirement 3"

  custom_fields:

    story_points: 5

    sprint: "Sprint 15"

Butler Automation

Automation Rules

butler_rules:

  - name: auto_assign_on_move

    trigger:

      type: card_moved_to_list

      list: "Doing"

    action:

      - join_card

      - set_due_date: "+3 days"

      - add_label: "In Progress"

  - name: due_date_reminder

    trigger:

      type: due_date_approaching

      days: 1

    action:

      - post_comment: "@card Reminder: Due tomorrow!"

      - move_to_list: "Urgent"

  - name: completion_cleanup

    trigger:

      type: card_moved_to_list

      list: "Done"

    action:

      - mark_due_complete

      - remove_all_members

      - add_label: "Completed"

  - name: scheduled_archive

    trigger:

      type: schedule

      frequency: weekly

      day: sunday

    action:

      - archive_cards_in_list: "Done"

      - older_than: 7_days

Button Commands

card_buttons:

  - name: "Start Working"

    actions:

      - move_to_list: "Doing"

      - join_card

      - set_due_date: "+3 days"

      - remove_label: "Backlog"

      - add_label: "In Progress"

  - name: "Submit for Review"

    actions:

      - move_to_list: "Review"

      - add_checklist:

          name: "Review Checklist"

          items:

            - "Code reviewed"

            - "Tests passing"

            - "Documentation updated"

      - mention: "@reviewer"

  - name: "Mark Complete"

    actions:

      - check_all_items

      - move_to_list: "Done"

      - mark_due_complete

      - post_comment: "✅ Completed!"

Board Templates

Sprint Board

sprint_board_template:

  name: "Sprint {{number}}"

  lists:

    - name: "Sprint Backlog"

      position: 1

    - name: "To Do"

      position: 2

    - name: "In Progress"

      position: 3

      wip_limit: 5

    - name: "Code Review"

      position: 4

      wip_limit: 3

    - name: "Testing"

      position: 5

    - name: "Done"

      position: 6

  labels:

    - name: "Bug"

      color: red

    - name: "Feature"

      color: green

    - name: "Tech Debt"

      color: yellow

    - name: "Blocked"

      color: purple

  custom_fields:

    - name: "Story Points"

      type: number

    - name: "Priority"

      type: dropdown

      options: ["High", "Medium", "Low"]

Content Calendar

content_calendar_template:

  name: "Content Calendar - {{month}}"

  lists:

    - name: "Ideas"

    - name: "Planning"

    - name: "Writing"

    - name: "Editing"

    - name: "Scheduled"

    - name: "Published"

  labels:

    - name: "Blog"

      color: blue

    - name: "Social"

      color: pink

    - name: "Video"

      color: purple

    - name: "Newsletter"

      color: green

  card_template:

    name: "{{content_title}}"

    description: |

      **Topic:** {{topic}}

      **Target Audience:** {{audience}}

      **Keywords:** {{keywords}}

      **Publish Date:** {{date}}

    checklists:

      - name: "Content Workflow"

        items:

          - "Research complete"

          - "Outline approved"

          - "First draft"

          - "Edit pass"

          - "Graphics ready"

          - "SEO optimized"

          - "Scheduled"

Workflow Automation

Card Movement Rules

workflow_rules:

  to_do:

    entry_actions:

      - require_due_date

      - require_labels

    exit_requirements:

      - has_assignee

  in_progress:

    entry_actions:

      - start_timer

      - add_comment: "Work started"

    constraints:

      wip_limit: 3

  review:

    entry_actions:

      - notify_reviewers

      - add_checklist: review_checklist

    exit_requirements:

      - all_checklist_complete

  done:

    entry_actions:

      - stop_timer

      - calculate_cycle_time

      - notify_stakeholders

Checklist Templates

checklist_templates:

  bug_fix:

    name: "Bug Fix Checklist"

    items:

      - "Reproduce the bug"

      - "Identify root cause"

      - "Write fix"

      - "Add tests"

      - "Test locally"

      - "Code review"

      - "Deploy to staging"

      - "Verify fix"

  feature:

    name: "Feature Checklist"

    items:

      - "Requirements documented"

      - "Design approved"

      - "Implementation complete"

      - "Unit tests written"

      - "Integration tested"

      - "Documentation updated"

      - "Demo prepared"

Power-Up Integrations

Popular Power-Ups

power_ups:

  calendar:

    description: "Visualize cards with due dates"

    view: calendar

    sync: true

  custom_fields:

    fields:

      - name: "Priority"

        type: dropdown

      - name: "Estimate"

        type: number

      - name: "Client"

        type: text

  card_aging:

    enable: true

    mode: regular  # or pirate mode

  voting:

    enable: true

    one_vote_per_member: true

Slack Integration

slack_integration:

  notifications:

    - trigger: card_created

      channel: "#project-updates"

    - trigger: card_moved_to

      list: "Done"

      channel: "#wins"

    - trigger: comment_added

      notify: card_members

  commands:

    /trello:

      - add_card

      - search_cards

      - my_cards

Reporting & Analytics

Board Metrics

BOARD ANALYTICS - SPRINT 15

═══════════════════════════════════════

CARDS:

Total:        45

Completed:    28 (62%)

In Progress:  12

Blocked:      2

VELOCITY:

This Sprint:  28 cards

Average:      25 cards

Trend:        +12%

CYCLE TIME:

Average:      3.2 days

Shortest:     0.5 days

Longest:      8 days

BY LABEL:

Feature    █████████████░░░ 18

Bug        ████████░░░░░░░░ 12

Tech Debt  █████░░░░░░░░░░░ 8

Other      ███░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 7

BY MEMBER:

Sarah     ████████████░░░░ 15

Mike      ██████████░░░░░░ 12

Lisa      ████████░░░░░░░░ 10

Alex      ██████░░░░░░░░░░ 8

Burndown Chart

SPRINT BURNDOWN

│ 45 ┤ ▪

│    │  ▪▪

│    │    ▪▪ ← Ideal

│    │      ▪▪

│ 22 ┤        ●●

│    │          ●● ← Actual

│    │            ▪▪●●

│    │              ▪▪●●

│  0 ┤                ▪▪●●

└────┴────────────────────────

     Day 1              Day 14

On Track: ✓ 2 cards ahead of schedule

API Examples

Create Card

// Create Card with full details

const card = await trello.cards.create({

  name: "Implement user authentication",

  desc: "Add OAuth2 support for Google and GitHub",

  idList: "list_id",

  idLabels: ["label_id_1", "label_id_2"],

  idMembers: ["member_id"],

  due: "2024-01-20T17:00:00.000Z",

  pos: "top"

});

// Add Checklist

await trello.cards.createChecklist(card.id, {

  name: "Implementation Tasks"

});

// Add Checklist Item

await trello.checklists.createCheckItem(checklistId, {

  name: "Set up OAuth provider",

  checked: false

});

Move Card

// Move card to different list

await trello.cards.update(cardId, {

  idList: "new_list_id",

  pos: "bottom"

});

// Add comment

await trello.cards.createComment(cardId, {

  text: "Moving to review. @reviewer please check."

});

Best Practices

• Simple Lists: 5-7 lists maximum

• Clear Labels: Consistent color coding

• Due Dates: Set realistic deadlines

• WIP Limits: Prevent bottlenecks

• Regular Cleanup: Archive completed cards

• Checklists: Break down complex tasks

• Butler Rules: Automate repetitive actions

• Board Templates: Standardize workflows