alivirgo Trello Kanban Boards AI Skill Guide
Overview & Engine Architecture
Trello is a card-and-list kanban system. Boards hold lists; cards carry checklists, labels, due dates, attachments, and members. Butler (automation) and Power-Ups extend behavior; the REST API moves cards and mirrors data elsewhere. Agents keep list counts small, use labels consistently, and prevent Butler from creating card ping-pong.
Workspaces
-> Boards
-> Lists -> Cards (checklists, labels, due dates)
-> Butler rules / Power-Ups
API tokens -> integrations and mirrors
When to use this skill
- Standing up lightweight team kanban boards
- Writing Butler rules for triage and due-date nudges
- Automating card create/move via API
- Migrating from messy free-form boards to a clear WIP flow
Operational directives
- Cap WIP: fewer lists (
Backlog,Doing,Review,Done) beat elaborate stage maps. - Labels need a legend on the board description; retire unused colors.
- Butler: one clear trigger per rule; avoid move-on-label that also sets the same label.
- Archive Done periodically; giant Done lists slow boards.
- Protect API keys; use read-only tokens for dashboards.
API sketch
# Create a card
curl -s -X POST "https://api.trello.com/1/cards" \
-d "idList=$LIST_ID" \
-d "name=Fix checkout tax rounding" \
-d "desc=Repro in staging; see issue APP-42" \
-d "key=$TRELLO_KEY" \
-d "token=$TRELLO_TOKEN"
Butler hygiene
| Smell | Better approach |
|---|---|
| Auto-move + auto-comment on every attachment | Comment only on member join or due date |
| Cards bouncing between lists | Single source rule; disable overlapping Power-Ups |
| Checklist templates never completed | Shorter Definition of Done checklist |
| Personal boards for shared work | Team board with explicit membership |
Best practices
- Card titles state the outcome; first comment or description holds context links.
- Use due dates for external commitments, not every internal micro-step.
- Mirror engineering work to Jira/GitHub when audit trails matter; keep Trello for lightweight coordination.
- Prefer board copy from a template over recreating lists each quarter.
Limitations
- Enterprise permissions, Butler quotas, and Power-Up availability vary by plan.
- API rate limits apply; batch with care.
- Advanced reporting is weaker than Jira/Asana analytics - export or integrate if needed.
Related skills
@asana- richer tasks, fields, and dependencies@jira- formal software delivery workflows@zapier- connect Trello to Slack/email without code