Arckit Trello

Export Backlog to Trello

You are exporting an ArcKit product backlog to Trello by creating a board with sprint lists, labelled cards, and acceptance criteria checklists via the Trello REST API.

User Input

$ARGUMENTS

Arguments

BOARD_NAME (optional): Override the board name

• Default: {Project Name} - Sprint Backlog

WORKSPACE_ID (optional): Trello workspace/organization ID to create board in

• If omitted, board is created in the user's personal workspace

What This Command Does

Reads the JSON backlog produced by $arckit-backlog FORMAT=json and pushes it to Trello:

1. Creates a board with sprint-based lists
2. Creates labels for priority (MoSCoW) and item type (Epic/Story/Task)
3. Creates lists: Product Backlog + one per sprint + In Progress + Done
4. Creates cards for each story/task with name, description, labels
5. Adds checklists with acceptance criteria to each card
6. Returns the board URL and a summary of what was created

No template needed - this command exports to an external service, it does not generate a document.

Process

Step 1: Identify Project and Locate Backlog JSON

Find the project directory:

• Look in projects/ for subdirectories
• If multiple projects, ask which one
• If single project, use it

Locate the backlog JSON file:

• Look for ARC-*-BKLG-*.json in projects/{project-dir}/
• This is produced by $arckit-backlog FORMAT=json

If no JSON file found:

No backlog JSON file found in projects/{project-dir}/

Please generate one first:
  $arckit-backlog FORMAT=json

Then re-run $arckit-trello

Step 2: Validate Trello Credentials

Check that Trello API credentials are available as environment variables using Bash:

python3 -c "import os; print('TRELLO_API_KEY=' + ('SET' if os.environ.get('TRELLO_API_KEY') else 'NOT SET')); print('TRELLO_TOKEN=' + ('SET' if os.environ.get('TRELLO_TOKEN') else 'NOT SET'))"

If either is missing:

Trello API credentials not found. Set these environment variables:

  # macOS/Linux:
  export TRELLO_API_KEY="your-api-key"
  export TRELLO_TOKEN="your-token"

  # Windows PowerShell:
  $env:TRELLO_API_KEY="your-api-key"
  $env:TRELLO_TOKEN="your-token"

To get credentials:
  1. API Key: https://trello.com/power-ups/admin (select a Power-Up or create one, then get the API key)
  2. Token: Visit https://trello.com/1/authorize?expiration=30days&scope=read,write&response_type=token&key=YOUR_API_KEY

Then re-run $arckit-trello

Step 3: Read and Parse Backlog JSON

Read the ARC-*-BKLG-*.json file. Extract:

• project - project name
• epics[] - epic definitions
• stories[] - all stories with sprint assignments, priorities, acceptance criteria
• sprints[] - sprint definitions with themes

Step 4: Create Trello Board

Use Bash with curl to create the board:

curl -s -X POST "https://api.trello.com/1/boards/" \
  --data-urlencode "name={BOARD_NAME or '{Project Name} - Sprint Backlog'}" \
  -d "defaultLists=false" \
  -d "key=$TRELLO_API_KEY" \
  -d "token=$TRELLO_TOKEN" \
  ${WORKSPACE_ID:+-d "idOrganization=$WORKSPACE_ID"}

Extract the id and url from the response JSON.

If the API returns an error, show the error message and stop.

Step 5: Create Labels

Create 6 labels on the board:

Priority labels:

• Must Have - color: red
• Should Have - color: orange
• Could Have - color: yellow

Type labels:

• Epic - color: purple
• Story - color: blue
• Task - color: green

For each label:

curl -s -X POST "https://api.trello.com/1/boards/{boardId}/labels" \
  --data-urlencode "name={label_name}" \
  -d "color={color}" \
  -d "key=$TRELLO_API_KEY" \
  -d "token=$TRELLO_TOKEN"

Store each label's id for later card assignment.

Step 6: Create Lists

Create lists in reverse order (Trello prepends new lists to the left, so create in reverse to get correct left-to-right order):

1. Done
2. In Progress
3. Sprint N: {Theme} (for each sprint, from last to first)
4. Product Backlog (for unscheduled/overflow items)

For each list:

curl -s -X POST "https://api.trello.com/1/lists" \
  --data-urlencode "name={list_name}" \
  -d "idBoard={boardId}" \
  -d "key=$TRELLO_API_KEY" \
  -d "token=$TRELLO_TOKEN"

Store each list's id for card placement. Map sprint numbers to list IDs.

Step 7: Create Cards

For each story and task in the backlog JSON, create a card on the appropriate list.

Determine the target list:

• If story has a sprint number, place on the corresponding sprint list
• If no sprint assigned, place on "Product Backlog" list

Card name format:

{id}: {title} [{story_points}pts]

Example: STORY-001: Create user account [8pts]

Card description format:

**As a** {as_a}
**I want** {i_want}
**So that** {so_that}

**Story Points**: {story_points}
**Priority**: {priority}
**Component**: {component}
**Requirements**: {requirements joined by ', '}
**Epic**: {epic id} - {epic title}
**Dependencies**: {dependencies joined by ', ' or 'None'}

For tasks (items without as_a/i_want/so_that), use the description field directly instead of the user story format.

Card labels:

• Assign the matching priority label (Must Have / Should Have / Could Have)
• Assign the matching type label (Story or Task based on item type, Epic for epic-level items)

curl -s -X POST "https://api.trello.com/1/cards" \
  --data-urlencode "name={card_name}" \
  --data-urlencode "desc={card_description}" \
  -d "idList={list_id}" \
  -d "idLabels={label_id1},{label_id2}" \
  -d "key=$TRELLO_API_KEY" \
  -d "token=$TRELLO_TOKEN"

Store each card's id for checklist creation.

Rate limiting: Trello allows 100 requests per 10-second window per token. For large backlogs (80+ stories), add sleep 0.15 between card creation calls to stay within limits.

Step 8: Add Acceptance Criteria Checklists

For each card that has acceptance_criteria in the JSON:

Create checklist:

curl -s -X POST "https://api.trello.com/1/cards/{cardId}/checklists" \
  --data-urlencode "name=Acceptance Criteria" \
  -d "key=$TRELLO_API_KEY" \
  -d "token=$TRELLO_TOKEN"

Add each criterion as a check item:

curl -s -X POST "https://api.trello.com/1/checklists/{checklistId}/checkItems" \
  --data-urlencode "name={criterion_text}" \
  -d "key=$TRELLO_API_KEY" \
  -d "token=$TRELLO_TOKEN"

Step 9: Show Summary

After all API calls complete, display:

Backlog exported to Trello successfully!

Board: {board_name}
URL: {board_url}

Lists created:
  - Product Backlog
  - Sprint 1: {theme} ({N} cards)
  - Sprint 2: {theme} ({N} cards)
  - ...
  - In Progress
  - Done

Labels: Must Have (red), Should Have (orange), Could Have (yellow), Epic (purple), Story (blue), Task (green)

Cards created: {total_cards}
  - Stories: {N}
  - Tasks: {N}
  - With acceptance criteria checklists: {N}

Total API calls: {N}

Next steps:
  1. Open the board: {board_url}
  2. Invite team members to the board
  3. Review card assignments and adjust sprint boundaries
  4. Begin sprint planning with Sprint 1

Error Handling

No backlog JSON:

No ARC-*-BKLG-*.json file found in projects/{project-dir}/

Please generate one first:
  $arckit-backlog FORMAT=json

Then re-run $arckit-trello

Missing credentials:

Trello API credentials not set.

Required environment variables:
  TRELLO_API_KEY - Your Trello API key
  TRELLO_TOKEN   - Your Trello auth token

See: https://developer.atlassian.com/cloud/trello/guides/rest-api/api-introduction/

API error (e.g., invalid key, rate limit):

Trello API error: {error_message}

Check:
  - API key and token are valid and not expired
  - Workspace ID exists (if specified)
  - You have not exceeded rate limits (100 req/10s)

Partial failure (some cards failed): Continue creating remaining cards. At the end, report:

Warning: {N} cards failed to create. Errors:
  - STORY-005: {error}
  - TASK-012: {error}

Successfully created {M} of {total} cards.
Board URL: {board_url}

Integration with Other Commands

Inputs From

• $arckit-backlog FORMAT=json - Backlog JSON file (MANDATORY)

Outputs To

• Trello board (external) - ready for sprint planning

Important Notes

Trello API Rate Limits

Trello enforces 100 requests per 10-second window per API token. For a typical backlog:

• 1 board + 6 labels + ~10 lists + N cards + N checklists + M check items
• A backlog with 50 stories averaging 4 acceptance criteria = ~260 API calls
• The command adds sleep 0.15 between card/checklist calls to stay within limits

Token Expiration

Trello tokens can be created with different expiration periods (1 day, 30 days, or never). If the token has expired, the user will see an "unauthorized" error and needs to generate a new token.

Board Cleanup

If you need to re-export, either:

1. Delete the old board in Trello and re-run
2. Use a different BOARD_NAME to create a new board

This command always creates a new board - it does not update an existing one.

• Markdown escaping: When writing less-than or greater-than comparisons, always include a space after < or > (e.g., < 3 seconds, > 99.9% uptime) to prevent markdown renderers from interpreting them as HTML tags or emoji