Why does todo_list_lists return nothing?

The most common cause is that your Microsoft account isn't connected in Reminders sync. Microsoft To Do surfaces on the Mac through the Reminders database, so add your Microsoft account in System Settings > Internet Accounts (with Reminders enabled) and the lists will appear.

Does this send my task lists to the cloud?

No. LMCP runs natively on your Mac and reads your lists locally. Nothing is uploaded or stored on any server — the AI only receives the answer your Mac generates.

Can web AIs like ChatGPT use this tool?

Yes. ChatGPT, Claude.ai, Grok and Perplexity connect through the LMCP Cloud Relay connector, which bridges the web assistant to your local Mac. Desktop clients like Claude Desktop and Cursor connect automatically via local stdio.

List Microsoft To Do Task Lists on Mac with AI

The todo_list_lists tool lets your AI assistant read every Microsoft To Do task list that lives on your Mac — your inbox, your project lists, your shared and grouped lists — without you opening the app. It surfaces the list names so the AI knows exactly where your tasks are organized before it does anything else. A typical prompt is simply: "Show me all my Microsoft To Do lists." The AI calls todo_list_lists and replies with the full set, ready for you to drill into.

It works because Microsoft To Do syncs into the Mac's Reminders database. As long as your Microsoft account is connected in Reminders sync, LMCP reads those lists locally and hands them to the AI. You'll need that Microsoft account present in Reminders for the tool to return results.

LMCP is a free, native macOS MCP server with 150+ tools. It connects your AI to the real apps you already use — no API keys, no cloud account, nothing stored on a server. Download LMCP to get started.

Which AI agents work?

Almost every major AI client can call todo_list_lists through LMCP:

Desktop clients — Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code (GitHub Copilot), Windsurf and Zed auto-configure via local stdio. LMCP wires itself in and the tool appears automatically.
Web AIs — ChatGPT, Claude.ai (web), Grok and Perplexity connect through the LMCP Cloud Relay connector, which securely bridges the web assistant to your local Mac.

Whichever you use, the list-reading happens on your machine — the AI just receives the answer.

Automation

Listing your task lists is the entry point to a full To Do workflow. The AI typically calls todo_list_lists first to find the right list, then chains into other tools: it can open a specific list's tasks, add a new task to "Work" or "Groceries", mark items complete, or set due dates. For example: "Find my 'Q3 Launch' list and add a task to review the press release by Friday." The AI discovers the list, then acts on it — no copy-pasting list IDs by hand.

Context

Because LMCP reads your actual Reminders/Microsoft To Do data, the AI works with your real lists — not a guess or a generic template. It knows whether you keep a "Reading" list, a "Home Renovation" list, or a shared family list. That real context means follow-up requests land in the right place instead of creating duplicate or misnamed lists.

Productivity

Instead of switching to the To Do app, scanning your sidebar, and remembering which list holds what, you ask once and the AI lays it all out. During a weekly review you can say "Walk me through every To Do list and how many open tasks each has" and get an organized snapshot in seconds. That saves the small-but-constant context switches that break focus, and it lets the AI plan across all your lists at once.

Privacy & GDPR

Everything runs locally on your Mac. Your task lists are never uploaded, copied to a server, or stored anywhere outside your machine — LMCP reads the local Reminders database and returns the result to your AI client directly. There's no LMCP account and no cloud database of your data. This is privacy by design: see GDPR-compliant by architecture for how the local-only model keeps you compliant.