board-setup

Board Setup

Create and configure monday.com boards with proper structure - the right column types, meaningful groups, and initial items. In monday.com, a board is the central workspace where a team tracks any workflow: project delivery, sales pipeline, bug triage, content production, event planning, and more. This skill provides the domain knowledge needed to build well-organized boards that match how teams actually work.

Workflow

Step 1: Understand requirements

Before creating anything, clarify with the user:

1. What are you tracking? (tasks, projects, bugs, leads, requests, events, etc.)
2. What stages does work go through? (e.g., To Do > In Progress > Review > Done)
3. What information do you need per item? (owner, deadline, priority, status, budget, etc.)
4. How many people will use this board?

If the user gives a brief request like "create a project board", use reasonable defaults based on the use case and confirm the structure before creating.

Step 2: Design the board structure

Based on requirements, plan:

• Board name - clear and descriptive
• Groups - represent workflow stages, categories, or time periods
• Columns - the data fields for each item (see Column Type Selection below)

Step 3: Create the board

Strongly recommended: build the board in one call with creationPrompt. create_board accepts a free-text creationPrompt, and monday designs the groups, columns, and labels from it. This is faster and more reliable than building the structure call by call, and avoids the partial boards and duplicate columns that long build sequences leave behind when a call fails midway. Use it for every new board unless the user needs an exact structure the prompt cannot express.

Call create_board with:

• boardName: descriptive name

• boardKind: "public" (visible to all team members) or "private" (visible only to subscribers)

• workspaceId (and folderId if the user named one)

• creationPrompt: the design from Step 2 in plain language - what the board tracks, the workflow stages, the fields each item needs (with label sets for Priority, Stage, etc.), and any starter items. Leave automations out of the prompt - they are not created from it. Add each one afterwards with create_automation and verify it with list_automations. For example:

  A bug tracker for a mobile team. Bugs move through New, Triaged, In Progress, Fixed, Verified. Each bug needs an assignee, a severity (Low, Medium, High, Critical), a due date, steps to reproduce, and the affected platform (iOS, Android, Web). Starter items: Login button unresponsive on Android, Crash when uploading a photo.

After it returns, verify the board against the design - creationPrompt gets most of it right but not all. Call get_board_info, get_board_items_page (with includeColumns: true), and list_automations, then check:

1. Group order and top_group. Groups can come back out of order, with a terminal group such as "Done" on top - and new items land in top_group. Reorder with update_group (relative_position_before, see Step 4) so the first workflow stage is on top.
2. Column types. A field can come back as a different type (e.g. a website as text instead of link). Add a column of the right type with create_column, copy any values over, and tell the user the old column can be deleted.
3. Labels. Fix a wrong or missing label set (see "Changing labels on an existing status column").
4. Starter items. Check every value you asked for - some can be left blank. Fill the gaps in one update_items call.
5. Unrequested automations. create_board can add automations nobody asked for, such as monday AI "categorize" rules on a dropdown, which run on every new item and use AI credits. Tell the user what was added and offer to turn each one off; workflows can be deactivated with manage_automations, but some cannot be changed through the API - point the user to the board's Automations panel for those.
6. The Name column title - rename it if the design calls for "Deal", "Account", etc.

Fill only the gaps with Steps 4-6. Do not rebuild the board. Tell the user in one line what you corrected.

If create_board fails or times out, do not call it again straight away - the board may already exist. Call search for the board name first and only retry if it is not there; re-sending creates duplicate boards.

Without creationPrompt you get an empty board; build it with Steps 4-6.

Step 4: Create groups

Skip this step if creationPrompt already created the groups you need.

Call create_group for each workflow stage or category.

Position the new groups above the default group. A new monday board ships with a default empty group named "Group Title" (id topics). To put your workflow groups in the right order at the top of the board, pass positionRelativeMethod: "before_at" and relativeTo: "topics" on each create_group call. Create groups in workflow order (the first group you create becomes the first group on the board, and top_group - which is where new items will land by default).

Clean up the default group at the end. Once your workflow groups exist, the default topics group is a leftover empty group that confuses users. Delete it by calling all_monday_api with the delete_group mutation: mutation { delete_group(board_id: <id>, group_id: "topics") { id } }. Skipping this leaves the board with a dangling empty group below the workflow.

Rename or reorder groups with the update_group mutation through all_monday_api (there is no change_group_title mutation, and update_group needs a selection set or it fails):

• Rename: mutation { update_group(board_id: <id>, group_id: "<group_id>", group_attribute: title, new_value: "New name") { id title } }
• Move above another group: group_attribute: relative_position_before, new_value: "<other_group_id>" (or relative_position_after), selecting { id position }.

Renaming the default topics group into your first workflow group is an alternative to deleting it.

create_group only accepts the exact hex values listed in its groupColor enum - a similar shade is rejected.

Common group patterns:

By workflow stage (most common):

• "To Do", "In Progress", "In Review", "Done"

By priority:

• "Critical", "High Priority", "Medium", "Low Priority"

By time period:

• "This Week", "Next Week", "Backlog"

By team/department:

• "Engineering", "Design", "Product", "QA"

By category:

• "Bugs", "Features", "Improvements", "Technical Debt"

Step 5: Add columns

If you used creationPrompt, only add the columns get_board_info shows are missing. Otherwise, call create_column for each data field. For each column, specify:

• boardId: the board ID from Step 3
• title: the display name
• columnType: the monday.com column type (see Column Type Selection below)
• columnSettings: JSON-stringified label config when the column needs custom labels (see "Custom labels for status columns" below)

Add columns in this order (left to right on the board):

1. Status column (workflow state)
2. Person column (owner/assignee)
3. Date or Timeline column (deadline/duration)
4. Priority column (if needed)
5. Additional data columns (text, numbers, links, etc.)

Renaming the Name (first) column. update_column rejects title changes on the name column ("Name columns can only be updated with the width parameter"). Use all_monday_api instead: mutation { change_column_title(board_id: <id>, column_id: "name", title: "Task") { id title } }. This is how to label it "Deal", "Bug", "Request", etc. to match the template.

Custom labels for status columns

status columns created without columnSettings always get the default monday labels: "Working on it" (orange), "Done" (green), "Stuck" (red). That is fine for the primary workflow Status column, but it is wrong for any other status column the template needs - Priority, Severity, Stage, and Risk all end up with confusing default labels unless you pass custom ones at creation time.

Pass columnSettings as a JSON string with the shape:

{"labels": [{"label": "<name>", "color": "<color_token>", "index": <0..n>}, ...]}

Each entry needs label, color, and index (other fields are optional). The color token is a string from monday's StatusColumnColors enum. Useful tokens by category:

• Calm / low: sky, bright_blue, aquamarine, saladish
• Mid / progress: working_orange, egg_yolk, purple
• High / warning: dark_orange, sunset, lipstick
• Critical / blocked: stuck_red, dark_red, bright_green (only for "approved")
• Done / success: done_green, grass_green

Reference label sets to use in the templates below:

• Priority: [{"label":"Low","color":"sky","index":0},{"label":"Medium","color":"working_orange","index":1},{"label":"High","color":"dark_orange","index":2},{"label":"Critical","color":"stuck_red","index":3}]
• Severity: same as Priority.
• Pipeline stage (CRM): label set should match the named groups (Lead, Qualified, Proposal, Negotiation, Closed Won, Closed Lost) so item-status and group can stay in sync.
• Risk: [{"label":"Low","color":"saladish","index":0},{"label":"Medium","color":"egg_yolk","index":1},{"label":"High","color":"dark_orange","index":2}]

If the user requests a status column whose meaning is not workflow ("Priority", "Severity", "Risk", "Stage", "Health", "Confidence", etc.), default to a Low/Medium/High/Critical scale unless they tell you the labels they want. State the defaults you used so they can override.

For the primary workflow Status column, leave columnSettings off - the defaults match what most users expect.

Shape and colors. Send the flat {"labels": [...]} object. get_column_type_info shows the schema wrapped in a settings key - do not copy that wrapper: create_column tolerates it, update_column rejects it. color must be a token from the list above (or its numeric value); hex codes like #00c875 are rejected.

If create_column with custom labels returns INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR, do not resend the same payload. Create the column without columnSettings, then set the labels with update_column (below).

Changing labels on an existing status column

update_column replaces the column's whole label list:

1. Call get_board_info with filters.columns.ids for the column to get its revision and current settings.labels.
2. Send every label you want to keep, each with its existing id, label, color, and index. A label you leave out is deleted.
3. Add new labels without an id - an invented id is rejected ("Label ids: 5 do not exist"). A new label may reuse a color that is already taken.
4. Use the new revision from the response for any further update.

Changing the color of an existing label is not supported: the call reports success but the color stays the same. To change a color, tell the user to do it from the column's label editor in monday.

Step 6: Seed initial items (optional)

If the user provides initial items and the board does not have them yet, create them in one create_items call (up to 20 per call) rather than one create_item per item. Follow the column value formatting rules from the task-management skill.

Step 7: Present the result

Report what was built in plain language - don't narrate the API calls. Include the direct URL returned by the MCP tool.

Summarize what was created:

Board Created: [Board Name]

• URL: [board URL]
• Type: [public/private]

Groups:

1. To Do
2. In Progress
3. In Review
4. Done

Columns:

Column	Type	Purpose
Status	Status	Workflow state
Owner	People	Item assignee
Due Date	Date	Deadline
Priority	Status	Importance level
Notes	Text	Additional context

Then suggest 2-3 logical next steps:

• "Want me to add some initial items to get started?"
• "Should I invite team members to this board?"
• "Want me to create a dashboard to track this project?"
• "Should I set up a form for intake requests?"

Column Type Selection

Choosing the right column type is critical. Using a text column where you need a status column means losing filtering, grouping, and automation capabilities.

For the complete column type reference, see references/column-types-guide.md.

Quick selection guide for the most common needs:

What you need	Column type	Why not text?
Workflow state (To Do, In Progress, Done)	status	Enables color-coding, filtering by status, automations
Who's responsible	people	Links to monday.com users, enables workload views
Deadline	date	Enables calendar view, timeline view, overdue detection
Date range (start-to-end)	timeline	Shows duration bars in timeline view
Importance level	status (labeled "Priority")	Color-coded, filterable, sortable
Effort estimate	numbers	Enables sum, average, and formula calculations
Category tags	dropdown	Multi-select from predefined options
Yes/no flag	checkbox	Visual toggle, filterable
Free-form notes	text	Simple text input
Long description	long_text	Rich text with formatting
File attachments	file	Upload and preview files inline
Web link	link	Clickable URL with display text
Email address	email	Clickable mailto link
Phone number	phone	Clickable tel link
Budget/cost	numbers	Supports currency formatting and formulas
Rating	rating	1-5 star visual rating
Progress	progress	Visual progress bar based on subitems or linked column

Plan-tier awareness

Most column types work on every monday plan. Two are gated and the skill should handle this gracefully:

• Formula column - Pro and Enterprise plans only. If the user is on Free / Basic / Standard and asks for a formula column (e.g., "I want a column that calculates total cost from quantity and price"), explain the gating and suggest one of:
  • A numbers column the user updates manually
  • A text column with a calculated value the user pastes from elsewhere
  • Adding the formula calculation to a docs/dashboards skill output instead
• AI / Automation features at the board level - some are tier-gated. Create automations with create_automation, one trigger per call, and read each back with list_automations to confirm the trigger and conditions match the request. If the call is rejected because of the plan or trial, say automations need a paid plan and point the user to the board's Automations panel.

If the user is unsure of their plan, just create the board with standard columns first and offer to add formula columns later if their plan supports it.

Board Templates by Use Case

Project Tracker

• Groups: To Do, In Progress, In Review, Done
• Columns: Status, Owner (people), Due Date (date), Priority (status, custom labels Low/Medium/High/Critical), Notes (text)

Bug Tracker

• Groups: New, Triaged, In Progress, Fixed, Verified
• Columns: Status, Assignee (people), Severity (status, custom labels Low/Medium/High/Critical), Due Date (date), Steps to Reproduce (long_text), Environment (dropdown)

Sales/CRM Pipeline

• Groups: Lead, Qualified, Proposal, Negotiation, Closed Won, Closed Lost
• Columns: Stage (status, custom labels matching the group names: Lead/Qualified/Proposal/Negotiation/Closed Won/Closed Lost), Owner (people), Company (text), Deal Value (numbers), Close Date (date), Source (dropdown)

Content Calendar

• Groups: Ideas, In Production, In Review, Published
• Columns: Status, Author (people), Publish Date (date), Content Type (dropdown), Channel (dropdown), Link (link)

Event Planning

• Groups: Planning, Logistics, Marketing, Day-Of, Post-Event
• Columns: Status, Owner (people), Timeline (timeline), Budget (numbers), Priority (status), Notes (text)

Sprint Board

• Groups: Backlog, Sprint [current], In Progress, Done
• Columns: Status, Assignee (people), Story Points (numbers), Sprint (dropdown), Due Date (date), Type (status)

Request/Intake

• Groups: New Requests, Under Review, Approved, In Progress, Completed
• Columns: Status, Requester (people), Assigned To (people), Priority (status), Due Date (date), Request Type (dropdown), Description (long_text)

Error Prevention and Remediation

• If create_board fails due to permissions, suggest using an existing workspace the user has admin access to, or ask which workspace they want to use.
• If a column type is rejected (e.g., formula on a non-Pro plan), explain the plan gating and propose an alternative column type.
• Detect name collisions before creating. monday allows two boards with the same name in the same workspace, which is a usability trap. Before calling create_board, call search with the requested board name scoped to the target workspace. If a board with that name already exists, ask the user: use the existing one, create with a suffix (e.g., "Board Name (2)"), or pick a different name. Skipping this check and creating a duplicate is a fail.
• If columnSettings JSON is malformed, create_column returns an error. The label format requires an array of {label, color, index} objects, not a name->color map. See "Custom labels for status columns" above.
• Date filters in saved views (create_view_table / update_view_table) take different values from item filters. Use between with two plain YYYY-MM-DD dates, greater_than / lower_than with "TODAY", or within_the_next / within_the_last with ["DAYS", 7]. any_of with ["EXACT", "<date>"] is rejected in views, even though get_column_type_info guidelines list it - those guidelines are for get_board_items_page filters.

Tools Used

• search - preflight check for board name collisions before create_board, and checking whether a failed create_board created the board anyway
• get_column_type_info - understand available column types and their schemas (including the columnSettings shape for status columns)
• create_board - create the board, preferably with creationPrompt so monday builds the structure in one call
• create_group - add groups to the board
• create_column - add columns with correct types and custom columnSettings for Priority / Severity / Stage / Risk / etc.
• update_column - change labels on an existing status column (full label list, existing ids)
• get_board_info - read a column's revision and current labels before update_column
• create_items - seed initial items in one call (optional)
• create_view_table - saved table views with filters (optional)
• get_board_items_page - check starter-item values after creationPrompt
• update_items - fill starter-item values the generated board left blank
• create_automation - add each requested automation after the board exists
• list_automations - verify new automations and spot unrequested ones create_board added
• manage_automations - deactivate an unrequested or wrong automation
• all_monday_api - delete the default topics group, rename or reorder groups (update_group), and rename the Name column (change_column_title)

Additional Resources

• references/column-types-guide.md - Complete guide to all monday.com column types, when to use each, and configuration options