Solo can expose project todos through its MCP server so agents and compatible MCP clients can coordinate with the same tasks you see in the app.
Enabling tools
Enable Todos in Settings -> MCP or Settings -> Notes & todos. This augments Solo's existing MCP server; it does not start a separate server.
If todos are enabled while the MCP server is off, Solo shows a settings warning. Turn on the MCP server before expecting external clients to use the tools.
What agents can do
Todo tools let agents create, list, read, update, tag, complete, transfer, lock, unlock, delete, and comment on project todos. They can also manage blocker relationships and list distinct tags.
The app and MCP tools share the same project-scoped todo records. Changes made by an agent appear in the Todo pane, and UI changes are visible to agents.
Agent-first usage
Ask the lead agent to create and maintain todos instead of manually translating the plan yourself. Useful prompts:
Create todos from the scratchpad plan. Include priorities, tags, acceptance checks, and blockers.Mark which todos can run in parallel and which are blocked.Spawn worker agents for the unblocked todos and keep todo status current as they report back.When a worker finishes, add a todo comment with changed files, tests run, blockers, and remaining risk.
This turns todos into the coordination layer for agent work. The lead agent can use blockers to avoid dispatching work too early and comments to preserve handoffs outside the worker chat.
Locks
Agents can lock todos for coordinated editing. Solo also tracks locks owned by MCP sessions bound to a process, and releases those process-owned locks when the process closes.
When the Todo locks terminal pin is enabled and a process holds one or more todo locks, its terminal shows one aggregate todo-lock badge in the top-right context cluster. Open the badge to see a panel listing the locked todos, then select a todo to open its detail view. See Using todos for details.
Todo locks are expiring coordination leases, not permanent ownership. MCP todo_lock uses a 300-second lease by default; its optional lease_ttl_seconds value must be from 1 through 86,400 seconds. Expired leases no longer block edits and are ignored and pruned. If a task looks stale, review the agent or process that owns the lock before editing over it.
Comments
Agent comments appear in the todo activity timeline with their recorded author. Use comments for handoffs, decisions, and progress notes that should stay attached to the task.
Scope
Todo tools operate within a Solo project. Cross-project moves are explicit, and blocker relationships are cleared during a move because blockers only refer to todos in the source project.