Task Master

By @eyaltoledano & @RalphEcom

A task management system for AI-driven development with Claude, designed to work seamlessly with Cursor AI.

Requirements

• Anthropic API key (Claude API)
• OpenAI SDK (for Perplexity API integration, optional)

Quick Start

Option 1 | MCP (Recommended):

MCP (Model Control Protocol) provides the easiest way to get started with Task Master directly in your editor.

1. Install the package

npm i -g task-master-ai

2. Add the MCP config to your editor (Cursor recommended, but it works with other text editors):

{
	"mcpServers": {
		"taskmaster-ai": {
			"command": "npx",
			"args": ["-y", "task-master-mcp"],
			"env": {
				"ANTHROPIC_API_KEY": "YOUR_ANTHROPIC_API_KEY_HERE",
				"PERPLEXITY_API_KEY": "YOUR_PERPLEXITY_API_KEY_HERE",
				"OPENAI_API_KEY": "YOUR_OPENAI_KEY_HERE",
				"GOOGLE_API_KEY": "YOUR_GOOGLE_KEY_HERE",
				"MISTRAL_API_KEY": "YOUR_MISTRAL_KEY_HERE",
				"OPENROUTER_API_KEY": "YOUR_OPENROUTER_KEY_HERE",
				"XAI_API_KEY": "YOUR_XAI_KEY_HERE",
				"AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY": "YOUR_AZURE_KEY_HERE",
				"OLLAMA_API_KEY": "YOUR_OLLAMA_KEY_HERE"
			}
		}
	}
}

2. Enable the MCP in your editor

3. Prompt the AI to initialize Task Master:

Can you please initialize taskmaster-ai into my project?

4. Use common commands directly through your AI assistant:

Can you parse my PRD at scripts/prd.txt?
What's the next task I should work on?
Can you help me implement task 3?
Can you help me expand task 4?

Option 2: Using Command Line

Installation

# Install globally
npm install -g task-master-ai

# OR install locally within your project
npm install task-master-ai

Initialize a new project

# If installed globally
task-master init

# If installed locally
npx task-master-init

This will prompt you for project details and set up a new project with the necessary files and structure.

Common Commands

# Initialize a new project
task-master init

# Parse a PRD and generate tasks
task-master parse-prd your-prd.txt

# List all tasks
task-master list

# Show the next task to work on
task-master next

# Generate task files
task-master generate

Documentation

For more detailed information, check out the documentation in the docs directory:

• Configuration Guide - Set up environment variables and customize Task Master
• Tutorial - Step-by-step guide to getting started with Task Master
• Command Reference - Complete list of all available commands
• Task Structure - Understanding the task format and features
• Example Interactions - Common Cursor AI interaction examples

Troubleshooting

If task-master init doesn't respond:

Try running it with Node directly:

node node_modules/claude-task-master/scripts/init.js

Or clone the repository and run:

git clone https://github.com/eyaltoledano/claude-task-master.git
cd claude-task-master
node scripts/init.js

Contributors

Star History

Licensing

Task Master is licensed under the MIT License with Commons Clause. This means you can:

✅ Allowed:

• Use Task Master for any purpose (personal, commercial, academic)
• Modify the code
• Distribute copies
• Create and sell products built using Task Master

❌ Not Allowed:

• Sell Task Master itself
• Offer Task Master as a hosted service
• Create competing products based on Task Master

See the LICENSE file for the complete license text and licensing details for more information.