Taskmaster

Taskmaster MCP-First Operations

When to Use

Use this skill when an agent needs to execute any Taskmaster workflow through Taskmaster MCP first, with Taskmaster CLI fallback only when MCP is unavailable or fails.

MCP scope for this skill:

• Allowed MCP integration: mcp_task-master-ai only.
• Do not use any other MCP tool while executing this skill.

Typical triggers:

• Initialize Taskmaster in a repository.
• Parse a PRD and generate tasks.
• Expand tasks into subtasks.
• Create, update, move, prioritize, or delete tasks.
• Change task status (pending, in-progress, done, cancelled, and other status values supported by the installed CLI version).
• Add, remove, or validate dependencies.
• Work with tags or contexts.
• Query progress, next task, or task details.

Do not use this skill for source-code implementation or git workflows.

Inputs

Inputs:

• Repository absolute path.
• Requested action intent (for example: init, parse-prd, expand, set-status, add-dependency, next-task).
• Action parameters (task IDs, PRD path, status values, dependency IDs, tag/context names, and flags).
• Safety flags when needed:
  • allow_install (boolean)
  • confirmed (boolean for destructive actions)

If any required input is missing, stop and return a structured input error.

Procedure

Procedure:

1. Resolve the CLI executable (test one by one and only test the next if first fails) in this order:
   • task-master
   • taskmaster
   • npx -y task-master-ai Try to run the first one and if it fails, try the next one, but if one of them succeeds, continue with that one.
2. Route the intent using the command catalog below.
3. If the exact command is not available in the installed version, use the closest official alias shown in <tm> --help.
4. For destructive operations (delete, clear, overwrite, force replace), require confirmed=true.
5. Execute only Taskmaster CLI commands, do not edit tasks.json manually or with any other tool.
6. Run post-action verification with one read command (list, show, or equivalent) on the same channel used for execution (CLI).
7. Return a structured execution report with exact commands/methods, outcomes

Command Catalog (CLI Reference)

Use these commands as the default reference. Always confirm with --help before execution.

Project bootstrap and setup:

• task-master init
• task-master init --rules cursor,windsurf,vscode
• task-master migrate (when present in installed version)

PRD and planning:

• task-master parse-prd <prd-file.txt>
• task-master parse-prd <prd-file.txt> --num-tasks=5
• task-master parse-prd <prd-file.txt> --num-tasks=0

Task inspection:

• task-master list
• task-master list --status=<status>
• task-master list --with-subtasks // Shows all tasks with their subtasks
• task-master list --status=<status> --with-subtasks
• task-master next
• task-master show <id> // Shows the task defailt, with the subtasks
• task-master show --id=<id>
• task-master show 1,3,5
• task-master show 1.2

Task creation and updates:

• task-master add-task --prompt="<description>"
• task-master add-task --prompt="<description>" --research
• task-master add-task --prompt="<description>" --dependencies=1,2,3
• task-master add-task --prompt="<description>" --priority=high
• task-master update --from=<id> --prompt="<prompt>"
• task-master update --from=<id> --prompt="<prompt>" --research
• task-master update-task --id=<id> --prompt="<prompt>"
• task-master update-task --id=<id> --prompt="<prompt>" --research
• task-master update-subtask --id=<parentId.subtaskId> --prompt="<prompt>"
• task-master update-subtask --id=<parentId.subtaskId> --prompt="<prompt>" --research

Task lifecycle and status:

• task-master set-status --id=<id> --status=<status>
• task-master set-status --id=1,2,3 --status=<status>
• task-master set-status --id=1.1,1.2 --status=<status>

Task expansion and decomposition:

• task-master expand --id=<id> --num=<number>
• task-master expand --id=<id> --num=0
• task-master expand --id=<id> --prompt="<context>"
• task-master expand --id=<id> --research
• task-master expand --all
• task-master expand --all --force
• task-master expand --all --research
• task-master clear-subtasks --id=<id>
• task-master clear-subtasks --id=1,2,3
• task-master clear-subtasks --all

Complexity analysis:

• task-master analyze-complexity
• task-master analyze-complexity --output=my-report.json
• task-master analyze-complexity --model=<model>
• task-master analyze-complexity --threshold=6
• task-master analyze-complexity --file=custom-tasks.json
• task-master analyze-complexity --research
• task-master complexity-report
• task-master complexity-report --file=my-report.json

Dependencies:

• task-master add-dependency --id=<id> --depends-on=<id>
• task-master remove-dependency --id=<id> --depends-on=<id>
• task-master validate-dependencies
• task-master fix-dependencies

Task moves and restructuring:

• task-master move --from=<id> --to=<id>
• task-master move --from=5.2 --to=7.3
• task-master move --from=10,11,12 --to=16,17,18
• task-master move --from=5 --from-tag=backlog --to-tag=in-progress
• task-master move --from=5,6,7 --from-tag=backlog --to-tag=done --with-dependencies
• task-master move --from=5 --from-tag=backlog --to-tag=in-progress --ignore-dependencies

Tag and context management:

• task-master tags
• task-master tags --show-metadata
• task-master add-tag <tag-name>
• task-master add-tag <tag-name> --description="<description>"
• task-master add-tag --from-branch
• task-master add-tag <new-tag> --copy-from-current
• task-master add-tag <new-tag> --copy-from=<source-tag>
• task-master use-tag <tag-name>
• task-master rename-tag <old-name> <new-name>
• task-master copy-tag <source-tag> <target-tag>
• task-master copy-tag <source-tag> <target-tag> --description="<description>"
• task-master delete-tag <tag-name>
• task-master delete-tag <tag-name> --yes

Rules management:

• task-master rules add <profile1,profile2,...>
• task-master rules remove <profile1,profile2,...>
• task-master rules remove <profile1,profile2,...> --force
• task-master rules setup

Model configuration:

• task-master models
• task-master models --set-main=<model>
• task-master models --set-research=<model>
• task-master models --set-fallback=<model>
• task-master models --set-main=<model> --ollama
• task-master models --set-research=<model> --openrouter
• task-master models --set-main=<model> --codex-cli
• task-master models --set-fallback=<model> --codex-cli
• task-master models --setup

Research:

• task-master research "<query>"
• task-master research "<query>" --id=15,16
• task-master research "<query>" --files=src/a.js,src/b.js
• task-master research "<query>" --context="<context>" --tree
• task-master research "<query>" --detail=high
• task-master research "<query>" --file=custom-tasks.json
• task-master research "<query>" --tag=<tag-name>
• task-master research "<query>" --save-file
• task-master research "<query>" --save-to=15
• task-master research "<query>" --save-to=15.2

Task file generation:

• task-master generate

Intent-to-Command Routing Hints

Use this mapping when parent agents provide high-level intent:

• initialize taskmaster -> init
• create tasks from PRD -> parse-prd
• expand task -> expand --id=<id>
• expand pending tasks -> expand --all
• mark task started/done/cancelled -> set-status
• change downstream tasks after scope change -> update --from=<id>
• update one task only -> update-task
• append implementation notes to a subtask -> update-subtask
• add/remove dependency -> add-dependency or remove-dependency
• fix dependency graph -> fix-dependencies
• switch work context -> use-tag
• view next executable task -> next

Outputs

Outputs:

• Markdown report with these sections:
  • Preconditions
  • Command Resolution
  • Executed Commands
  • Result Data
  • Validation
  • Final Status

Final Status must be one of:

• success
• partial
• failed

Examples

Input:

• Repository: /repo/app
• Action: set-status
• Params: task_id=12, status=in-progress

Output:

• Preconditions: Taskmaster executable resolved to task-master; repository contains .taskmaster/.
• Command Resolution: intent set-status mapped to installed version command <tm> set-status.
• Executed Commands: <tm> set-status --id=12 --status=in-progress.
• Result Data: task 12 status updated.
• Validation: <tm> show 12 confirms in-progress.
• Final Status: success.

Input:

• Repository: /repo/app
• Action: parse-prd
• Params: input=.taskmaster/docs/prd.md, num_tasks=20, research=true

Output:

• Preconditions: Taskmaster initialized.
• Command Resolution: intent parse-prd mapped to <tm> parse-prd.
• Executed Commands: <tm> parse-prd .taskmaster/docs/prd.md --num-tasks=20 --research.
• Result Data: 20 tasks created.
• Validation: <tm> list shows new tasks.
• Final Status: success.

Notes and Edge Cases

Notes:

• Do not execute source-code changes, git writes, or unrelated shell commands in this skill.
• NEVER manipulate the tasks.json file directly or using any other tool except the task-master CLI. Use the provided commands to manage tasks.