Task Master
by eyaltoledano
Task Master is an MCP server that turns a product requirements doc into a dependency-tracked task list your coding agent can work through one ticket at a time.
Add to Claude Code
claude mcp add taskmaster-ai -- npx -y task-master-ai
About
Task Master's parse_prd tool reads a PRD and generates a structured set of tasks automatically, and expand_task breaks any of those into dependency-aware subtasks when a ticket is too big to tackle in one pass. next_task always points at the highest-priority item that isn't blocked, set_task_status moves work through the pipeline, and dependency and tag tools keep multiple workstreams from colliding inside the same project.
The full tool surface is 36 tools, but Task Master lets you load a smaller subset — core, standard, or a custom list via the TASK_MASTER_TOOLS environment variable — so the server doesn't eat 21,000 tokens of context on every session. It plugs into Cursor, Windsurf, VS Code, Claude Code, and other editors, and needs at least one AI provider key unless you're running it through Claude Code or Codex CLI's OAuth.
Key features
- parse_prd auto-generates a structured task list straight from a product requirements document
- expand_task breaks any task into dependency-aware subtasks for finer-grained work
- next_task always surfaces the next unblocked, highest-priority item to work on
- Dependency and tag tools keep multiple parallel workstreams from stepping on each other
- 36 tools total, loadable as core (7), standard (15), or the full set depending on how much context you want to spend
- Drops into Cursor, Windsurf, VS Code, and Claude Code with the same task data
Use cases
- Turning a written spec or PRD into a ready-to-execute backlog before a coding agent starts building
- Keeping a long multi-session build organized so the agent always knows what's next and what's blocked
- Running several related workstreams (features, bugfixes, research) in the same project without losing track of dependencies
- Trimming an MCP server's context footprint by loading only the core tool subset for smaller tasks
Available tools
parse_prd
Parses a product requirements document and generates a structured list of tasks from it.
next_task
Returns the next task that is unblocked and highest priority to work on.
get_tasks
Lists tasks, optionally filtered, with their current status and dependencies.
expand_task
Breaks a single task down into smaller, dependency-aware subtasks.
set_task_status
Updates the status of a task or subtask as work progresses.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need my own AI API key?
Yes, at least one provider key for the models Task Master calls internally — unless you're running it through Claude Code or Codex CLI's OAuth instead.
Can I reduce how much context the server uses?
Yes — set TASK_MASTER_TOOLS to core, standard, or a specific tool list instead of loading all 36 tools by default.