MCP TaskMaster AI Installer

This skill installs the TaskMaster AI MCP server into the current project.

Installation Procedure

When the user asks to install TaskMaster MCP:

Step 1: Initialize TaskMaster in project

npx task-master-ai init

This creates the .taskmaster directory with default configuration.

Step 2: Configure for Claude Code (No API Keys)

Edit .taskmaster/config.json to use Claude Code as provider (no extra API costs):

{
  "models": {
    "main": {
      "provider": "claude-code",
      "modelId": "sonnet",
      "maxTokens": 64000,
      "temperature": 0.2
    },
    "research": {
      "provider": "claude-code",
      "modelId": "opus",
      "maxTokens": 32000,
      "temperature": 0.1
    },
    "fallback": {
      "provider": "claude-code",
      "modelId": "sonnet",
      "maxTokens": 64000,
      "temperature": 0.2
    }
  },
  "global": {
    "logLevel": "info",
    "defaultSubtasks": 5,
    "defaultPriority": "medium"
  }
}

Step 3: Add MCP Server to .mcp.json

Merge configuration - Add this server to mcpServers:

{
  "task-master": {
    "command": "npx",
    "args": ["-y", "task-master-ai"],
    "env": {
      "MODEL": "claude-code"
    }
  }
}

If .mcp.json doesn't exist, create it with the full structure:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "task-master": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "task-master-ai"],
      "env": {
        "MODEL": "claude-code"
      }
    }
  }
}

Alternative: With API Keys

If you want to use external APIs instead of Claude Code:

{
  "task-master": {
    "command": "npx",
    "args": ["-y", "task-master-ai"],
    "env": {
      "ANTHROPIC_API_KEY": "${ANTHROPIC_API_KEY}",
      "PERPLEXITY_API_KEY": "${PERPLEXITY_API_KEY}"
    }
  }
}

Key Commands After Setup

• task-master parse-prd your-prd.txt - Parse a PRD and generate tasks
• task-master list - List all tasks
• task-master next - Show next task to work on
• task-master models --setup - Configure models interactively

Usage After Installation

Restart Claude Code to activate the MCP server. TaskMaster helps break down complex projects into manageable tasks.

Skill Chaining

• Input: User request to install TaskMaster MCP
• Output: Configured .mcp.json with task-master server
• Tools Used: Read, Edit, Write, Bash
• Chains With: Serena MCP for code analysis

Troubleshooting

References

• GitHub - claude-task-master
• TaskMaster Setup Guide