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Taskmaster uses two primary methods for configuration:
  1. .taskmaster/config.json File (Recommended - New Structure)
    • This JSON file stores most configuration settings, including AI model selections, parameters, logging levels, and project defaults.
    • Location: This file is created in the .taskmaster/ directory when you run the task-master models --setup interactive setup or initialize a new project with task-master init.
    • Migration: Existing projects with .taskmasterconfig in the root will continue to work, but should be migrated to the new structure using task-master migrate.
    • Management: Use the task-master models --setup command (or models MCP tool) to interactively create and manage this file. You can also set specific models directly using task-master models --set-<role>=<model_id>, adding --ollama or --openrouter flags for custom models. Manual editing is possible but not recommended unless you understand the structure.
    • Example Structure: 
      {
  "models": {
    "main": {
      "provider": "anthropic",
      "modelId": "claude-3-7-sonnet-20250219",
      "maxTokens": 64000,
      "temperature": 0.2,
      "baseURL": "https://api.anthropic.com/v1"
    },
    "research": {
      "provider": "perplexity",
      "modelId": "sonar-pro",
      "maxTokens": 8700,
      "temperature": 0.1,
      "baseURL": "https://api.perplexity.ai/v1"
    },
    "fallback": {
      "provider": "anthropic",
      "modelId": "claude-3-5-sonnet",
      "maxTokens": 64000,
      "temperature": 0.2
    }
  },
  "global": {
    "logLevel": "info",
    "debug": false,
    "defaultSubtasks": 5,
    "defaultPriority": "medium",
    "defaultTag": "master",
    "projectName": "Your Project Name",
    "ollamaBaseURL": "http://localhost:11434/api",
    "azureBaseURL": "https://your-endpoint.azure.com/openai/deployments",
    "vertexProjectId": "your-gcp-project-id",
    "vertexLocation": "us-central1"
  }
}
  2. Legacy .taskmasterconfig File (Backward Compatibility)
    • For projects that haven’t migrated to the new structure yet.
    • Location: Project root directory.
    • Migration: Use task-master migrate to move this to .taskmaster/config.json.
    • Deprecation: While still supported, you’ll see warnings encouraging migration to the new structure.

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Environment Variables (.env file or MCP env block - For API Keys Only)

  • Used exclusively for sensitive API keys and specific endpoint URLs.
  • Location:
    • For CLI usage: Create a .env file in your project root.
    • For MCP/Cursor usage: Configure keys in the env section of your .cursor/mcp.json file.
  • Required API Keys (Depending on configured providers):
    • ANTHROPIC_API_KEY: Your Anthropic API key.
    • PERPLEXITY_API_KEY: Your Perplexity API key.
    • OPENAI_API_KEY: Your OpenAI API key.
    • GOOGLE_API_KEY: Your Google API key (also used for Vertex AI provider).
    • MISTRAL_API_KEY: Your Mistral API key.
    • AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY: Your Azure OpenAI API key (also requires AZURE_OPENAI_ENDPOINT).
    • OPENROUTER_API_KEY: Your OpenRouter API key.
    • XAI_API_KEY: Your X-AI API key.
  • Optional Endpoint Overrides:
    • Per-role baseURL in .taskmasterconfig: You can add a baseURL property to any model role (main, research, fallback) to override the default API endpoint for that provider. If omitted, the provider’s standard endpoint is used.
    • Environment Variable Overrides (<PROVIDER>_BASE_URL): For greater flexibility, especially with third-party services, you can set an environment variable like OPENAI_BASE_URL or MISTRAL_BASE_URL. This will override any baseURL set in the configuration file for that provider. This is the recommended way to connect to OpenAI-compatible APIs.
    • AZURE_OPENAI_ENDPOINT: Required if using Azure OpenAI key (can also be set as baseURL for the Azure model role).
    • OLLAMA_BASE_URL: Override the default Ollama API URL (Default: http://localhost:11434/api).
    • VERTEX_PROJECT_ID: Your Google Cloud project ID for Vertex AI. Required when using the ‘vertex’ provider.
    • VERTEX_LOCATION: Google Cloud region for Vertex AI (e.g., ‘us-central1’). Default is ‘us-central1’.
    • GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS: Path to service account credentials JSON file for Google Cloud auth (alternative to API key for Vertex AI).
  • Optional Auto-Update Control:
    • TASKMASTER_SKIP_AUTO_UPDATE: Set to ‘1’ to disable automatic updates. Also automatically disabled in CI environments (when CI environment variable is set).
Important: Settings like model ID selections (main, research, fallback), maxTokens, temperature, logLevel, defaultSubtasks, defaultPriority, and projectName are managed in .taskmaster/config.json (or .taskmasterconfig for unmigrated projects), not environment variables.

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Tagged Task Lists Configuration (v0.17+)

Taskmaster includes a tagged task lists system for multi-context task management.

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Global Tag Settings

"global": {
  "defaultTag": "master"
}
  • defaultTag (string): Default tag context for new operations (default: “master”)

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Git Integration

Task Master provides manual git integration through the --from-branch option:
  • Manual Tag Creation: Use task-master add-tag --from-branch to create a tag based on your current git branch name
  • User Control: No automatic tag switching - you control when and how tags are created
  • Flexible Workflow: Supports any git workflow without imposing rigid branch-tag mappings

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State Management File

Taskmaster uses .taskmaster/state.json to track tagged system runtime information: 
{
  "currentTag": "master",
  "lastSwitched": "2025-06-11T20:26:12.598Z",
  "migrationNoticeShown": true
}
  • currentTag: Currently active tag context
  • lastSwitched: Timestamp of last tag switch
  • migrationNoticeShown: Whether migration notice has been displayed
This file is automatically created during tagged system migration and should not be manually edited.

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Example .env File (for API Keys)

# Required API keys for providers configured in .taskmaster/config.json
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-api03-your-key-here
PERPLEXITY_API_KEY=pplx-your-key-here
# OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-your-key-here
# GOOGLE_API_KEY=AIzaSy...
# AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY=your-azure-openai-api-key-here
# etc.

# Optional Endpoint Overrides
# Use a specific provider's base URL, e.g., for an OpenAI-compatible API
# OPENAI_BASE_URL=https://api.third-party.com/v1
#
# Azure OpenAI Configuration
# AZURE_OPENAI_ENDPOINT=https://your-resource-name.openai.azure.com/ or https://your-endpoint-name.cognitiveservices.azure.com/openai/deployments
# OLLAMA_BASE_URL=http://custom-ollama-host:11434/api

# Google Vertex AI Configuration (Required if using 'vertex' provider)
# VERTEX_PROJECT_ID=your-gcp-project-id

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Troubleshooting

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Configuration Errors

  • If Task Master reports errors about missing configuration or cannot find the config file, run task-master models --setup in your project root to create or repair the file.
  • For new projects, config will be created at .taskmaster/config.json. For legacy projects, you may want to use task-master migrate to move to the new structure.
  • Ensure API keys are correctly placed in your .env file (for CLI) or .cursor/mcp.json (for MCP) and are valid for the providers selected in your config file.

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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

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Provider-Specific Configuration

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Google Vertex AI Configuration

Google Vertex AI is Google Cloud’s enterprise AI platform and requires specific configuration:
  1. Prerequisites:
    • A Google Cloud account with Vertex AI API enabled
    • Either a Google API key with Vertex AI permissions OR a service account with appropriate roles
    • A Google Cloud project ID
  2. Authentication Options:
    • API Key: Set the GOOGLE_API_KEY environment variable
    • Service Account: Set GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS to point to your service account JSON file
  3. Required Configuration:
    • Set VERTEX_PROJECT_ID to your Google Cloud project ID
    • Set VERTEX_LOCATION to your preferred Google Cloud region (default: us-central1)
  4. Example Setup: 
    # In .env file
GOOGLE_API_KEY=AIzaSyXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
VERTEX_PROJECT_ID=my-gcp-project-123
VERTEX_LOCATION=us-central1
    Or using service account: 
    # In .env file
GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS=/path/to/service-account.json
VERTEX_PROJECT_ID=my-gcp-project-123
VERTEX_LOCATION=us-central1
  5. In .taskmaster/config.json: 
    "global": {
  "vertexProjectId": "my-gcp-project-123",
  "vertexLocation": "us-central1"
}

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Azure OpenAI Configuration

Azure OpenAI provides enterprise-grade OpenAI models through Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform and requires specific configuration:
  1. Prerequisites:
    • An Azure account with an active subscription
    • Azure OpenAI service resource created in the Azure portal
    • Azure OpenAI API key and endpoint URL
    • Deployed models (e.g., gpt-4o, gpt-4o-mini, gpt-4.1, etc) in your Azure OpenAI resource
  2. Authentication:
    • Set the AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY environment variable with your Azure OpenAI API key
    • Configure the endpoint URL using one of the methods below
  3. Configuration Options: Option 1: Using Global Azure Base URL (affects all Azure models) 
    // In .taskmaster/config.json
{
  "models": {
    "main": {
      "provider": "azure",
      "modelId": "gpt-4o",
      "maxTokens": 16000,
      "temperature": 0.7
    },
    "fallback": {
      "provider": "azure", 
      "modelId": "gpt-4o-mini",
      "maxTokens": 10000,
      "temperature": 0.7
    }
  },
  "global": {
    "azureBaseURL": "https://your-resource-name.azure.com/openai/deployments"
  }
}
    Option 2: Using Per-Model Base URLs (recommended for flexibility) 
    // In .taskmaster/config.json
{
  "models": {
    "main": {
      "provider": "azure",
      "modelId": "gpt-4o", 
      "maxTokens": 16000,
      "temperature": 0.7,
      "baseURL": "https://your-resource-name.azure.com/openai/deployments"
    },
    "research": {
      "provider": "perplexity",
      "modelId": "sonar-pro",
      "maxTokens": 8700,
      "temperature": 0.1
    },
    "fallback": {
      "provider": "azure",
      "modelId": "gpt-4o-mini",
      "maxTokens": 10000, 
      "temperature": 0.7,
      "baseURL": "https://your-resource-name.azure.com/openai/deployments"
    }
  }
}
  4. Environment Variables: 
    # In .env file
AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY=your-azure-openai-api-key-here

# Optional: Override endpoint for all Azure models
AZURE_OPENAI_ENDPOINT=https://your-resource-name.azure.com/openai/deployments
  5. Important Notes:
    • Model Deployment Names: The modelId in your configuration should match the deployment name you created in Azure OpenAI Studio, not the underlying model name
    • Base URL Priority: Per-model baseURL settings override the global azureBaseURL setting
    • Endpoint Format: When using per-model baseURL, use the full path including /openai/deployments
  6. Troubleshooting: “Resource not found” errors:
    • Ensure your baseURL includes the full path: https://your-resource-name.openai.azure.com/openai/deployments
    • Verify that your deployment name in modelId exactly matches what’s configured in Azure OpenAI Studio
    • Check that your Azure OpenAI resource is in the correct region and properly deployed
    Authentication errors:
    • Verify your AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY is correct and has not expired
    • Ensure your Azure OpenAI resource has the necessary permissions
    • Check that your subscription has not been suspended or reached quota limits
    Model availability errors:
    • Confirm the model is deployed in your Azure OpenAI resource
    • Verify the deployment name matches your configuration exactly (case-sensitive)
    • Ensure the model deployment is in a “Succeeded” state in Azure OpenAI Studio
    • Ensure youre not getting rate limited by maxTokens maintain appropriate Tokens per Minute Rate Limit (TPM) in your deployment.