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Before getting started with Task Master, you’ll need to set up your API keys. There are a couple of ways to do this depending on whether you’re using the CLI or working inside MCP. It’s also a good time to start getting familiar with the other configuration options available — even if you don’t need to adjust them yet, knowing what’s possible will help down the line.

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API Key Setup

Task Master uses environment variables to securely store provider API keys and optional endpoint URLs.

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MCP Usage: mcp.json file

For MCP/Cursor usage: Configure keys in the env section of your .cursor/mcp.json file.
.env
{
	"mcpServers": {
		"task-master-ai": {
			"command": "npx",
			"args": ["-y", "task-master-ai"],
			"env": {
				"ANTHROPIC_API_KEY": "ANTHROPIC_API_KEY_HERE",
				"PERPLEXITY_API_KEY": "PERPLEXITY_API_KEY_HERE",
				"OPENAI_API_KEY": "OPENAI_API_KEY_HERE",
				"GOOGLE_API_KEY": "GOOGLE_API_KEY_HERE",
				"XAI_API_KEY": "XAI_API_KEY_HERE",
				"OPENROUTER_API_KEY": "OPENROUTER_API_KEY_HERE",
				"MISTRAL_API_KEY": "MISTRAL_API_KEY_HERE",
				"AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY": "AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY_HERE",
				"OLLAMA_API_KEY": "OLLAMA_API_KEY_HERE",
				"GITHUB_API_KEY": "GITHUB_API_KEY_HERE"
			}
		}
	}
}
Optimize Context Usage: You can control which Task Master MCP tools are loaded using the TASK_MASTER_TOOLS environment variable. This helps reduce LLM context usage by only loading the tools you need.Options:
  • all (default) - All 36 tools
  • standard - 15 commonly used tools
  • core or lean - 7 essential tools
Example:
"env": {
  "TASK_MASTER_TOOLS": "standard",
  "ANTHROPIC_API_KEY": "your_key_here"
}
See the MCP Tools documentation for details.

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CLI Usage: .env File

Create a .env file in your project root and include the keys for the providers you plan to use:
.env
# 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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What Else Can Be Configured?

The main configuration file (.taskmaster/config.json) allows you to control nearly every aspect of Task Master’s behavior. Here’s a high-level look at what you can customize:
You don’t need to configure everything up front. Most settings can be left as defaults or updated later as your workflow evolves.

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Models and Providers

  • Role-based model setup: main, research, fallback
  • Provider selection (Anthropic, OpenAI, Perplexity, etc.)
  • Model IDs per role
  • Temperature, max tokens, and other generation settings
  • Custom base URLs for OpenAI-compatible APIs

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Global Settings

  • logLevel: Logging verbosity
  • debug: Enable/disable debug mode
  • projectName: Optional name for your project
  • defaultTag: Default tag for task grouping
  • defaultSubtasks: Number of subtasks to auto-generate
  • defaultPriority: Priority level for new tasks

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API Endpoint Overrides

  • ollamaBaseURL: Custom Ollama server URL
  • azureBaseURL: Global Azure endpoint
  • vertexProjectId: Google Vertex AI project ID
  • vertexLocation: Region for Vertex AI models

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Tag and Git Integration

  • Default tag context per project
  • Support for task isolation by tag
  • Manual tag creation from Git branches

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State Management

  • Active tag tracking
  • Migration state
  • Last tag switch timestamp
For advanced configuration options and detailed customization, see our Advanced Configuration Guide page.