Setting Up Task-Master with Claude Code (No API Keys Required)

Complete Setup Process

Step 1: Install Task-Master Globally (if not already installed)

npm install -g task-master-ai

Step 2: Initialize Task-Master in Your Project

Navigate to your project directory and run:

task-master init

This creates the .taskmaster directory with default configuration files.

Step 3: Add Task-Master as an MCP Server to Claude Code

Run this command to add task-master as a local MCP server:

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

Step 4: Update the Configuration to Use Claude Code Models

Replace the contents of .taskmaster/config.json with:

{
  "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",
    "debug": false,
    "defaultNumTasks": 10,
    "defaultSubtasks": 5,
    "defaultPriority": "medium",
    "projectName": "Task Master",
    "ollamaBaseURL": "http://localhost:11434/api",
    "bedrockBaseURL": "https://bedrock.us-east-1.amazonaws.com",
    "responseLanguage": "English",
    "userId": "1234567890"
  },
  "claudeCode": {}
}

Step 5: Restart Claude Code

Close and reopen Claude Code for the changes to take effect.

Verify Everything is Working

1. Type /mcp in Claude Code to confirm task-master is connected:

   ✔ Found 1 MCP servers
   • task-master: connected

2. Test basic functionality:
   • "What tasks are available?"
   • "Show me the task-master configuration"

What Each Step Does

• Global Install: Makes task-master command available everywhere
• Init: Creates project structure with .taskmaster/ directory
• MCP Add: Registers task-master with Claude Code as a local tool
• Config Update: Switches from API-based models to Claude Code's built-in models

Benefits of This Setup

✅ No API Keys Required - Uses Claude Code's built-in models
✅ No Additional Costs - Leverages your existing Claude Code subscription
✅ Local Project Scope - MCP server only available in this specific project
✅ Full Task-Master Features - All commands and functionality work normally

Common Commands After Setup

# Parse a PRD document
task-master parse-prd --input=docs/prd.txt

# List all tasks
task-master list

# Get the next task to work on
task-master next

# Analyze task complexity
task-master analyze-complexity

Or use natural language in Claude Code:

• "Parse my PRD and create tasks"
• "What's the next task I should work on?"
• "Break down task 5 into subtasks"