---
title: "Task Structure"
sidebarTitle: "Task Structure"
description: "Tasks in Task Master follow a specific format designed to provide comprehensive information for both humans and AI assistants."
---

## Task Fields in tasks.json

Tasks in tasks.json have the following structure:

| Field          | Description                                     | Example                                                |
| -------------- | ----------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------ |
| `id`           | Unique identifier for the task.                 | `1`                                                    |
| `title`        | Brief, descriptive title.                       | `"Initialize Repo"`                                    |
| `description`  | What the task involves.                         | `"Create a new repository, set up initial structure."` |
| `status`       | Current state.                                  | `"pending"`, `"done"`, `"deferred"`                    |
| `dependencies` | Prerequisite task IDs. ✅ Completed, ⏱️ Pending | `[1, 2]`                                               |
| `priority`     | Task importance.                                | `"high"`, `"medium"`, `"low"`                          |
| `details`      | Implementation instructions.                    | `"Use GitHub client ID/secret, handle callback..."`    |
| `testStrategy` | How to verify success.                          | `"Deploy and confirm 'Hello World' response."`         |
| `subtasks`     | Nested subtasks related to the main task.       | `[{"id": 1, "title": "Configure OAuth", ...}]`         |
| `metadata`     | Optional user-defined data (see below).         | `{"githubIssue": 42, "sprint": "Q1-S3"}`               |

## Task File Format

Individual task files follow this format:

```
# Task ID: <id>
# Title: <title>
# Status: <status>
# Dependencies: <comma-separated list of dependency IDs>
# Priority: <priority>
# Description: <brief description>
# Details:
<detailed implementation notes>

# Test Strategy:
<verification approach>
```

## User-Defined Metadata Field

The `metadata` field allows you to store arbitrary custom data on tasks without requiring schema changes. This is useful for:

- **External IDs**: Link tasks to GitHub issues, Jira tickets, Linear issues, etc.
- **Workflow data**: Track sprints, story points, custom statuses
- **Integration data**: Store sync timestamps, external system references
- **Custom tracking**: UUIDs, version numbers, audit information

### Key Characteristics

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Fully Optional" icon="toggle-off">
    The field is optional. Existing tasks work without it.
  </Card>

<Card title="AI-Safe" icon="shield">
  AI operations preserve your metadata - it's never overwritten by AI.
</Card>

<Card title="Flexible Schema" icon="shapes">
  Store any JSON-serializable data: strings, numbers, objects, arrays.
</Card>

  <Card title="Subtask Support" icon="list-tree">
    Both tasks and subtasks can have their own metadata.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

### Usage Examples

**GitHub Issue Linking**

```json
{
  "id": 1,
  "title": "Implement authentication",
  "metadata": {
    "githubIssue": 42,
    "githubIssueUrl": "https://github.com/org/repo/issues/42"
  }
}
```

**Sprint & Project Management**

```json
{
  "id": 2,
  "title": "Refactor API endpoints",
  "metadata": {
    "sprint": "Q1-S3",
    "storyPoints": 5,
    "epic": "API Modernization"
  }
}
```

**External System Integration**

```json
{
  "id": 3,
  "title": "Fix login bug",
  "metadata": {
    "jira": {
      "key": "PROJ-123",
      "type": "bug",
      "priority": "P1"
    },
    "importedAt": "2024-01-15T10:30:00Z",
    "lastSyncedAt": "2024-01-20T14:00:00Z"
  }
}
```

**Stable UUID Tracking**

```json
{
  "id": 4,
  "title": "Add user preferences",
  "metadata": {
    "uuid": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000",
    "version": 2,
    "createdBy": "import-script"
  }
}
```

<Warning>
  **Security Note**: Do not store secrets, API keys, or sensitive credentials in
  the metadata field. Task data may be visible in logs, exports, or shared with
  AI providers.
</Warning>

### Metadata Behavior

| Operation        | Metadata Behavior                                            |
| ---------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------ |
| `parse-prd`      | New tasks are created without metadata                       |
| `update-task`    | Existing metadata is preserved unless explicitly changed     |
| `expand`         | Parent task metadata is preserved; subtasks don't inherit it |
| `update-subtask` | Subtask metadata is preserved                                |
| Manual edit      | You can add/modify metadata directly in tasks.json           |
| MCP (with flag)  | Use the `metadata` parameter to explicitly update metadata   |

### Updating Metadata via MCP

The `update_task` and `update_subtask` MCP tools support a `metadata` parameter for updating task metadata. This feature is disabled by default for safety.

**To enable MCP metadata updates:**

Add `TASK_MASTER_ALLOW_METADATA_UPDATES=true` to your MCP server environment configuration in `.mcp.json`:

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "task-master-ai": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "task-master-ai"],
      "env": {
        "TASK_MASTER_ALLOW_METADATA_UPDATES": "true",
        "ANTHROPIC_API_KEY": "your_key_here"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

**Usage example:**

```javascript
// Update task metadata (merges with existing)
update_task({
  id: "1",
  projectRoot: "/path/to/project",
  metadata: '{"githubIssue": 42, "sprint": "Q1-S3"}'
})

// Update only metadata (no prompt required)
update_task({
  id: "1",
  projectRoot: "/path/to/project",
  metadata: '{"status": "reviewed"}'
})
```

<Note>
  The `metadata` parameter accepts a JSON string. The new metadata is merged with existing metadata, allowing you to update specific fields without losing others.
</Note>

## Features in Detail

<AccordionGroup>
<Accordion title="Analyzing Task Complexity">
The `analyze-complexity` command:

- Analyzes each task using AI to assess its complexity on a scale of 1-10
- Recommends optimal number of subtasks based on configured DEFAULT_SUBTASKS
- Generates tailored prompts for expanding each task
- Creates a comprehensive JSON report with ready-to-use commands
- Saves the report to scripts/task-complexity-report.json by default

The generated report contains:

- Complexity analysis for each task (scored 1-10)
- Recommended number of subtasks based on complexity
- AI-generated expansion prompts customized for each task
- Ready-to-run expansion commands directly within each task analysis
</Accordion>

<Accordion title="Viewing Complexity Report">
The `complexity-report` command:

- Displays a formatted, easy-to-read version of the complexity analysis report
- Shows tasks organized by complexity score (highest to lowest)
- Provides complexity distribution statistics (low, medium, high)
- Highlights tasks recommended for expansion based on threshold score
- Includes ready-to-use expansion commands for each complex task
- If no report exists, offers to generate one on the spot
</Accordion>

<Accordion title="Smart Task Expansion">
The `expand` command automatically checks for and uses the complexity report:

When a complexity report exists:

- Tasks are automatically expanded using the recommended subtask count and prompts
- When expanding all tasks, they're processed in order of complexity (highest first)
- Research-backed generation is preserved from the complexity analysis
- You can still override recommendations with explicit command-line options

Example workflow:

```bash
# Generate the complexity analysis report with research capabilities
task-master analyze-complexity --research

# Review the report in a readable format
task-master complexity-report

# Expand tasks using the optimized recommendations
task-master expand --id=8
# or expand all tasks
task-master expand --all
```

</Accordion>

<Accordion title="Finding the Next Task">
The `next` command:

- Identifies tasks that are pending/in-progress and have all dependencies satisfied
- Prioritizes tasks by priority level, dependency count, and task ID
- Displays comprehensive information about the selected task:
  - Basic task details (ID, title, priority, dependencies)
  - Implementation details
  - Subtasks (if they exist)
- Provides contextual suggested actions:
  - Command to mark the task as in-progress
  - Command to mark the task as done
  - Commands for working with subtasks
</Accordion>

<Accordion title="Viewing Specific Task Details">
The `show` command:

- Displays comprehensive details about a specific task or subtask
- Shows task status, priority, dependencies, and detailed implementation notes
- For parent tasks, displays all subtasks and their status
- For subtasks, shows parent task relationship
- Provides contextual action suggestions based on the task's state
- Works with both regular tasks and subtasks (using the format taskId.subtaskId)
</Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Best Practices for AI-Driven Development

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="📝 Detailed PRD" icon="lightbulb">
    The more detailed your PRD, the better the generated tasks will be.
  </Card>

  <Card title="👀 Review Tasks" icon="magnifying-glass">
    After parsing the PRD, review the tasks to ensure they make sense and have
    appropriate dependencies.
  </Card>

  <Card title="📊 Analyze Complexity" icon="chart-line">
    Use the complexity analysis feature to identify which tasks should be broken
    down further.
  </Card>

  <Card title="⛓️ Follow Dependencies" icon="link">
    Always respect task dependencies - the Cursor agent will help with this.
  </Card>

  <Card title="🔄 Update As You Go" icon="arrows-rotate">
    If your implementation diverges from the plan, use the update command to
    keep future tasks aligned.
  </Card>

  <Card title="📦 Break Down Tasks" icon="boxes-stacked">
    Use the expand command to break down complex tasks into manageable subtasks.
  </Card>

  <Card title="🔄 Regenerate Files" icon="file-arrow-up">
    After any updates to tasks.json, regenerate the task files to keep them in
    sync.
  </Card>

  <Card title="💬 Provide Context" icon="comment">
    When asking the Cursor agent to help with a task, provide context about what
    you're trying to achieve.
  </Card>

  <Card title="✅ Validate Dependencies" icon="circle-check">
    Periodically run the validate-dependencies command to check for invalid or
    circular dependencies.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>