claude-task-master/.changeset/light-owls-stay.md

task-master-ai

task-master-ai
minor

Add configurable MCP tool loading to optimize LLM context usage

You can now control which Task Master MCP tools are loaded by setting the TASK_MASTER_TOOLS environment variable in your MCP configuration. This helps reduce context usage for LLMs by only loading the tools you need.

Configuration Options:

• all (default): Load all 36 tools
• core or lean: Load only 7 essential tools for daily development
  • Includes: get_tasks, next_task, get_task, set_task_status, update_subtask, parse_prd, expand_task
• standard: Load 15 commonly used tools (all core tools plus 8 more)
  • Additional tools: initialize_project, analyze_project_complexity, expand_all, add_subtask, remove_task, generate, add_task, complexity_report
• Custom list: Comma-separated tool names (e.g., get_tasks,next_task,set_task_status)

Example .mcp.json configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "task-master-ai": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "task-master-ai"],
      "env": {
        "TASK_MASTER_TOOLS": "standard",
        "ANTHROPIC_API_KEY": "your_key_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

For complete details on all available tools, configuration examples, and usage guidelines, see the MCP Tools documentation.