MCP-Tasks CLI Reference

This skill provides comprehensive CLI reference for the mcp-tasks command-line tool.

Overview

The mcp-tasks CLI provides task management via command-line interface for scripting and automation. For agent workflows, use the MCP server instead.

Installation

The CLI is distributed as a pre-built Babashka uberscript in this plugin:

plugins/mcp-tasks-cli/bin/mcp-tasks

Add to PATH or invoke directly:

# Add to PATH (example)
export PATH="$PATH:/path/to/plugins/mcp-tasks-cli/bin"

# Or invoke directly
/path/to/plugins/mcp-tasks-cli/bin/mcp-tasks --help

Configuration Discovery

No --config-path required. The CLI automatically searches for .mcp-tasks.edn:

• Starts from current directory
• Traverses up directory tree
• Stops at filesystem root or when found

Example:

# Project structure:
# /project/.mcp-tasks.edn
# /project/src/

# Works from any subdirectory:
cd /project/src
mcp-tasks list  # Finds /project/.mcp-tasks.edn

Commands

Command	Purpose	Required Args	Key Options
list	Query tasks with filters	None	--status, --category, --type, --parent-id, --task-id, --title-pattern, --limit, --unique
show	Display single task	--task-id	--format
add	Create new task	--category, --title	--description, --type, --parent-id, --prepend
complete	Mark task complete	--task-id or --title	--category, --completion-comment
update	Update task fields	--task-id	--title, --description, --design, --status, --category, --type, --parent-id, --meta, --relations
delete	Delete task	--task-id or --title-pattern	None

Global Options

Option	Values	Default	Description
--format	edn, json, human	edn	Output format
--help	-	-	Show help message

Command Details

list

Query tasks with optional filters.

Usage:

mcp-tasks list [options]

Options:

Flag	Alias	Type	Description
--status	-s	keyword	Filter by status: open, closed, in-progress, blocked, any
--category	-c	string	Filter by category name
--type	-t	keyword	Filter by type: task, bug, feature, story, chore
--parent-id	-p	integer	Filter by parent task ID
--task-id	-	integer	Filter by specific task ID
--title-pattern	--title	string	Filter by title pattern (regex or substring)
--limit	-	integer	Maximum tasks to return (default: 30)
--unique	-	boolean	Enforce 0 or 1 match (error if >1)
--format	-	keyword	Output format: edn, json, human

Examples:

# List open tasks in human format
mcp-tasks list --status open --format human

# List all tasks for a category
mcp-tasks list --status any --category simple

# List story child tasks
mcp-tasks list --parent-id 31 --status open

show

Display a single task by ID.

Usage:

mcp-tasks show --task-id <id> [options]

Options:

Flag	Alias	Type	Required	Description
--task-id	--id	integer	Yes	Task ID to display
--format	-	keyword	No	Output format: edn, json, human

Examples:

# Show task in EDN format
mcp-tasks show --task-id 42

# Show task in human-readable format
mcp-tasks show --id 42 --format human

add

Create a new task.

Usage:

mcp-tasks add --category <name> --title <title> [options]

Options:

Flag	Alias	Type	Required	Description
--category	-c	string	Yes	Task category (e.g., simple, medium, large)
--title	-t	string	Yes	Task title
--description	-d	string	No	Task description
--type	-	keyword	No	Task type (default: task). Options: task, bug, feature, story, chore
--parent-id	-p	integer	No	Parent task ID (for child tasks)
--prepend	-	boolean	No	Add task at beginning instead of end
--format	-	keyword	No	Output format: edn, json, human

Examples:

# Create simple task
mcp-tasks add --category simple --title "Fix parser bug"

# Create task with description
mcp-tasks add -c medium -t "Add auth" -d "Implement JWT auth"

# Create child task
mcp-tasks add --category simple --title "Subtask" --parent-id 31

complete

Mark a task as complete and move to archive.

Usage:

mcp-tasks complete (--task-id <id> | --title <pattern>) [options]

Options:

Flag	Alias	Type	Required	Description
--task-id	--id	integer	*	Task ID to complete
--title	-t	string	*	Task title pattern (alternative to task-id)
--category	-c	string	No	Task category (for verification)
--completion-comment	--comment	string	No	Optional completion comment
--format	-	keyword	No	Output format: edn, json, human

* At least one of --task-id or --title required.

Examples:

# Complete by ID
mcp-tasks complete --task-id 42

# Complete by title with comment
mcp-tasks complete --title "Fix bug" --comment "Fixed via PR #123"

# Complete with category verification
mcp-tasks complete --id 42 --category simple

update

Update task fields.

Usage:

mcp-tasks update --task-id <id> [options]

Options:

Flag	Alias	Type	Required	Description
--task-id	--id	integer	Yes	Task ID to update
--title	-t	string	No	New task title
--description	-d	string	No	New task description
--design	-	string	No	New task design notes
--status	-s	keyword	No	New status: open, closed, in-progress, blocked
--category	-c	string	No	New task category
--type	-	keyword	No	New task type: task, bug, feature, story, chore
--parent-id	-p	integer/string	No	New parent task ID (pass "null" to remove)
--meta	-	JSON string	No	New metadata as JSON object (replaces entire map)
--relations	-	JSON string	No	New relations as JSON array (replaces entire vector)
--format	-	keyword	No	Output format: edn, json, human

Examples:

# Update status
mcp-tasks update --task-id 42 --status in-progress

# Update title and description
mcp-tasks update --id 42 --title "New title" --description "New desc"

# Update metadata
mcp-tasks update --task-id 42 --meta '{"priority":"high"}'

# Remove parent relationship
mcp-tasks update --task-id 42 --parent-id "null"

delete

Delete a task from tasks.ednl (archives to complete.ednl with :status :deleted).

Usage:

mcp-tasks delete (--task-id <id> | --title-pattern <pattern>) [options]

Options:

Flag	Alias	Type	Required	Description
--task-id	--id	integer	*	Task ID to delete
--title-pattern	--title	string	*	Title pattern to match (alternative to task-id)
--format	-	keyword	No	Output format: edn, json, human

* At least one of --task-id or --title-pattern required.

Constraints:

• Cannot delete tasks with non-closed children (must complete or delete children first)

Examples:

# Delete by ID
mcp-tasks delete --task-id 42

# Delete by title pattern
mcp-tasks delete --title-pattern "old-task"

# Delete with human-readable output
mcp-tasks delete --id 42 --format human

Output Formats

EDN (Default)

Clojure EDN format suitable for programmatic consumption:

{:tasks [{:id 42 :title "Fix bug" :status :open ...}]
 :metadata {:open-task-count 5 :returned-count 1}}

JSON

JSON format for integration with non-Clojure tools:

{
  "tasks": [{"id": 42, "title": "Fix bug", "status": "open", ...}],
  "metadata": {"open_task_count": 5, "returned_count": 1}
}

Human

Human-readable tabular format:

Tasks (1 found, showing 1):

ID  | Status | Category | Type | Title
----|--------|----------|------|--------
42  | open   | simple   | task | Fix bug

Metadata:
  Open tasks: 5
  Returned: 1

Common Workflows

Query and Display

# Find tasks by status and category
mcp-tasks list --status open --category medium --format human

# Show specific task details
mcp-tasks show --task-id 42 --format human

Create and Manage Tasks

# Create simple task
mcp-tasks add --category simple --title "Fix parser"

# Create story with child tasks
mcp-tasks add --category large --title "User auth" --type story
mcp-tasks add --category medium --title "Login" --parent-id 100

# Update task status
mcp-tasks update --task-id 101 --status in-progress

# Complete task with comment
mcp-tasks complete --task-id 101 --comment "Implemented"

Scripting Examples

# Get open task count (JSON + jq)
mcp-tasks list --status open --format json | jq '.metadata.open_task_count'

# List all story tasks
mcp-tasks list --type story --status any --format human

# Batch update tasks (shell loop)
for id in 42 43 44; do
  mcp-tasks update --task-id $id --status closed
done

File Locations

The CLI operates on these files within the .mcp-tasks/ directory:

File	Purpose
.mcp-tasks.edn	Configuration file (searched automatically)
.mcp-tasks/tasks.ednl	Incomplete tasks
.mcp-tasks/complete.ednl	Completed/deleted tasks archive
.mcp-tasks/prompts/<category>.md	Category-specific prompts (not used by CLI)

CLI vs MCP Server

Use CLI for:

• Shell scripting and automation
• CI/CD pipelines
• Batch operations
• Quick queries from terminal
• Integration with non-agent tools

Use MCP Server for:

• Agent-driven task execution
• Interactive task refinement
• Workflow automation with prompts
• Story-based development
• Git integration (branches, worktrees)

The CLI and MCP server operate on the same .mcp-tasks/ data files and can be used interchangeably.

Error Handling

Configuration not found:

Error: Could not find .mcp-tasks.edn in current directory or any parent directory

Solution: Initialize project with .mcp-tasks.edn or run from correct directory.

Unknown option:

Unknown option: --invalid. Use --help to see valid options.

Solution: Check command-specific help with mcp-tasks <command> --help.

Invalid format:

Invalid format: xml. Must be one of: edn, json, human

Solution: Use one of the supported format values.

Missing required argument:

Required option: --task-id (or --id)

Solution: Provide all required arguments for the command.

Task not found:

Error: No task found with task-id: 999

Solution: Verify task ID exists using mcp-tasks list.

Limitations

• No interactive prompts (use flags for all input)
• No task execution workflows (use MCP server)
• No git integration (use MCP server)
• No worktree management (use MCP server)
• No branch automation (use MCP server)

Version

Check version in plugins/mcp-tasks-cli/.claude-plugin/plugin.json.