Configuration

Configure Task Master through environment variables in a .env file

Required Configuration

Task Master requires an Anthropic API key to function. Add this to your .env file:

ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-api03-your-api-key

You can obtain an API key from the Anthropic Console.

Optional Configuration

Variable	Default Value	Description	Example
MODEL	"claude-3-7-sonnet-20250219"	Claude model to use	MODEL=claude-3-opus-20240229
MAX_TOKENS	"4000"	Maximum tokens for responses	MAX_TOKENS=8000
TEMPERATURE	"0.7"	Temperature for model responses	TEMPERATURE=0.5
DEBUG	"false"	Enable debug logging	DEBUG=true
LOG_LEVEL	"info"	Console output level	LOG_LEVEL=debug
DEFAULT_SUBTASKS	"3"	Default subtask count	DEFAULT_SUBTASKS=5
DEFAULT_PRIORITY	"medium"	Default priority	DEFAULT_PRIORITY=high
PROJECT_NAME	"MCP SaaS MVP"	Project name in metadata	PROJECT_NAME=My Awesome Project
PROJECT_VERSION	"1.0.0"	Version in metadata	PROJECT_VERSION=2.1.0
PERPLEXITY_API_KEY	-	For research-backed features	PERPLEXITY_API_KEY=pplx-...
PERPLEXITY_MODEL	"sonar-medium-online"	Perplexity model	PERPLEXITY_MODEL=sonar-large-online

TDD Workflow Configuration

Additional options for autonomous TDD workflow:

Variable	Default	Description
TM_MAX_ATTEMPTS	3	Max attempts per subtask before marking blocked
TM_AUTO_COMMIT	true	Auto-commit after GREEN phase
TM_PROJECT_ROOT	Current dir	Default project root

Example .env File

# Required
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-api03-your-api-key

# Optional - Claude Configuration
MODEL=claude-3-7-sonnet-20250219
MAX_TOKENS=4000
TEMPERATURE=0.7

# Optional - Perplexity API for Research
PERPLEXITY_API_KEY=pplx-your-api-key
PERPLEXITY_MODEL=sonar-medium-online

# Optional - Project Info
PROJECT_NAME=My Project
PROJECT_VERSION=1.0.0

# Optional - Application Configuration
DEFAULT_SUBTASKS=3
DEFAULT_PRIORITY=medium
DEBUG=false
LOG_LEVEL=info

# TDD Workflow
TM_MAX_ATTEMPTS=3
TM_AUTO_COMMIT=true

Troubleshooting

If task-master init doesn’t respond:

Try running it with Node directly:

node node_modules/claude-task-master/scripts/init.js

Or clone the repository and run:

git clone https://github.com/eyaltoledano/claude-task-master.git
cd claude-task-master
node scripts/init.js

For advanced configuration options and detailed customization, see our [Advanced Configuration Guide] page.