eyaltoledano/claude-task-master · error

CORE_FUNCTION_ERROR

CORE_FUNCTION_ERROR

Error message

${error.message}

What it means

CORE_FUNCTION_ERROR is the catch-all failure envelope returned by removeDependencyDirect when the core removeDependency() call throws an exception (e.g. tasks.json not found/invalid, task or dependency not present in the dependencies array). The wrapper catches the throw, restores normal logging, and returns it as a structured MCP error with the original error message. Severity is contextual: the message distinguishes file problems from 'dependency not found' cases.

Source

Thrown at mcp-server/src/core/direct-functions/remove-dependency.js:104

		disableSilentMode();

		return {
			success: true,
			data: {
				message: `Successfully removed dependency: Task ${taskId} no longer depends on ${dependencyId}`,
				taskId: taskId,
				dependencyId: dependencyId
			}
		};
	} catch (error) {
		// Make sure to restore normal logging even if there's an error
		disableSilentMode();

		log.error(`Error in removeDependencyDirect: ${error.message}`);
		return {
			success: false,
			error: {
				code: 'CORE_FUNCTION_ERROR',
				message: error.message
			}
		};
	}
}

View on GitHub (pinned to c0c98d367c)

Solutions

1. Read the message field for the underlying cause (file not found vs dependency not found)
2. Verify the task and dependency IDs exist in tasks.json and the dependency is actually listed on the task
3. Confirm tasksJsonPath points to a valid, parseable tasks.json
4. Check file write permissions on tasks.json
5. Call list_tasks or get_tasks first to confirm current IDs before removing

Example fix

// before: removing a dependency without checking it exists
await removeDependencyDirect({ tasksJsonPath, id: 5, dependsOn: 9 }, log);
// after: verify dependency exists first
const tasks = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(tasksJsonPath, 'utf8'));
const task = tasks.taggedTasks?.[tag]?.find(t => t.id === 5);
if (task?.dependencies?.includes(9)) {
  await removeDependencyDirect({ tasksJsonPath, id: 5, dependsOn: 9 }, log);
}

import fs from 'fs';
if (!fs.existsSync(args.tasksJsonPath)) {
  throw new Error('tasks.json not found at ' + args.tasksJsonPath);
}
const data = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(args.tasksJsonPath, 'utf8'));
const all = data.tasks ?? Object.values(data.taggedTasks ?? {}).flat();
const task = all.find(t => String(t.id) === String(args.id));
if (!task) throw new Error(`Task ${args.id} not found in tasks.json`);
if (!task.dependencies?.map(String).includes(String(args.dependsOn))) {
  throw new Error(`Task ${args.id} does not depend on ${args.dependsOn}`);
}

function isCoreFunctionError(result) {
  return result?.success === false && result?.error?.code === 'CORE_FUNCTION_ERROR' && typeof result?.error?.message === 'string';
}

const result = await removeDependencyDirect(args, log);
if (!result.success && result.error.code === 'CORE_FUNCTION_ERROR') {
  if (/not found/i.test(result.error.message)) {
    // refresh IDs via list_tasks, then retry with valid IDs
  } else if (/ENOENT|parse|JSON/i.test(result.error.message)) {
    // fix tasksJsonPath / repair tasks.json
  }
}

When it happens

Trigger: removeDependency(tasksPath, taskId, dependencyId, ...) at remove-dependency.js:80 throws: tasks.json missing or contains invalid JSON, the task ID doesn't exist, the dependency isn't in the task's dependencies array, or a filesystem write error.

Common situations: Calling remove_dependency for a dependency that was never added; stale task IDs after tasks.json was regenerated; tasks.json corrupted or moved; permission errors writing tasks.json.

Related errors

• CORE_FUNCTION_ERROR
• FIX_DEPENDENCIES_ERROR
• INITIALIZATION_FAILED
• PARSE_PRD_CORE_ERROR
• CORE_FUNCTION_ERROR

AI-assisted analysis of eyaltoledano/claude-task-master@c0c98d367c (2026-08-29). Data as JSON: /api/errors/06cd6a2459fa8cff. Report an issue: GitHub.