eyaltoledano/claude-task-master · error

INPUT_VALIDATION_ERROR

INPUT_VALIDATION_ERROR

Error message

No task ID specified. Please provide a task ID to update.

What it means

updateTaskByIdDirect requires a task `id` to know which task to update; when it is missing it returns INPUT_VALIDATION_ERROR immediately. This is the first guard in the function, before checking that a prompt or metadata was supplied.

Source

Thrown at mcp-server/src/core/direct-functions/update-task-by-id.js:59

		projectRoot,
		tag
	} = args;

	const logWrapper = createLogWrapper(log);

	try {
		logWrapper.info(
			`Updating task by ID via direct function. ID: ${id}, ProjectRoot: ${projectRoot}`
		);

		// Check required parameters (id and prompt)
		if (!id) {
			const errorMessage =
				'No task ID specified. Please provide a task ID to update.';
			logWrapper.error(errorMessage);
			return {
				success: false,
				error: { code: 'INPUT_VALIDATION_ERROR', message: errorMessage }
			};
		}

		// At least prompt or metadata is required (validated in MCP tool layer)
		if (!prompt && !metadata) {
			const errorMessage =
				'No prompt or metadata specified. Please provide a prompt with new information or metadata for the task update.';
			logWrapper.error(errorMessage);
			return {
				success: false,
				error: { code: 'INPUT_VALIDATION_ERROR', message: errorMessage }
			};
		}

		// Parse taskId - handle numeric, alphanumeric, and subtask IDs
		let taskId;
		if (typeof id === 'string') {
			// Keep ID as string - supports numeric (1, 2), alphanumeric (TAS-49, JIRA-123), and subtask IDs (1.2, TAS-49.1)

View on GitHub (pinned to c0c98d367c)

Solutions

1. Pass the task ID explicitly, e.g. { id: '5', prompt: 'Update notes' } (also accepts '5.2' style for subtasks via the same path).
2. Ensure your MCP client schema marks id as required so the model/transport always includes it.
3. Confirm the id variable is populated at the call site (log arguments before invoking).

Example fix

// before
await updateTask({ prompt: 'New details' });
// after
await updateTask({ id: '5', prompt: 'New details' });

if (typeof id !== 'string' && typeof id !== 'number') throw new Error('task id is required');
if (String(id).trim() === '') throw new Error('task id cannot be empty');

function hasTaskId(a) { return a.id !== null && a.id !== undefined && String(a.id).trim().length > 0; }

When it happens

Trigger: Calling the update-task-by-id MCP tool without the id argument, id: null/undefined, or an empty string; a client-side argument builder that omits falsy values.

Common situations: Agents composing tool calls dynamically and dropping the id field; clients filtering arguments against an outdated schema where id was assumed optional.

Understand the failure class

Background: Missing required parameter errors: what 'X is required' and 'the required X param is missing' mean, and how to fix them — this error's family across 27 libraries.

Related errors

• MISSING_ARGUMENT
• INPUT_VALIDATION_ERROR
• MISSING_ARGUMENT
• INPUT_VALIDATION_ERROR
• MISSING_ARGUMENT

AI-assisted analysis of eyaltoledano/claude-task-master@c0c98d367c (2026-08-29). Data as JSON: /api/errors/4f74e7022b406610. Report an issue: GitHub.