eyaltoledano/claude-task-master · error

Invalid iterations: ${iterations}. Must be a positive intege

Error message

Invalid iterations: ${iterations}. Must be a positive integer.

What it means

When the task ID contains a dot (subtask form like '1.2'), updateSingleTaskStatus parses the parent ID and looks it up in data.tasks; it throws if no task with that numeric parent ID exists. The subtask update cannot proceed without its parent.

Source

Thrown at apps/cli/src/commands/loop.command.ts:176

		console.log(
			chalk.yellow(
				'Sandbox needs authentication. Starting interactive session...'
			)
		);
		console.log(chalk.dim('Please complete auth, then Ctrl+C to continue.\n'));

		const authResult = this.tmCore.loop.runInteractiveAuth();
		if (!authResult.success) {
			throw new Error(authResult.error || 'Interactive authentication failed');
		}
		console.log(chalk.green('✓ Auth complete\n'));
	}

	private validateIterations(iterations: string): void {
		const parsed = Number(iterations);
		if (!Number.isInteger(parsed) || parsed < 1) {
			throw new Error(
				`Invalid iterations: ${iterations}. Must be a positive integer.`
			);
		}
	}

	private createOutputCallbacks(): LoopOutputCallbacks {
		return {
			onIterationStart: (iteration: number, total: number) => {
				console.log();
				console.log(chalk.cyan(`━━━ Iteration ${iteration} of ${total} ━━━`));
			},
			onText: (text: string) => {
				console.log(text);
			},
			onToolUse: (toolName: string) => {
				console.log(chalk.dim(`  → ${toolName}`));
			},
			onError: (message: string, severity?: 'warning' | 'error') => {

View on GitHub (pinned to c0c98d367c)

Solutions

1. Verify the parent task ID exists (`task-master list`) and correct the ID
2. Ensure the same tag context is used for viewing and updating (use --tag)
3. Regenerate/refresh task data if the parent was removed (parse-prd / regenerate)

Example fix

// before
await setTaskStatus(tasksPath, '12.3', 'done'); // task 12 doesn't exist
// after
const tasks = await getTasks(tasksPath);
if (!tasks.some(t => t.id === 12)) throw new Error('Task 12 missing');
await setTaskStatus(tasksPath, '12.3', 'done');

const [parentStr] = taskId.split('.');
const parentId = parseInt(parentStr, 10);
const tasks = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(tasksPath, 'utf8')).tasks;
if (!tasks.some(t => t.id === parentId)) {
  throw new Error(`Parent task ${parentId} not found; run 'task-master list' for valid IDs`);
}

try {
  await setTaskStatus(tasksPath, '7.1', 'done');
} catch (e) {
  if (/Parent task \d+ not found/.test(e.message)) {
    throw new Error('Stale subtask ID: refresh with task-master list / re-parse PRD');
  }
  throw e;
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling setTaskStatus/updateSingleTaskStatus with an ID like '7.1' where task 7 doesn't exist in the (tag-filtered) data.tasks array — often because the tasks were viewed under a different tag or the parent was deleted/renumbered.

Common situations: Stale IDs after tasks were regenerated or pruned; querying a different tag context than the data was loaded with; typos in the parent portion of the subtask ID.

Related errors

• Invalid format: ${options.format}. Valid formats are: text,
• Invalid subtask ID format: ${subtaskId}. Expected format: pa
• Invalid subtask ID: ${subId}. Subtask ID must be a positive
• Cannot make a task a subtask of itself
• PARENT_TASK_NOT_FOUND

AI-assisted analysis of eyaltoledano/claude-task-master@c0c98d367c (2026-08-29). Data as JSON: /api/errors/c602ee23576fc0f9. Report an issue: GitHub.