eyaltoledano/claude-task-master · error

Invalid tasks data in ${tasksPath}

Error message

Invalid tasks data in ${tasksPath}

What it means

expandTask() loads the tasks file and, before doing anything else, validates that readJSON returned an object with a tasks array. If the file is missing, unparseable, or lacks tasks, it throws this error naming the path, mirroring the same check as expand-all-tasks.

Source

Thrown at scripts/modules/task-manager/expand-task.js:99

			projectRoot,
			tag,
			isMCP,
			outputFormat,
			report
		});

		// If remote handled it, return the result
		if (remoteResult) {
			return remoteResult;
		}
		// Otherwise fall through to file-based logic below
		// --- End BRIDGE ---

		// --- Task Loading/Filtering (Unchanged) ---
		logger.info(`Reading tasks from ${tasksPath}`);
		const data = readJSON(tasksPath, projectRoot, tag);
		if (!data || !data.tasks)
			throw new Error(`Invalid tasks data in ${tasksPath}`);
		const taskIndex = data.tasks.findIndex(
			(t) => t.id === parseInt(taskId, 10)
		);
		if (taskIndex === -1) throw new Error(`Task ${taskId} not found`);
		const task = data.tasks[taskIndex];
		logger.info(
			`Expanding task ${taskId}: ${task.title}${useResearch ? ' with research' : ''}`
		);
		// --- End Task Loading/Filtering ---

		// --- Handle Force Flag: Clear existing subtasks if force=true ---
		if (force && Array.isArray(task.subtasks) && task.subtasks.length > 0) {
			logger.info(
				`Force flag set. Clearing existing ${task.subtasks.length} subtasks for task ${taskId}.`
			);
			task.subtasks = []; // Clear existing subtasks
		}
		// --- End Force Flag Handling ---

View on GitHub (pinned to c0c98d367c)

Solutions

1. Open the tasks file at the path in the message and fix any JSON syntax errors.
2. Ensure you are running in the correct project root / tag so the correct tasks file is resolved.
3. If the file is unrecoverable, regenerate it (parse-prd or init) and re-run expansion.

Example fix

// before
$ cat .taskmaster/tasks/tasks.json
{ "tasks": [ ... "truncated invalid json"
// after
$ task-master parse-prd prd.txt   # regenerate valid tasks.json, then retry expand

const data = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(tasksPath, 'utf8'));
if (!Array.isArray(data.tasks)) throw new Error(`${tasksPath} has no tasks array`);

function isTasksData(v) {
  return !!v && typeof v === 'object' && Array.isArray(v.tasks);
}

try {
  await expandTask(taskId, context);
} catch (err) {
  if (err.message.startsWith('Invalid tasks data in')) {
    console.error(`Repair or regenerate ${tasksPath}, then retry.`);
  } else throw err;
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling expandTask(taskId) when the tasks file at tasksPath cannot be read or parsed (readJSON → null), or its top-level JSON has no tasks field.

Common situations: Corrupted tasks.json after a failed write or merge conflict; running from a different project root so the resolved path points to a nonexistent file; wrong active tag resolving to an empty/absent per-tag file.

Related errors

• Invalid tasks data in ${tasksPath}
• No tasks found in the tasks file
• No valid tasks found in ${tasksPath}
• MFA_VERIFICATION_FAILED
• Failed to initialize services: ${(error as Error).message}

AI-assisted analysis of eyaltoledano/claude-task-master@c0c98d367c (2026-08-29). Data as JSON: /api/errors/4e45a37a3068f8f5. Report an issue: GitHub.