eyaltoledano/claude-task-master · error

MISSING_ARGUMENT

MISSING_ARGUMENT

Error message

tasksJsonPath is required

What it means

useTagDirect is the MCP direct-function wrapper for switching the active task tag. Before doing any work it requires the absolute path to the tasks.json file; if the caller omits tasksJsonPath it fails fast with MISSING_ARGUMENT so no tag operations run against an unknown file.

Source

Thrown at mcp-server/src/core/direct-functions/use-tag.js:43

	// Destructure expected args
	const { tasksJsonPath, name, projectRoot } = args;
	const { session } = context;

	// Enable silent mode to prevent console logs from interfering with JSON response
	enableSilentMode();

	// Create logger wrapper using the utility
	const mcpLog = createLogWrapper(log);

	try {
		// Check if tasksJsonPath was provided
		if (!tasksJsonPath) {
			log.error('useTagDirect called without tasksJsonPath');
			disableSilentMode();
			return {
				success: false,
				error: {
					code: 'MISSING_ARGUMENT',
					message: 'tasksJsonPath is required'
				}
			};
		}

		// Check required parameters
		if (!name || typeof name !== 'string') {
			log.error('Missing required parameter: name');
			disableSilentMode();
			return {
				success: false,
				error: {
					code: 'MISSING_PARAMETER',
					message: 'Tag name is required and must be a string'
				}
			};
		}

View on GitHub (pinned to c0c98d367c)

Solutions

1. Pass tasksJsonPath (absolute path to tasks.json) in the tool call arguments
2. In the MCP tool registration, default tasksJsonPath from the project root if the client omits it
3. Log the received arguments at the tool layer to confirm which parameter name the client is actually sending

Example fix

// before
await useTagDirect({ name: 'feature' });
// after
await useTagDirect({ name: 'feature', tasksJsonPath: '/path/to/project/.taskmaster/tasks.json' });

function assertTasksJsonPath(args) {
  if (!args?.tasksJsonPath || typeof args.tasksJsonPath !== 'string') {
    throw new Error('tasksJsonPath is required (absolute path to tasks.json)');
  }
}

function hasTasksJsonPath(a): a is { tasksJsonPath: string } & Record<string, unknown> {
  return typeof a === 'object' && a !== null && typeof (a as any).tasksJsonPath === 'string' && (a as any).tasksJsonPath.length > 0;
}

try {
  const res = await useTagDirect(args);
  if (!res.success && res.error?.code === 'MISSING_ARGUMENT') {
    // resolve and retry with explicit path
  }
} catch (e) { /* handle */ }

When it happens

Trigger: Calling the use-tag MCP tool (or useTagDirect directly) without a tasksJsonPath argument, e.g. the tool handler forgot to resolve the workspace root into a tasks.json path before invoking this function.

Common situations: MCP client omits the optional-looking argument; a tool registration passes args through without defaulting tasksJsonPath from the session/project root; automated scripts calling the direct function API with only a tag name.

Understand the failure class

Background: "missing required argument" and "the following required arguments were not provided": what required-argument errors mean and how to fix them — this error's family across 20 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/281a0bdcb44726c5. Report an issue: GitHub.