eyaltoledano/claude-task-master · error

MISSING_ARGUMENT

MISSING_ARGUMENT

Error message

tasksJsonPath is required

What it means

validateDependenciesDirect is the MCP wrapper that checks a tasks.json file for dependency cycles and issues. It requires tasksJsonPath to know which file to validate; without it, it returns MISSING_ARGUMENT before attempting any file access.

Source

Thrown at mcp-server/src/core/direct-functions/validate-dependencies.js:30

/**
 * Validate dependencies in tasks.json
 * @param {Object} args - Function arguments
 * @param {string} args.tasksJsonPath - Explicit path to the tasks.json file.
 * @param {string} args.projectRoot - Project root path (for MCP/env fallback)
 * @param {string} args.tag - Tag for the task (optional)
 * @param {Object} log - Logger object
 * @returns {Promise<{success: boolean, data?: Object, error?: {code: string, message: string}}>}
 */
export async function validateDependenciesDirect(args, log) {
	// Destructure the explicit tasksJsonPath
	const { tasksJsonPath, projectRoot, tag } = args;

	if (!tasksJsonPath) {
		log.error('validateDependenciesDirect called without tasksJsonPath');
		return {
			success: false,
			error: {
				code: 'MISSING_ARGUMENT',
				message: 'tasksJsonPath is required'
			}
		};
	}

	try {
		log.info(`Validating dependencies in tasks: ${tasksJsonPath}`);

		// Use the provided tasksJsonPath
		const tasksPath = tasksJsonPath;

		// Verify the file exists
		if (!fs.existsSync(tasksPath)) {
			return {
				success: false,
				error: {
					code: 'FILE_NOT_FOUND',
					message: `Tasks file not found at ${tasksPath}`

View on GitHub (pinned to c0c98d367c)

Solutions

1. Pass tasksJsonPath (absolute path to tasks.json) in the arguments
2. Default the path from the project root in the tool handler when absent
3. Verify the argument key spelling matches the tool schema (tasksJsonPath, not tasksPath)

Example fix

// before
await validateDependenciesDirect({});
// after
await validateDependenciesDirect({ tasksJsonPath: '/project/.taskmaster/tasks.json' });

function assertValidateArgs(args) {
  if (!args?.tasksJsonPath || typeof args.tasksJsonPath !== 'string') {
    throw new Error('tasksJsonPath is required to validate dependencies');
  }
}

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

const res = await validateDependenciesDirect(args); // returns structured error, never throws
if (!res.success) {
  if (res.error?.code === 'MISSING_ARGUMENT') { /* supply tasksJsonPath */ }
}

When it happens

Trigger: Invoking the validate-dependencies MCP tool without tasksJsonPath, e.g. tool handler does not resolve the project's tasks.json path or client drops the argument.

Common situations: MCP client config not pointing at the workspace; custom scripts calling the direct function with only options like fix=true; refactor renamed the parameter so old callers pass the wrong key.

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/30da0792c4905d8b. Report an issue: GitHub.