eyaltoledano/claude-task-master · error

MISSING_ARGUMENT

MISSING_ARGUMENT

Error message

tasksJsonPath is required

What it means

addDependencyDirect is the MCP direct-function wrapper around the add-dependency core function. It requires the resolved filesystem path to the tasks.json file (tasksJsonPath) to operate. When the argument is missing or empty it returns a structured failure object (not a thrown exception) with code MISSING_ARGUMENT, after logging the misuse.

Source

Thrown at mcp-server/src/core/direct-functions/add-dependency.js:36

 * @param {string|number} args.dependsOn - Task ID that will become a dependency
 * @param {string} args.tag - Tag for the task (optional)
 * @param {string} args.projectRoot - Project root path (for MCP/env fallback)
 * @param {Object} log - Logger object
 * @returns {Promise<Object>} - Result object with success status and data/error information
 */
export async function addDependencyDirect(args, log) {
	// Destructure expected args
	const { tasksJsonPath, id, dependsOn, tag, projectRoot } = args;
	try {
		log.info(`Adding dependency with args: ${JSON.stringify(args)}`);

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

		// Validate required parameters
		if (!id) {
			return {
				success: false,
				error: {
					code: 'INPUT_VALIDATION_ERROR',
					message: 'Task ID (id) is required'
				}
			};
		}

		if (!dependsOn) {
			return {

View on GitHub (pinned to c0c98d367c)

Solutions

1. Pass an absolute or project-relative tasksJsonPath argument pointing at your tasks.json file.
2. Run the call from (or configure the MCP server with) the project directory that contains tasks.json.
3. Check the tool's input schema in your MCP client so the parameter is required and populated.
4. Verify the resolved path variable upstream isn't undefined due to a failed path-resolution helper.

Example fix

// before
await addDependencyDirect({ id: '3', dependsOn: '1' });
// after
await addDependencyDirect({
  id: '3',
  dependsOn: '1',
  tasksJsonPath: '/path/to/project/tasks.json'
});

function assertTasksJsonPath(args) {
  if (!args || typeof args.tasksJsonPath !== 'string' || args.tasksJsonPath.trim() === '') {
    throw new Error('tasksJsonPath is required');
  }
  if (!fs.existsSync(args.tasksJsonPath)) {
    throw new Error(`tasksJsonPath does not exist: ${args.tasksJsonPath}`);
  }
}

function hasTasksJsonPath(args) {
  return typeof args?.tasksJsonPath === 'string' && args.tasksJsonPath.length > 0;
}

if (!hasTasksJsonPath(args)) {
  return { success: false, error: { code: 'MISSING_ARGUMENT', message: 'tasksJsonPath is required' } };
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling the add_dependency MCP tool without passing tasksJsonPath in the tool arguments; the MCP client/config omitting the project-root-to-tasks.json mapping so the resolver yields undefined; passing an empty string path.

Common situations: MCP tool invocations from AI clients that drop optional-looking parameters; multi-project setups where the tool is called outside a directory containing tasks.json and no explicit path is supplied; renamed or moved tasks.json without updating the wrapper's path resolution.

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
• INPUT_VALIDATION_ERROR
• MISSING_ARGUMENT
• INVALID_TARGET_DIRECTORY

AI-assisted analysis of eyaltoledano/claude-task-master@c0c98d367c (2026-08-29). Data as JSON: /api/errors/1aba5dbe797a60db. Report an issue: GitHub.