Task Manager MCP Server

A production-ready Task Manager server built with the Model Context Protocol (MCP), enabling AI assistants to manage tasks through a standardized interface. Built with TypeScript, Zod validation, and the official MCP SDK.

Features

• ✅ 8 Comprehensive Tools: Create, list, update, delete, complete, search tasks, get statistics, and clear completed tasks

• 🔐 Type-Safe: Built with TypeScript and runtime validation using Zod

• 📦 Portable: Uses only official MCP SDK - no vendor lock-in

• 🐳 Dockerized: Ready for containerized deployment

• 💾 Persistent Storage: File-based JSON storage with environment-aware configuration

• 🔍 Advanced Filtering: Filter tasks by status, priority, and category

• 📊 Statistics & Analytics: Track task completion rates, overdue items, and more

• 🎯 Production Ready: Comprehensive error handling and validation

Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+

• npm 9+

Installation

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/aafsar/task-manager-mcp-server.git
cd task-manager-mcp-server

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Build the project
npm run build

# Run the server
npm start

Development Mode

# Run with hot reload
npm run dev

Available Tools

1. create_task

Create a new task with optional metadata.

Parameters:

• title (string, required): Task title

• description (string, optional): Detailed description

• priority (enum, optional): "low", "medium", or "high" (default: "medium")

• category (string, optional): Task category (e.g., "work", "personal")

• dueDate (string, optional): Due date in YYYY-MM-DD format

Example:

{
  "title": "Review pull requests",
  "description": "Review open PRs for the API project",
  "priority": "high",
  "category": "work",
  "dueDate": "2025-10-05"
}

2. list_tasks

List tasks with optional filters.

Parameters:

• status (enum, optional): "pending", "in_progress", "completed", or "all" (default: "all")

• priority (enum, optional): "low", "medium", "high", or "all" (default: "all")

• category (string, optional): Filter by specific category

Example:

{
  "status": "pending",
  "priority": "high"
}

3. update_task

Update any field of an existing task.

Parameters:

• taskId (string, required): Task ID (minimum 8 characters)

• title (string, optional): New title

• description (string, optional): New description

• priority (enum, optional): New priority

• category (string, optional): New category

• dueDate (string, optional): New due date

• status (enum, optional): New status

Example:

{
  "taskId": "a1b2c3d4",
  "status": "in_progress",
  "priority": "high"
}

4. complete_task

Mark a task as completed.

Parameters:

• taskId (string, required): Task ID (minimum 8 characters)

5. delete_task

Delete a task permanently.

Parameters:

• taskId (string, required): Task ID (minimum 8 characters)

6. search_tasks

Search tasks by title or description.

Parameters:

• query (string, required): Search query

Example:

{
  "query": "review"
}

7. get_task_stats

Get comprehensive statistics about all tasks.

Returns:

• Total task count

• Completion rate

• Status breakdown (pending/in progress/completed)

• Priority breakdown (high/medium/low)

• Category distribution

• Overdue task count

• Tasks due within 7 days

8. clear_completed

Remove all completed tasks from storage.

Claude Desktop Integration

Configuration

1. Locate your Claude Desktop config file:

   • macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

   • Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

2. Add the server configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "task-manager": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": [
        "/absolute/path/to/task-manager-mcp-server/dist/index.js"
      ]
    }
  }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop completely

4. Look for the hammer icon (🔨) in the input box

5. Test with: "Create a high priority task called 'Test MCP Integration'"

Testing with MCP Inspector

The MCP Inspector provides a web-based interface for testing tools:

# Launch the inspector
npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector dist/index.js

This will open a browser window where you can:

• View all available tools

• Test tool execution interactively

• Inspect request/response data

• Debug errors

Docker Deployment

Build and Run with Docker

# Build the image
docker build -t task-manager-mcp .

# Run the container
docker run -it task-manager-mcp

Using Docker Compose

# Start the service
docker-compose up -d

# View logs
docker-compose logs -f

# Stop the service
docker-compose down

Persist Data with Docker

Data is automatically persisted to a Docker volume. To back up your tasks:

# Export tasks
docker cp task-manager-mcp:/app/data/tasks.json ./backup-tasks.json

# Import tasks
docker cp ./backup-tasks.json task-manager-mcp:/app/data/tasks.json

Environment Variables

Configure the server using environment variables:

# Data storage directory (default: ./data)
DATA_DIR=/custom/path/to/data

# Log level
LOG_LEVEL=info

# Node environment
NODE_ENV=production

Create a .env file in the project root:

cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env with your values

Cloud Deployment Options

Railway

# Install Railway CLI
npm install -g @railway/cli

# Login
railway login

# Initialize project
railway init

# Deploy
railway up

Render

1. Connect your GitHub repository

2. Create a new Web Service

3. Set build command: npm install && npm run build

4. Set start command: npm start

5. Deploy

Fly.io

# Install flyctl
curl -L https://fly.io/install.sh | sh

# Login
flyctl auth login

# Launch app
flyctl launch

# Deploy
flyctl deploy

Project Structure

task-manager-mcp-server/
├── src/
│   ├── index.ts       # Main MCP server and request handlers
│   ├── types.ts       # TypeScript interfaces and Zod schemas
│   ├── storage.ts     # File-based storage module
│   └── tools.ts       # Tool implementation functions
├── dist/              # Compiled JavaScript (generated)
├── data/              # Task storage (JSON files, git-ignored)
├── Dockerfile         # Docker configuration
├── docker-compose.yml # Docker Compose setup
├── package.json       # Dependencies and scripts
├── tsconfig.json      # TypeScript configuration
└── README.md          # This file

Development

Scripts

npm run build      # Compile TypeScript to JavaScript
npm run dev        # Development mode with hot reload
npm run typecheck  # Type check without building
npm run clean      # Remove build artifacts
npm start          # Run production build

Type Safety

The project uses strict TypeScript settings and Zod for runtime validation:

• Compile-time safety: TypeScript catches type errors during development

• Runtime validation: Zod validates all tool inputs at runtime

• Dual schema approach: JSON Schema for MCP protocol, Zod for validation

Adding New Tools

1. Define Zod schema in src/types.ts

2. Implement handler function in src/tools.ts

3. Add tool definition to TOOLS array in src/index.ts

4. Add case handler in tools/call switch statement

5. Rebuild and test with MCP Inspector

Troubleshooting

"Cannot find module" errors

Ensure all imports use .js extension (even for .ts files):

import { Task } from "./types.js";  // ✅ Correct
import { Task } from "./types";     // ❌ Wrong

Tasks not persisting

1. Check DATA_DIR environment variable

2. Verify write permissions on data directory

3. Check for errors in server logs

TypeScript compilation errors

# Run type checker to identify issues
npm run typecheck

# Common fix: ensure strict types are used
# Check tsconfig.json module settings

MCP Inspector not connecting

1. Ensure server builds successfully: npm run build

2. Check Node.js version (must be 18+)

3. Verify no port conflicts

4. Check firewall settings

Claude Desktop not showing tools

1. Verify JSON syntax in config file

2. Use absolute paths in configuration

3. Restart Claude Desktop completely (Cmd+R / Ctrl+R not sufficient)

4. Check server logs for errors

Resources

• MCP Documentation

• MCP SDK GitHub

• Claude Desktop

• Zod Documentation

License

MIT

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

Support

For issues and questions:

• GitHub Issues: https://github.com/aafsar/task-manager-mcp-server/issues

• MCP Discord: https://discord.gg/modelcontextprotocol