remove_dependency
Remove task dependencies to simplify workflows in AI-driven development. Specify task IDs and project paths to eliminate unnecessary dependencies, ensuring cleaner task management in the Task Master system.
Instructions
Remove a dependency from a task
Input Schema
TableJSON Schema
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| dependsOn | Yes | Task ID to remove as a dependency | |
| file | No | Absolute path to the tasks file (default: tasks/tasks.json) | |
| id | Yes | Task ID to remove dependency from | |
| projectRoot | Yes | The directory of the project. Must be an absolute path. | |
| tag | No | Tag context to operate on |
Implementation Reference
- MCP tool handler: resolves project tag, locates tasks.json, validates inputs, calls removeDependencyDirect, handles response and logging.
execute: withToolContext('remove-dependency', async (args, context) => { try { const resolvedTag = resolveTag({ projectRoot: args.projectRoot, tag: args.tag }); context.log.info( `Removing dependency for task ${args.id} from ${args.dependsOn} with args: ${JSON.stringify(args)}` ); // Use args.projectRoot directly (guaranteed by withToolContext) let tasksJsonPath; try { tasksJsonPath = findTasksPath( { projectRoot: args.projectRoot, file: args.file }, context.log ); } catch (error) { context.log.error(`Error finding tasks.json: ${error.message}`); return createErrorResponse( `Failed to find tasks.json: ${error.message}` ); } const result = await removeDependencyDirect( { tasksJsonPath: tasksJsonPath, id: args.id, dependsOn: args.dependsOn, projectRoot: args.projectRoot, tag: resolvedTag }, context.log ); if (result.success) { context.log.info( `Successfully removed dependency: ${result.data.message}` ); } else { context.log.error( `Failed to remove dependency: ${result.error.message}` ); } return handleApiResult({ result, log: context.log, errorPrefix: 'Error removing dependency', projectRoot: args.projectRoot }); } catch (error) { context.log.error(`Error in removeDependency tool: ${error.message}`); return createErrorResponse(error.message); } }) - Input schema definition using Zod for the remove_dependency tool parameters.
name: 'remove_dependency', description: 'Remove a dependency from a task', parameters: z.object({ id: z.string().describe('Task ID to remove dependency from'), dependsOn: z.string().describe('Task ID to remove as a dependency'), file: z .string() .optional() .describe( 'Absolute path to the tasks file (default: tasks/tasks.json)' ), projectRoot: z .string() .describe('The directory of the project. Must be an absolute path.'), tag: z.string().optional().describe('Tag context to operate on') }), - mcp-server/src/tools/remove-dependency.js:16-91 (registration)Registration function that adds the remove_dependency tool to the MCP server.
export function registerRemoveDependencyTool(server) { server.addTool({ name: 'remove_dependency', description: 'Remove a dependency from a task', parameters: z.object({ id: z.string().describe('Task ID to remove dependency from'), dependsOn: z.string().describe('Task ID to remove as a dependency'), file: z .string() .optional() .describe( 'Absolute path to the tasks file (default: tasks/tasks.json)' ), projectRoot: z .string() .describe('The directory of the project. Must be an absolute path.'), tag: z.string().optional().describe('Tag context to operate on') }), execute: withToolContext('remove-dependency', async (args, context) => { try { const resolvedTag = resolveTag({ projectRoot: args.projectRoot, tag: args.tag }); context.log.info( `Removing dependency for task ${args.id} from ${args.dependsOn} with args: ${JSON.stringify(args)}` ); // Use args.projectRoot directly (guaranteed by withToolContext) let tasksJsonPath; try { tasksJsonPath = findTasksPath( { projectRoot: args.projectRoot, file: args.file }, context.log ); } catch (error) { context.log.error(`Error finding tasks.json: ${error.message}`); return createErrorResponse( `Failed to find tasks.json: ${error.message}` ); } const result = await removeDependencyDirect( { tasksJsonPath: tasksJsonPath, id: args.id, dependsOn: args.dependsOn, projectRoot: args.projectRoot, tag: resolvedTag }, context.log ); if (result.success) { context.log.info( `Successfully removed dependency: ${result.data.message}` ); } else { context.log.error( `Failed to remove dependency: ${result.error.message}` ); } return handleApiResult({ result, log: context.log, errorPrefix: 'Error removing dependency', projectRoot: args.projectRoot }); } catch (error) { context.log.error(`Error in removeDependency tool: ${error.message}`); return createErrorResponse(error.message); } }) }); } - mcp-server/src/tools/tool-registry.js:85-85 (registration)Central tool registry mapping 'remove_dependency' to its registration function.
remove_dependency: registerRemoveDependencyTool, - Core helper function that performs the actual dependency removal logic on tasks.json: locates task/subtask, removes specific dependency from array, persists changes.
async function removeDependency(tasksPath, taskId, dependencyId, context = {}) { log('info', `Removing dependency ${dependencyId} from task ${taskId}...`); // Read tasks file const data = readJSON(tasksPath, context.projectRoot, context.tag); if (!data || !data.tasks) { log('error', 'No valid tasks found.'); process.exit(1); } // Format the task and dependency IDs correctly const formattedTaskId = typeof taskId === 'string' && taskId.includes('.') ? taskId : parseInt(taskId, 10); const formattedDependencyId = formatTaskId(dependencyId); // Find the task to update let targetTask = null; let isSubtask = false; if (typeof formattedTaskId === 'string' && formattedTaskId.includes('.')) { // Handle dot notation for subtasks (e.g., "1.2") const [parentId, subtaskId] = formattedTaskId .split('.') .map((id) => parseInt(id, 10)); const parentTask = data.tasks.find((t) => t.id === parentId); if (!parentTask) { log('error', `Parent task ${parentId} not found.`); process.exit(1); } if (!parentTask.subtasks) { log('error', `Parent task ${parentId} has no subtasks.`); process.exit(1); } targetTask = parentTask.subtasks.find((s) => s.id === subtaskId); isSubtask = true; if (!targetTask) { log('error', `Subtask ${formattedTaskId} not found.`); process.exit(1); } } else { // Regular task (not a subtask) targetTask = data.tasks.find((t) => t.id === formattedTaskId); if (!targetTask) { log('error', `Task ${formattedTaskId} not found.`); process.exit(1); } } // Check if the task has any dependencies if (!targetTask.dependencies || targetTask.dependencies.length === 0) { log( 'info', `Task ${formattedTaskId} has no dependencies, nothing to remove.` ); return; } // Normalize the dependency ID for comparison to handle different formats const normalizedDependencyId = String(formattedDependencyId); // Check if the dependency exists by comparing string representations const dependencyIndex = targetTask.dependencies.findIndex((dep) => { // Direct string comparison (handles both numeric IDs and dot notation) const depStr = String(dep); if (depStr === normalizedDependencyId) { return true; } // For subtasks: handle numeric dependencies that might be references to other subtasks // in the same parent (e.g., subtask 1.2 depending on subtask 1.1 stored as just "1") if (typeof dep === 'number' && dep < 100 && isSubtask) { const [parentId] = formattedTaskId.split('.'); const fullSubtaskRef = `${parentId}.${dep}`; if (fullSubtaskRef === normalizedDependencyId) { return true; } } return false; }); if (dependencyIndex === -1) { log( 'info', `Task ${formattedTaskId} does not depend on ${formattedDependencyId}, no changes made.` ); return; } // Remove the dependency targetTask.dependencies.splice(dependencyIndex, 1); // Save the updated tasks writeJSON(tasksPath, data, context.projectRoot, context.tag); // Success message log( 'success', `Removed dependency: Task ${formattedTaskId} no longer depends on ${formattedDependencyId}` ); if (!isSilentMode()) { // Display a more visually appealing success message console.log( boxen( chalk.green(`Successfully removed dependency:\n\n`) + `Task ${chalk.bold(formattedTaskId)} no longer depends on ${chalk.bold(formattedDependencyId)}`, { padding: 1, borderColor: 'green', borderStyle: 'round', margin: { top: 1 } } ) ); } // Regenerate task files // await generateTaskFiles(tasksPath, path.dirname(tasksPath)); }