Tasks

The tasks server gives agents a structured way to decompose work into task trees, dependencies, assignees, status, and handoff metadata.

Configuration

The default in-memory server is session-scoped: tasks are stored in a temporary directory and cleaned up when the server exits.

{
  "servers": {
    "tasks": {
      "type": "in-memory"
    }
  }
}

For persistent task storage, pass --dir. Aether stores JSONL task files under <dir>/.aether-tasks/.

{
  "servers": {
    "tasks": {
      "type": "in-memory",
      "args": ["--dir", "."]
    }
  }
}

Tools

Tool	Description
`task_create`	Create a root task tree or subtask.
`task_get`	Get full details for one task by ID.
`task_list`	List tasks, optionally filtered by assignee, status, tree, or readiness.
`task_update`	Update status, ownership, dependencies, or handoff metadata.

Task IDs

Root tasks: at-a1b2c3d4
Subtasks: at-a1b2c3d4.1, at-a1b2c3d4.2, etc.

Each root task tree is stored in one JSONL file when persistent storage is enabled.

Status values

Status	Meaning
`pending`	Not yet started.
`inProgress`	Currently being worked on.
`completed`	Done.
`blocked`	Not ready to proceed.

in_progress is accepted as an input alias for inProgress.

Examples

Create a root task:

{
  "title": "Refresh website docs",
  "description": "Update public docs from Rust source facts.",
  "assignee": "orchestrator"
}

Create a subtask with a dependency:

{
  "title": "Validate docs build",
  "parentId": "at-a1b2c3d4",
  "assignee": "worker-1",
  "deps": ["at-a1b2c3d4.1"]
}

List ready work:

{
  "readyOnly": true
}

Complete a task and attach handoff context:

{
  "id": "at-a1b2c3d4.1",
  "status": "completed",
  "summary": "Updated MCP configuration docs from source.",
  "facts": ["Tool filters support exact names and trailing * only."],
  "nextSteps": ["Run website checks."],
  "filesRead": ["packages/mcp-utils/src/client/config.rs"]
}

Handoff fields

Field	Purpose
`summary`	Short summary of work done or findings.
`decisions`	Key decisions made.
`facts`	Important facts discovered.
`nextSteps`	Suggested follow-up actions.
`blockers`	Unresolved blockers.
`filesRead`	Files examined.
`resources`	External resources referenced.

Input names

The canonical MCP wire format is camelCase: parentId, treeId, readyOnly, nextSteps, and filesRead. The server also accepts snake_case aliases for several inputs, including parent_id, tree_id, ready_only, next_steps, and files_read.