# MCP Task Orchestrator (MCP server)

> MCP Task Orchestrator is an MCP server that adds developer tools to AI assistants such as Claude Desktop, Claude Code and Cursor. It has 207 GitHub stars, is released under the MIT license and runs locally with docker run -i --rm -e DATABASE_PATH -e USE_FLYWAY -e AGENT_CONFIG_DIR -e MCP_TRANSPORT -e MCP_HTTP_PORT -e LOG_LEVEL ghcr.io/jpicklyk/task-orchestrator:3.16.0.

Server-enforced workflow discipline for AI agents. Prompt-based frameworks hope the LLM follows instructions. This one blocks the call if it doesn't.

## Key facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Repository | https://github.com/jpicklyk/task-orchestrator |
| GitHub stars | 207 |
| License | MIT |
| Language | Kotlin |
| Transport | stdio |
| Packages | docker: ghcr.io/jpicklyk/task-orchestrator:3.16.0 |
| Remote URL | none |
| Needs API key | no |
| Official | no |
| Works with | Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code |
| Category | Developer tools |
| Latest release | v3.16.0 (Oct 2, 2026) |
| Last commit | Oct 6, 2026 |
| MCP registry name | io.github.jpicklyk/task-orchestrator |

## Install

### Claude Desktop (claude_desktop_config.json)

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-task-orchestrator": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "-i",
        "--rm",
        "-e",
        "DATABASE_PATH",
        "-e",
        "USE_FLYWAY",
        "-e",
        "AGENT_CONFIG_DIR",
        "-e",
        "MCP_TRANSPORT",
        "-e",
        "MCP_HTTP_PORT",
        "-e",
        "LOG_LEVEL",
        "ghcr.io/jpicklyk/task-orchestrator:3.16.0"
      ],
      "env": {
        "DATABASE_PATH": "your-value",
        "USE_FLYWAY": "your-value",
        "AGENT_CONFIG_DIR": "your-value",
        "MCP_TRANSPORT": "your-value",
        "MCP_HTTP_PORT": "your-value",
        "LOG_LEVEL": "your-value"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

Settings > Developer > Edit Config. macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/, Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\. Restart Claude Desktop afterwards.

### Claude Code

```sh
claude mcp add --env DATABASE_PATH=your-value --env USE_FLYWAY=your-value --env AGENT_CONFIG_DIR=your-value --env MCP_TRANSPORT=your-value --env MCP_HTTP_PORT=your-value --env LOG_LEVEL=your-value --transport stdio mcp-task-orchestrator -- docker run -i --rm -e DATABASE_PATH -e USE_FLYWAY -e AGENT_CONFIG_DIR -e MCP_TRANSPORT -e MCP_HTTP_PORT -e LOG_LEVEL ghcr.io/jpicklyk/task-orchestrator:3.16.0
```

### Cursor (.cursor/mcp.json)

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-task-orchestrator": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "-i",
        "--rm",
        "-e",
        "DATABASE_PATH",
        "-e",
        "USE_FLYWAY",
        "-e",
        "AGENT_CONFIG_DIR",
        "-e",
        "MCP_TRANSPORT",
        "-e",
        "MCP_HTTP_PORT",
        "-e",
        "LOG_LEVEL",
        "ghcr.io/jpicklyk/task-orchestrator:3.16.0"
      ],
      "env": {
        "DATABASE_PATH": "your-value",
        "USE_FLYWAY": "your-value",
        "AGENT_CONFIG_DIR": "your-value",
        "MCP_TRANSPORT": "your-value",
        "MCP_HTTP_PORT": "your-value",
        "LOG_LEVEL": "your-value"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

Project file; use ~/.cursor/mcp.json to enable it in every project.

### VS Code (.vscode/mcp.json)

```json
{
  "servers": {
    "mcp-task-orchestrator": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "-i",
        "--rm",
        "-e",
        "DATABASE_PATH",
        "-e",
        "USE_FLYWAY",
        "-e",
        "AGENT_CONFIG_DIR",
        "-e",
        "MCP_TRANSPORT",
        "-e",
        "MCP_HTTP_PORT",
        "-e",
        "LOG_LEVEL",
        "ghcr.io/jpicklyk/task-orchestrator:3.16.0"
      ],
      "env": {
        "DATABASE_PATH": "your-value",
        "USE_FLYWAY": "your-value",
        "AGENT_CONFIG_DIR": "your-value",
        "MCP_TRANSPORT": "your-value",
        "MCP_HTTP_PORT": "your-value",
        "LOG_LEVEL": "your-value"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

Config formats checked against the official docs on 2026-10-07.

## Environment variables

- `DATABASE_PATH`: SQLite database file path (default: data/current-tasks.db)
- `USE_FLYWAY`: Enable Flyway database migrations (default: true)
- `AGENT_CONFIG_DIR`: Directory containing .taskorchestrator/config.yaml for workflow schemas (default: working dir)
- `MCP_TRANSPORT`: Transport mode: stdio (default) or http
- `MCP_HTTP_PORT`: HTTP port when using http transport (default: 3001)
- `LOG_LEVEL`: Logging level: DEBUG, INFO, WARN, ERROR (default: INFO)
- `LOG_FILE`: Optional log file path. Unset (default) disables file logging; logs are always JSON on stderr.

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---

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