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Automating PR-Based Development with Claude Task Master

#ai #automation #claude #cli

Automating PR-Based Development with Claude Task Master

Claude Task Master (claudetm) is a command-line tool that keeps Claude working until a specified goal is achieved. It is built on the Claude Agent SDK and follows a fully PR-based workflow. This article explains how the tool orchestrates planning, execution, CI handling, and verification, and how it can be extended through its REST API and webhook system.

Core Workflow

The tool operates through a clear sequence of stages:

  1. Planning - The CLI scans the codebase, creates a task list, and defines success criteria. The plan is stored so that it can be resumed after an interruption.
  2. Working - For each task, Claude makes code changes, runs tests, commits, and pushes to a new branch.
  3. PR Lifecycle - A pull request is opened for each branch. The CLI monitors CI checks, fixes failures automatically, and addresses review comments.
  4. Verification - After CI passes, the tool runs additional verification steps such as linting and custom tests to ensure all success criteria are met.
  5. Merge - When the pull request is approved, claudetm can auto-merge it based on configuration.

Each stage is designed to be hands-off, allowing developers to set a goal and let the system handle the details.

State Persistence

A key advantage is the persistence of state between sessions. If a machine restarts or the process is interrupted, claudetm resumes exactly where it left off. This is achieved by storing the current task list, plan, and PR identifiers on disk. No manual re-execution is required.

Profiles for Parallel Execution

Claude Task Master supports multiple isolated profiles. A profile can be an oauth profile that uses a separate Claude Code configuration directory, or an api-key profile that injects a direct Anthropic API key and base URL. This enables teams to run several Claude subscriptions in parallel without credential clashes.

# Example of using a profile
claudetm --profile myteam start "Implement OAuth login flow"
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Extensibility via REST API and Webhooks

Beyond the CLI, the tool exposes a REST API and an MCP server that allow external systems to dispatch tasks and receive updates. Webhooks can be HMAC-signed to provide secure callbacks. This makes it possible to integrate Claude Task Master into CI pipelines, dashboards, or custom bots.

# Dispatch a task via the REST API (curl example)
curl -X POST https://localhost:8000/api/tasks \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"goal":"Add rate limiting middleware"}'
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Installation

Claude Task Master is MIT licensed and can be installed via PyPI, uv, or Docker. The minimum Python version is 3.10.

uv tool install claude-task-master
# or
pip install claude-task-master
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When to Use Claude Task Master

The tool is ideal for teams that already use Claude Code and want to automate the entire PR lifecycle. It works best for well-scoped goals that can be verified against explicit success criteria. Teams running multiple Claude subscriptions benefit from the profile isolation feature.

Conclusion

Claude Task Master provides a robust, autonomous solution for PR-based development. By handling planning, execution, CI failures, review comments, and merging, it frees developers to focus on design and architecture. Its extensible API and profile system make it suitable for a wide range of engineering workflows.

For more details and to contribute, visit the repository: https://github.com/developerz-ai/claude-task-master

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