TaskMaster: AI Project Manager & Task Delegation

Transform complex projects into managed workflows with smart model selection and sub-agent orchestration.

Core Capabilities

🎯 Smart Task Triage - Analyze complexity → assign appropriate model (Haiku/Sonnet/Opus) - Break large projects into smaller, manageable tasks - Prevent over-engineering (don't use Opus for simple web searches)

🤖 Sub-Agent Orchestration - Spawn isolated sub-agents with specific model constraints - Run tasks in parallel for faster completion - Consolidate results into coherent deliverables

💰 Budget Management - Track token costs per task and total project - Set budget limits to prevent runaway spending - Optimize model selection for cost-efficiency

📊 Progress Tracking - Real-time status of all active tasks - Failed task retry with escalation - Final deliverable compilation

Quick Start

1. Basic Task Delegation

TaskMaster: Research PDF processing libraries
- Budget: $2.00
- Priority: medium
- Deadline: 2 hours

2. Complex Project Breakdown

TaskMaster: Build recipe app MVP
- Components: UI mockup, backend API, data schema, deployment
- Budget: $15.00
- Timeline: 1 week
- Auto-assign models based on complexity

Model Selection Rules

Haiku ($0.25/$1.25) - Simple, repetitive tasks: - Web searches & summarization - Data formatting & extraction - Basic file operations - Status checks & monitoring

Sonnet ($3/$15) - Most development work: - Research & analysis - Code writing & debugging - Documentation creation - Technical design

Opus ($15/$75) - Complex reasoning: - Architecture decisions - Creative problem-solving - Code reviews & optimization - Strategic planning

Advanced Usage

Custom Model Assignment

Override automatic selection when you know better: markdown TaskMaster: Debug complex algorithm [FORCE: Opus]

Parallel Execution

Run multiple tasks simultaneously: markdown TaskMaster: Multi-research project - Task A: Library comparison - Task B: Performance benchmarks - Task C: Security analysis [PARALLEL: true]

Budget Controls

Set spending limits: markdown TaskMaster: Market research - Max budget: $5.00 - Escalate if >$3.00 spent - Stop if any single task >$1.00

Key Resources

• Model Selection: See references/model-selection-rules.md for detailed complexity guidelines
• Task Templates: See references/task-templates.md for common task patterns
• Delegation Engine: Uses scripts/delegate_task.py for core orchestration logic

Implementation Notes

Sessions Management: Each sub-agent gets isolated session with specific model constraints. No cross-talk unless explicitly designed.

Error Handling: Failed tasks automatically retry once on Sonnet, then escalate to human review.

Result Aggregation: TaskMaster compiles all sub-agent results into a single, coherent deliverable for the user.

Token Tracking: Real-time cost monitoring with alerts when approaching budget limits.