Cua Driver vs Task Master AI
A side-by-side comparison of two Productivity servers — tools, transport, auth, maintenance, and copy-paste config for each.
| Cua Driver Background computer-use MCP server that drives native macOS, Windows, and Linux desktop apps without stealing focus. Unverified stdio (local) No auth Rust | Task Master AI AI-powered task-management system for AI-driven development that drops into Cursor, Windsurf, Claude Code, and more. Unverified stdio (local) API key JavaScript | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Productivity | Productivity |
| Language | Rust | JavaScript |
| Transport | stdio (local) | stdio (local) |
| Auth | None | API key |
| GitHub stars | 19k | 28k |
| Last commit | 12 hours ago | 2 months ago |
| Verified | ||
| Actively maintained | ||
| Install | /bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/trycua/cua/main/libs/cua-driver/scripts/install.sh)" | npx -y task-master-ai |
| Repo | Open | Open |
Verdict
Pick Cua Driver if you want zero-setup with no API key, and you need the broadest set of tools.
Pick Task Master AI if you prefer the more popular, battle-tested option.
Add Cua Driver
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/trycua/cua/main/libs/cua-driver/scripts/install.sh)"Paste into ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
{
"mcpServers": {
"cua-driver": {
"command": "cua-driver",
"args": [
"mcp"
]
}
}
}Add Task Master AI
npx -y task-master-aiPaste into ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
{
"mcpServers": {
"task-master-ai": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"task-master-ai"
],
"env": {
"ANTHROPIC_API_KEY": "YOUR_ANTHROPIC_API_KEY_HERE",
"PERPLEXITY_API_KEY": "YOUR_PERPLEXITY_API_KEY_HERE",
"OPENAI_API_KEY": "YOUR_OPENAI_KEY_HERE",
"GOOGLE_API_KEY": "YOUR_GOOGLE_KEY_HERE",
"MISTRAL_API_KEY": "YOUR_MISTRAL_KEY_HERE",
"GROQ_API_KEY": "YOUR_GROQ_KEY_HERE",
"OPENROUTER_API_KEY": "YOUR_OPENROUTER_KEY_HERE",
"XAI_API_KEY": "YOUR_XAI_KEY_HERE",
"AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY": "YOUR_AZURE_KEY_HERE",
"OLLAMA_API_KEY": "YOUR_OLLAMA_API_KEY_HERE"
}
}
}
}FAQ
Cua Driver or Task Master AI — which is better?
Pick Cua Driver if you want zero-setup with no API key, and you need the broadest set of tools. Pick Task Master AI if you prefer the more popular, battle-tested option.
Can I use both Cua Driver and Task Master AI?
Yes — MCP clients let you enable multiple servers at once. Add both configs to your client's mcpServers and use whichever tool fits the task.
Do Cua Driver and Task Master AI work with Claude, Cursor and Windsurf?
Both do. Copy the per-client config below into Claude Desktop, Cursor, or Windsurf.