n8n-MCP vs Task Master AI

A side-by-side comparison of two Productivity servers — tools, transport, auth, maintenance, and copy-paste config for each.

	n8n-MCP Gives AI assistants deep knowledge of 2,000+ n8n nodes, plus optional workflow management on your own n8n instance. Unverified stdio (local) API key TypeScript	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	TypeScript	JavaScript
Transport	stdio (local)	stdio (local)
Auth	API key	API key
GitHub stars	22k	28k
Last commit	3 days ago	2 months ago
Verified
Actively maintained
Install	`npx n8n-mcp`	`npx -y task-master-ai`
Repo	Open	Open

Verdict

Pick n8n-MCP if you need the broadest set of tools.

Pick Task Master AI if you prefer its approach (ai-powered task-management system for ai-driven development that drops into cursor, windsurf, claude code, and more).

Add n8n-MCP

Install / run

npx n8n-mcp

Paste into ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "n8n-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "n8n-mcp"
      ],
      "env": {
        "MCP_MODE": "stdio",
        "LOG_LEVEL": "error",
        "DISABLE_CONSOLE_OUTPUT": "true",
        "N8N_API_URL": "<your-n8n-instance-url>",
        "N8N_API_KEY": "<your-n8n-api-key>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Add Task Master AI

Install / run

npx -y task-master-ai

Paste 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

n8n-MCP or Task Master AI — which is better?

Pick n8n-MCP if you need the broadest set of tools. Pick Task Master AI if you prefer its approach (ai-powered task-management system for ai-driven development that drops into cursor, windsurf, claude code, and more).

Can I use both n8n-MCP 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 n8n-MCP and Task Master AI work with Claude, Cursor and Windsurf?

Both do. Copy the per-client config below into Claude Desktop, Cursor, or Windsurf.

View n8n-MCP →View Task Master AI →More comparisons →