Agent Tasks vs Openclaw MCP
A side-by-side look at the Agent Tasks and Openclaw MCP MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Verdict: choose Agent Tasks for coding agents work as a local process; choose Openclaw MCP for coding agents as a local process. You can also run both side by side in one mcpServers block.
Which MCP server should you choose?
Choose Agent Tasks when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Coding Agents domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- You have the keys it needs:
AGENT_TASKS_DB, AGENT_TASKS_PORT, AGENT_TASKS_HOST, AGENT_TASKS_INSTRUCTIONS, AGENT_COMM_URL, AGENT_KNOWLEDGE_URL. - You want tools like
task_create, task_get, task_list.
Choose Openclaw MCP when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Coding Agents domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- Its auth model fits you: API key required.
- You have the keys it needs:
OPENCLAW_URL, OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN, OPENCLAW_AGENT_ID, OPENCLAW_MODEL, OPENCLAW_TIMEOUT_MS, AUTH_ENABLED, MCP_CLIENT_ID, MCP_CLIENT_SECRET. - You want tools like
openclaw_chat, openclaw_status, openclaw_chat_async.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Coding Agents | Coding Agents |
| Quality signal | 64/100 · Good | 68/100 · Great |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Local subprocess (stdio) | Local subprocess (stdio) |
| Auth | Not declared | API key required |
| Pricing | Not declared | Free |
| Required env vars | AGENT_TASKS_DBAGENT_TASKS_PORTAGENT_TASKS_HOSTAGENT_TASKS_INSTRUCTIONSAGENT_COMM_URLAGENT_KNOWLEDGE_URL | OPENCLAW_URLOPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKENOPENCLAW_AGENT_IDOPENCLAW_MODELOPENCLAW_TIMEOUT_MSAUTH_ENABLEDMCP_CLIENT_IDMCP_CLIENT_SECRET |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 22 | 188 |
| Directory activity | 1 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 6 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | 8 | 7 |
| Full listing | View Agent Tasks | View Openclaw MCP |
Tools & capabilities
Agent Tasks tools 8
task_createCreate a pipeline task. Tasks start in "backlog" and move through stages: backlog → spec → plan → implement → test → review → done. Use parent_id to create subtasks under an existing task.task_getGet a single task by ID. By default returns task with artifact count, comment count, dependencies, and collaborators. Use "include" to inline full subtasks, artifacts (filterable by stage), comments (with limit), or transitive_deps (full upstream + downstream closure of the dependency graph in one call — answers questions like "what depends on this task transitively?" and "what is its critical path depth?" without forcing the caller to BFS the graph).task_listList, search, or pick tasks. Without params: returns all tasks. With filters: narrow by status/stage/project/assignee. With "query": full-text search across titles and descriptions. With "next": true: returns the single highest-priority unassigned task with all dependencies met (uses affinity scoring when agent is provided).task_updateUpdate task metadata — title, description, priority, tags, project, assignment, or dependencies. Does not change stage or status (use task_stage for that).task_deleteDelete a task and all its artifacts, comments, and dependencies (cascading delete). Cannot be undone.task_stageMove a task through its lifecycle. Actions: "claim" → assign to you and advance from backlog to spec, "assign" → assign to you WITHOUT advancing the stage (use for custom pipelines where the first stage is itself a do-work stage), "advance" → next stage (or jump to a specific one), "regress" → earlier stage (requires reason), "complete" → marks done with result, "fail" → marks failed with error, "cancel" → cancels with reason.task_artifactAttach artifacts or comments to a task. Types: "general" → document (spec, test-results, review-notes), "decision" → structured decision record (chose/over/because), "learning" → insight that auto-propagates to parent and sibling tasks on completion, "comment" → discussion comment (supports threading via parent_comment_id, satisfies stage-gate require_comment checks).task_configConfiguration and admin. Actions: "session" → set agent identity (call this first), "pipeline" → get/set pipeline stages and gate config for a project, "cleanup" → purge old completed tasks, "rules" → generate IDE rule files (.mdc or CLAUDE.md).
Openclaw MCP tools 7
openclaw_chatSend a message to OpenClaw and get a responseopenclaw_statusGet OpenClaw gateway status and health informationopenclaw_chat_asyncSend a message to OpenClaw asynchronously. Returns a task_id immediately that can be polled for results. Use this for potentially long-running conversations.openclaw_task_statusCheck the status of an async task. Returns status, and result if completed.openclaw_task_listList all tasks. Optionally filter by status, session, or instance.openclaw_task_cancelCancel a pending task. Only works for tasks that haven't started yet.openclaw_instancesList all configured OpenClaw instances. Shows instance names, URLs, and which is the default. Use instance names in other tools to target a specific OpenClaw gateway.
Ready-to-paste client configs
Paste either block (or both) into your client config, e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json. We only show a config when the install command is confirmed.
Agent Tasks
{
"mcpServers": {
"agent-tasks": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"agent-tasks"
],
"env": {
"AGENT_TASKS_DB": "YOUR_AGENT_TASKS_DB_HERE",
"AGENT_TASKS_PORT": "YOUR_AGENT_TASKS_PORT_HERE",
"AGENT_TASKS_HOST": "YOUR_AGENT_TASKS_HOST_HERE",
"AGENT_TASKS_INSTRUCTIONS": "YOUR_AGENT_TASKS_INSTRUCTIONS_HERE",
"AGENT_COMM_URL": "YOUR_AGENT_COMM_URL_HERE",
"AGENT_KNOWLEDGE_URL": "YOUR_AGENT_KNOWLEDGE_URL_HERE"
}
}
}
}
Openclaw MCP
{
"mcpServers": {
"freema-openclaw-mcp": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"openclaw-mcp"
],
"env": {
"OPENCLAW_URL": "YOUR_OPENCLAW_URL_HERE",
"OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN": "YOUR_OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN_HERE",
"OPENCLAW_AGENT_ID": "YOUR_OPENCLAW_AGENT_ID_HERE",
"OPENCLAW_MODEL": "YOUR_OPENCLAW_MODEL_HERE",
"OPENCLAW_TIMEOUT_MS": "YOUR_OPENCLAW_TIMEOUT_MS_HERE",
"AUTH_ENABLED": "YOUR_AUTH_ENABLED_HERE",
"MCP_CLIENT_ID": "YOUR_MCP_CLIENT_ID_HERE",
"MCP_CLIENT_SECRET": "YOUR_MCP_CLIENT_SECRET_HERE"
}
}
}
}
Frequently asked questions
Agent Tasks is categorized under Coding Agents and uses a local stdio subprocess. Openclaw MCP belongs to Coding Agents and uses a local stdio subprocess. Pick Agent Tasks for coding agents work and Openclaw MCP for coding agents.
Copy the mcpServers block from the config section on this page into your client's config (for example claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json), then fully restart the client.
Agent Tasks has no declared pricing — check the project's own site. Openclaw MCP is listed as free. Auth: api key required. If a server needs environment variables such as API keys, define them under the env key in your client's MCP config.
Yes. MCP clients support multiple servers: add agent-tasks and freema-openclaw-mcp as separate keys in the same mcpServers object, and your assistant will call tools from either one.
On AllMCPs, Agent Tasks has a quality signal of 64/100 (Good) with 1 views, 0 installs and 22 GitHub stars. Openclaw MCP has 68/100 (Great) with 6 views, 0 installs and 188 GitHub stars.