Use Taskhold with Kilo Code

What you get with Kilo Code and Taskhold

• Kilo claims tasks from your list and labels them "Kilo Code in <repo>", so other agents on the same list skip them.
• Steps, a progress bar and the current step on the live board, updated as Kilo reports.
• Blocking questions you answer from the board, which Kilo reads back with taskhold_updates.
• The same list for Claude Code, Codex and any other MCP client you run.

Connect Kilo Code to Taskhold

1. Start the 7-day trial, open Settings > API keys and create a key for this machine. It starts with atd_sk_. One key per tool and machine lets you revoke each one on its own.
2. Export it in your shell profile: export TASKHOLD_API_KEY=atd_sk_...
3. Add the server under the top-level mcp key in ~/.config/kilo/kilo.jsonc (every project) or ./kilo.jsonc (one project). The Settings > Agent Behaviour > MCP Servers panel edits the same entry.

{
  "mcp": {
    "taskhold": {
      "type": "remote",
      "url": "https://taskhold.com/api/mcp",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer {env:TASKHOLD_API_KEY}" },
      "oauth": false,
      "enabled": true
    }
  }
}

Tell Kilo Code how to use the list

Kilo reads AGENTS.md at the project root first, and rules from .kilo/rules/. Put the workflow in AGENTS.md:

## Tasks (Taskhold)

The person and I share a task list through the taskhold MCP tools. They watch a live board while I work.
- Session start: taskhold_get_current, then taskhold_updates for replies. Nothing in progress? taskhold_list status:todo and take the highest priority.
- taskhold_start before working on a task (agent: "Kilo Code in <repo>").
- More than a couple of steps: taskhold_plan, then taskhold_start and taskhold_complete each step.
- taskhold_progress at milestones (N of M, or a percent) with a short message. Every few minutes at most.
- Need a decision: taskhold_block with one specific question, then check taskhold_updates.
- Done: taskhold_complete with what changed and how I checked it.
- A TODO or bug I'm not fixing now: taskhold_create (or taskhold_create_from_todo with file and line).

One limit to know

Kilo picks up a new environment variable only when the editor starts. If the server shows an auth error after you export TASKHOLD_API_KEY, restart VS Code from a terminal that has the variable, or put the key in the header directly in your global kilo.jsonc (never in a project file you commit).

What leaves your machine, and how to disconnect

Taskhold receives task titles, steps, progress messages, questions and summaries, whatever the agent or script sends. Taskhold never sends code or commands to your machine, and it doesn't read your repository.

To cut a tool off, open Settings > API keys and revoke its key. The next call fails with 401. Then remove the Taskhold entry from the tool's config so it stops trying.