# Taskhold vs Claude Code's built-in task list

> Claude Code's own task list is free and built in. When it is enough, and when a hosted list shared with Cursor, Codex and your phone is worth $12 a month.

Source: https://taskhold.com/vs/claude-code-tasks
Last updated: 2026-10-26

> Short answer: Claude Code's built-in task list is free, stored in ~/.claude/tasks/ and shows up to five tasks with Ctrl+T, but only for Claude Code on one machine. Taskhold is a hosted list at $12 a month that Claude Code, Cursor, Codex and other MCP agents share, with a live board of each task's steps you can check from a phone.

Claude Code has its own task tools. Tasks persist across context compactions, and setting CLAUDE_CODE_TASK_LIST_ID lets several sessions share one list stored under ~/.claude/tasks/. It's free and needs no setup on the models that have it. For many people that is enough, and you should use it.

Taskhold is for the cases it doesn't cover: other agents, other machines, and a person who wants to add and review tasks, and watch progress on a live board, without a terminal. If your list shows nothing at all, [why the Claude Code task list is empty](https://taskhold.com/guides/claude-code-task-list-empty) has the fix. Taskhold's own [setup for Claude Code](https://taskhold.com/for/claude-code) is one command, and [agent view](https://taskhold.com/vs/claude-code-agent-view) is compared separately.

## Side by side

|  | Claude Code tasks | Taskhold |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Included with Claude Code | $12/month or $120/year per person, 7-day trial |
| Where tasks live | Local files in ~/.claude/tasks/ | Hosted list, reachable from any machine |
| Agents | Claude Code | Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, Windsurf, any MCP client with remote server support |
| How you see it | Ctrl+T in the terminal, up to five tasks at a time | Web app on desktop or phone, plus Agent Activity |
| Progress while it works | Pending, in progress or done per item; agent view (claude agents, research preview) shows each background session's state | Live board: a bar split by step, percent or N of M, the agent's current message, time elapsed and an estimate |
| When the agent needs you | Needs input state in agent view; push notifications through Remote Control | The question sits under Needs you on the board; reply, or reply and unblock, and the agent reads it with taskhold_updates |
| Sharing between sessions | Yes, with CLAUDE_CODE_TASK_LIST_ID on one machine | Yes, every session and every agent you connect |
| History | Not listed in the docs | Every change kept, marked human or agent |
| Dependencies between tasks | Yes | No |
| Models | On by default for Opus 4.7, Sonnet 4.6, Haiku 4.5 and earlier; newer models need CLAUDE_CODE_ENABLE_TODO_TOOLS=1 | Any model, any client |
| Setup | None on those models | Paste one setup URL into the agent |

Claude Code facts from code.claude.com docs (interactive mode, tools reference, agent view, mobile), checked 2026-10-26.

## When are Claude Code's tasks the better choice?

- You only use Claude Code, on one machine.
- You don't need to add or read tasks away from the terminal.
- You want task dependencies and zero setup.

One thing to know: since Claude Code v2.1.268 the task tools are on by default only on Opus 4.7, Sonnet 4.6, Haiku 4.5 and earlier models. On newer models Claude keeps track of multi-step work without a written list, so Ctrl+T shows nothing unless you start Claude Code with CLAUDE_CODE_ENABLE_TODO_TOOLS=1. Background sessions and cloud sessions get the tools on every model.

## When is Taskhold the better choice?

- You run Claude Code next to Cursor, Codex or Windsurf and want one list for all of them.
- You work from more than one machine, or want to queue tasks from your phone.
- You want a record of what each task went through, with agent changes marked as agent changes.
- You want blocked tasks, with the agent's question, collected in one place you can answer from.
- You want to watch a long task's steps fill in from a phone or another room, whatever model you run.

## Using both

Claude Code's task list and Taskhold don't conflict. Claude Code can keep its own short checklist for the steps of a task while Taskhold holds the backlog: start a Taskhold task, plan the steps with the built-in tools, complete the Taskhold task with a summary.

## Moving tasks over

There's no importer. Claude Code keeps its task list in ~/.claude/tasks/ on your machine, and the session that made it can read it. With Taskhold connected, ask that session to create each open item with taskhold_create and leave the finished ones where they are.

## FAQ

### Is TodoWrite the same thing?

TodoWrite was the earlier checklist tool. The docs list it as disabled by default in favor of TaskCreate, TaskGet, TaskList and TaskUpdate; setting CLAUDE_CODE_ENABLE_TASKS=0 brings it back in sessions that have the task tools.

### Why is my Claude Code task list empty?

On models newer than Opus 4.7, Sonnet 4.6 and Haiku 4.5, Claude Code leaves the task tools out, so nothing is added to the list. Start Claude Code with CLAUDE_CODE_ENABLE_TODO_TOOLS=1 to get them back. The guide on the empty task list covers the other cases.

### Does Taskhold replace CLAUDE.md?

No. CLAUDE.md tells the agent how to use the list; Taskhold holds the list.

## Sources

- [Claude Code docs: task list (interactive mode)](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/interactive-mode#task-list), checked 2026-10-26
- [Claude Code docs: task tool availability](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/tools-reference#task-tool-availability), checked 2026-10-26
- [Claude Code docs: agent view](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/agent-view), checked 2026-10-26
- [Claude Code docs: Claude Code on mobile](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/mobile), checked 2026-10-26

## Related

- [Claude Code task list empty? Why, and the fix](https://taskhold.com/guides/claude-code-task-list-empty.md)
- [Taskhold vs Claude Code agent view](https://taskhold.com/vs/claude-code-agent-view.md)
- [Task list MCP server for Claude Code](https://taskhold.com/for/claude-code.md)
- [See what your coding agent is doing right now](https://taskhold.com/guides/monitor-coding-agent-progress.md)
- [Task managers for AI coding agents, compared](https://taskhold.com/vs/ai-coding-agent-task-managers.md)

## About Taskhold

Taskhold is a hosted task list shared by a person and their AI coding agents over MCP. Agents break tasks into steps and report progress, and the person watches a live board. $12/month or $120/year per person, 7-day trial with a card, no free plan. Made by Great Work LLC.

- Pricing: https://taskhold.com/pricing.md
- Agent index: https://taskhold.com/llms.txt