prefecthq--fastmcp/docs/clients/tasks.mdx

---
title: Background Tasks
sidebarTitle: Tasks
description: Execute operations asynchronously and track their progress.
icon: clock
tag: "NEW"
---

import { VersionBadge } from "/snippets/version-badge.mdx"

<VersionBadge version="2.14.0" />

Use this when you need to run long operations asynchronously while doing other work.

The MCP task protocol lets you request operations to run in the background. The call returns a Task object immediately, letting you track progress, cancel operations, or await results.

## Requesting Background Execution

Pass `task=True` to run an operation as a background task:

```python
from fastmcp import Client

async with Client(server) as client:
    # Start a background task
    task = await client.call_tool("slow_computation", {"duration": 10}, task=True)

    print(f"Task started: {task.task_id}")

    # Do other work while it runs...

    # Get the result when ready
    result = await task.result()
```

This works with tools, resources, and prompts:

```python
tool_task = await client.call_tool("my_tool", args, task=True)
resource_task = await client.read_resource("file://large.txt", task=True)
prompt_task = await client.get_prompt("my_prompt", args, task=True)
```

## Task API

All task types share a common interface.

### Getting Results

Call `await task.result()` or simply `await task` to block until the task completes:

```python
task = await client.call_tool("analyze", {"text": "hello"}, task=True)

# Wait for result (blocking)
result = await task.result()
# or: result = await task
```

### Checking Status

Check the current status without blocking:

```python
status = await task.status()
print(f"{status.status}: {status.statusMessage}")
# status.status is "working", "completed", "failed", or "cancelled"
```

### Waiting with Control

Use `task.wait()` for more control over waiting:

```python
# Wait up to 30 seconds for completion
status = await task.wait(timeout=30.0)

# Wait for a specific state
status = await task.wait(state="completed", timeout=30.0)
```

### Cancellation

Cancel a running task:

```python
await task.cancel()
```

## Status Updates

Register callbacks to receive real-time status updates as the server reports progress:

```python
def on_status_change(status):
    print(f"Task {status.taskId}: {status.status} - {status.statusMessage}")

task.on_status_change(on_status_change)

# Async callbacks work too
async def on_status_async(status):
    await log_status(status)

task.on_status_change(on_status_async)
```

### Handler Template

```python
from fastmcp import Client

def status_handler(status):
    """
    Handle task status updates.

    Args:
        status: Task status object with:
            - taskId: Unique task identifier
            - status: "working", "completed", "failed", or "cancelled"
            - statusMessage: Optional progress message from server
    """
    if status.status == "working":
        print(f"Progress: {status.statusMessage}")
    elif status.status == "completed":
        print("Task completed")
    elif status.status == "failed":
        print(f"Task failed: {status.statusMessage}")

task.on_status_change(status_handler)
```

## Graceful Degradation

You can always pass `task=True` regardless of whether the server supports background tasks. Per the MCP specification, servers without task support execute the operation immediately and return the result inline.

```python
task = await client.call_tool("my_tool", args, task=True)

if task.returned_immediately:
    print("Server executed immediately (no background support)")
else:
    print("Running in background")

# Either way, this works
result = await task.result()
```

This lets you write task-aware client code without worrying about server capabilities.

## Example

```python
import asyncio
from fastmcp import Client

async def main():
    async with Client(server) as client:
        # Start background task
        task = await client.call_tool(
            "slow_computation",
            {"duration": 10},
            task=True,
        )

        # Subscribe to updates
        def on_update(status):
            print(f"Progress: {status.statusMessage}")

        task.on_status_change(on_update)

        # Do other work while task runs
        print("Doing other work...")
        await asyncio.sleep(2)

        # Wait for completion and get result
        result = await task.result()
        print(f"Result: {result.content}")

asyncio.run(main())
```

See [Server Background Tasks](/servers/tasks) for how to enable background task support on the server side.