Kaban

Kaban

Kanban for AI Agents
Track and coordinate tasks between humans and AI in the terminal

npm version Homebrew License GitHub stars

Features • Installation • MCP Integration • Hook • CLI • TUI • AI Editors

--- ## What is Kaban? image Kaban is a terminal-based Kanban board designed for **AI code agents** and developers. It provides a structured way to manage tasks, track progress, and coordinate between human users and AI agents. **Why Kaban?** - **Manage Todos** — Track tasks with a proper Kanban board - **Assign to Agents** — Assign tasks to Claude, GPT, or any AI agent - **Single App** — No servers, no cloud. One SQLite file. Works offline - **TUI + CLI + MCP** — Interactive UI for humans, CLI for scripts, MCP for AI ## Features | Feature | Description | |---------|-------------| | **MCP Server** | AI agents can read, create, and manage tasks autonomously | | **TodoWrite Hook** | Auto-sync Claude Code todos to Kaban board | | **Interactive TUI** | Vim-style navigation, keyboard-driven workflow | | **Powerful CLI** | Scriptable commands for automation | | **WIP Limits** | Built-in Kanban best practices | | **Agent Tracking** | See who (human or AI) owns each task | | **Portable** | Single SQLite file, no server required | ## Installation ### npx / bunx (Zero Install) ```bash # Try without installing npx @kaban-board/cli init --name "My Project" npx @kaban-board/cli tui # Or with bun bunx @kaban-board/cli tui ``` ### npm (Global Install) ```bash npm install -g @kaban-board/cli kaban init --name "My Project" kaban tui ``` ### Homebrew (macOS / Linux) ```bash brew tap beshkenadze/tap brew install kaban kaban tui ``` ### From Source ```bash git clone https://github.com/beshkenadze/kaban cd kaban && bun install && bun run build task install ``` ### Prerequisites - [Node.js](https://nodejs.org/) v18+ or [Bun](https://bun.sh/) v1.0+ - [Task](https://taskfile.dev/) (optional, for development) ## Packages Kaban is a monorepo with three packages: | Package | Description | |---------|-------------| | `@kaban-board/core` | Database logic, services, and schemas | | `@kaban-board/cli` | CLI commands, TUI launcher, MCP server | | `@kaban-board/tui` | Interactive Terminal User Interface | ## MCP Integration Connect your AI coding assistant to Kaban via [Model Context Protocol](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/). ### Claude Desktop Setup Add to `claude_desktop_config.json`: ```json { "mcpServers": { "kaban": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "@kaban-board/cli", "mcp"], "env": { "KABAN_PATH": "/path/to/your/project" } } } } ``` Or if installed globally: ```json { "mcpServers": { "kaban": { "command": "kaban", "args": ["mcp"], "env": { "KABAN_PATH": "/path/to/your/project" } } } } ``` ### MCP Tools | Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | `kaban_init` | Initialize a new board | | `kaban_add_task` | Add a task | | `kaban_add_task_checked` | Add task with duplicate detection | | `kaban_get_task` | Get task details | | `kaban_list_tasks` | List tasks with filters | | `kaban_move_task` | Move task to column | | `kaban_update_task` | Update task properties | | `kaban_delete_task` | Delete a task | | `kaban_complete_task` | Mark task as done | | `kaban_status` | Get board summary | | `kaban_archive_tasks` | Archive completed/stale tasks | | `kaban_search_archive` | Full-text search in archive | | `kaban_restore_task` | Restore task from archive | | `kaban_purge_archive` | Permanently delete archived tasks | | `kaban_archive_stats` | Get archive statistics | | `kaban_reset_board` | Delete ALL tasks (destructive) | | `kaban_add_dependency` | Add task dependency | | `kaban_remove_dependency` | Remove task dependency | | `kaban_check_dependencies` | Check if dependencies resolved | ### MCP Resources | Resource | Description | |----------|-------------| | `kaban://board/status` | Board status with counts | | `kaban://board/columns` | Available columns | | `kaban://tasks/{columnId}` | Tasks in a column | | `kaban://task/{id}` | Single task details | ## CLI Usage ```bash kaban [options] ``` ### Commands | Command | Description | |---------|-------------| | `kaban init` | Initialize a board | | `kaban add ` | Add a task | | `kaban list` | List tasks (with filters) | | `kaban move <id> [column]` | Move a task (with optional `--assign`) | | `kaban assign <id> [agent]` | Assign/unassign a task | | `kaban done <id>` | Mark task complete | | `kaban status` | Show board summary | | `kaban search <query>` | Full-text search in archive | | `kaban archive` | Archive completed tasks | | `kaban restore <id>` | Restore task from archive | | `kaban purge` | Permanently delete archived tasks | | `kaban reset` | Delete ALL tasks (destructive) | | `kaban tui` | Launch interactive UI | | `kaban mcp` | Start MCP server | | `kaban hook install` | Install TodoWrite sync hook | | `kaban hook status` | Check hook status | | `kaban sync` | Sync TodoWrite input (stdin) | ### Examples ```bash # Initialize with custom name kaban init --name "Sprint 1" # Add task with metadata kaban add "Fix auth bug" -c todo -a claude -D "OAuth2 flow broken" # List tasks in a column kaban list --column in-progress # Move task to next column kaban move abc123 --next # Move and assign to agent in one command kaban move abc123 in-progress --assign claude # Assign task to an agent kaban assign abc123 claude # Unassign a task kaban assign abc123 --clear # Mark complete kaban done abc123 ``` ## Claude Code Hook Integration > **Optional but recommended** — Automatically sync Claude Code's TodoWrite with your Kaban board. You can still use Kaban without this hook via CLI, TUI, or MCP. ### Installation ```bash kaban hook install ``` This will: 1. Install the hook binary to `~/.claude/hooks/` 2. Configure Claude Code's `settings.json` with a PostToolUse hook 3. Create a backup of your settings ### Commands | Command | Description | |---------|-------------| | `kaban hook install` | Install the TodoWrite sync hook | | `kaban hook uninstall` | Remove the hook | | `kaban hook status` | Check installation status and activity | ### How It Works ``` Claude Code → TodoWrite → Hook → kaban sync → Kaban Board ``` - **pending** todos → **Todo** column - **in_progress** todos → **In Progress** column - **completed** todos → **Done** column - **cancelled** todos → **Backlog** column ### Logs Sync activity is logged to `~/.claude/hooks/sync.log`. View recent activity: ```bash kaban hook status ``` ## TUI Usage Launch the interactive terminal UI: ```bash kaban tui ``` ### Keyboard Shortcuts | Key | Action | |-----|--------| | `<` `>` / `h` `l` | Navigate columns | | `^` `v` / `j` `k` | Navigate tasks | | `Enter` | View task details | | `a` | Add new task | | `e` | Edit task | | `m` | Move task | | `u` | Assign user/agent | | `d` | Delete task | | `x` | Archive task | | `r` | Restore from archive | | `Tab` | Toggle archive view | | `?` | Show help | | `q` | Quit | ## AI Code Editors Add Kaban MCP server to your AI coding assistant: ### Claude Code Skill (Recommended) Install the Kaban workflow skill for TodoWrite sync and session persistence: ```bash bunx skills add beshkenadze/kaban ``` Works with all AI code editors: Antigravity, Claude Code, Clawdbot, Cline, Codex, and 21+ more. The skill includes: - **MCP server** — Auto-configured, no manual setup needed - **Kaban workflow skill** — Syncs with TodoWrite, resumes tasks across sessions - **Session hooks** — Auto-checks for in-progress tasks on session start #### Alternative: Plugin Marketplace ```bash /plugin marketplace add beshkenadze/kaban /plugin install kaban-workflow@beshkenadze-kaban ``` ### Claude Code / Claude Desktop (Manual MCP) Add to `.mcp.json` (Claude Code) or `claude_desktop_config.json`: ```json { "mcpServers": { "kaban": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "@kaban-board/cli", "mcp"] } } } ``` ### OpenCode Add to `opencode.json`: ```json { "mcp": { "kaban": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "@kaban-board/cli", "mcp"] } } } ``` ### Cursor / Windsurf / Continue Add to MCP settings: ```json { "mcpServers": { "kaban": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "@kaban-board/cli", "mcp"] } } } ``` ### With Global Install If you installed globally (`npm i -g @kaban-board/cli`), use: ```json { "mcpServers": { "kaban": { "command": "kaban", "args": ["mcp"] } } } ``` ## Configuration ### Environment Variables | Variable | Description | Default | |----------|-------------|---------| | `KABAN_PATH` | Board data directory | Current directory | | `KABAN_AGENT` | Default agent name | `user` | ### Data Storage Kaban stores data in `.kaban/` directory: ``` .kaban/ ├── board.db # SQLite database └── config.json # Board configuration ``` ### Default Columns | Column | WIP Limit | |--------|-----------| | Backlog | — | | To Do | — | | In Progress | 3 | | Review | 2 | | Done | — (terminal) | ## Contributing Contributions are welcome! Please read our [Contributing Guide](CONTRIBUTING.md) first. ```bash # Development bun install bun run build bun run lint bun run test ``` ### Commit Convention We use [Conventional Commits](https://www.conventionalcommits.org/) for automated releases: ```bash feat: add new feature # → Minor version bump fix: resolve bug # → Patch version bump feat!: breaking change # → Major version bump ``` See [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md) for full details on commit types and the release process. ## License [MIT](LICENSE)