kaban-workflow

Kaban

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

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

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What is Kaban?

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)

# 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)

npm install -g @kaban-board/cli
kaban init --name "My Project"
kaban tui

Homebrew (macOS / Linux)

brew tap beshkenadze/tap
brew install kaban
kaban tui

From Source

git clone https://github.com/beshkenadze/kaban
cd kaban && bun install && bun run build
task install

Prerequisites

• Node.js v18+ or Bun v1.0+
• Task (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.

Claude Desktop Setup

Add to claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "kaban": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@kaban-board/cli", "mcp"],
      "env": {
        "KABAN_PATH": "/path/to/your/project"
      }
    }
  }
}

Or if installed globally:

{
  "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