A customizable, terminal-based task manager built with Python's Textual framework, kanban-tui targets developers, power users, and AI agents seeking efficient, flexible task organization directly within their terminal environment. It offers advanced features like multi-board support and task dependencies, alongside unique integration capabilities for AI agents.

How It Works

This TUI application leverages Textual for its rich terminal interface and pydantic-settings with xdg-base-dirs for configuration management, adhering to the XDG Base Directory Specification for data persistence. It supports multiple backends: a default SQLite for full functionality, Jira integration via API and JQL, and a Claude backend for processing .json task files. A key architectural advantage is its robust task dependency system, which includes visual indicators for blocked/blocking tasks and prevents circular references, enabling complex workflow management.

Quick Start & Requirements

Installation is recommended via uv tool install kanban-tui or pipx install kanban-tui. pip install kanban-tui is discouraged. Optional dependencies include textual-serve for web access (uv tool install 'kanban-tui[web]') and mcp for agent communication (uv tool install kanban-tui[mcp]). A demo mode is available via uvx kanban-tui demo or ktui demo for instant evaluation. Use uvx kanban-tui info to locate configuration and data files.

Highlighted Details

• Customizable Boards: Define and arrange multiple columns beyond the default Ready, Doing, Done, Archive.
• Task Dependencies: Implement complex workflows with visual blocking indicators, dependency management, and circular dependency prevention.
• Multi-Board Support: Manage numerous independent Kanban boards, each with its own columns and tasks.
• Agent Integration: Features a CLI interface (ktui) and an MCP server for seamless integration with AI agents.
• Reporting & Audit: Includes an overview tab with task status charts (powered by plotext) and an audit trail for tracking changes.

Maintenance & Community

The provided documentation does not detail specific contributors, sponsorships, or community channels (e.g., Discord, Slack).

Licensing & Compatibility

The specific open-source license is not explicitly stated in the provided README content, which requires clarification for commercial use or integration assessments.

Limitations & Caveats

The Claude backend supports a limited subset of kanban-tui's features. Certain advanced functionalities, such as category management and column customization, are not yet fully exposed via the CLI or MCP server interfaces. The absence of explicit licensing information is a notable caveat.