emanuele-em

kanzo: A Rust Kanban Board for Humans and Coding Agents

kanzo is a local-first kanban board and MCP server in one small Rust program, so people and coding agents can work on the same tasks. It uses SQLite and runs on macOS, Linux, Windows, and Raspberry Pi.

View on GitHub Compare
Stars
509
Forks
26
Last commit
today
Contributors
3
Releases, 12 months
6

Our take

Newless than six months old and changing fast

Health score

57/100

How it is scored
Activity
72
Community
19
Issues
74
Pull requests
63
  • Closes issues faster than 81% of the projects we track
  • Fewer contributors than 82% of the projects we track

kanzo offers an unusually compact way to coordinate browser-based task management with MCP-capable coding agents, but it is very new and development is highly concentrated in one contributor.

Good fit if

  • You want a local kanban board that coding agents can operate through MCP, and are comfortable running a Rust application.
  • You prefer self-hosted task data and can use its network sharing or private Git sync model.
  • You can accept an early-stage project: it is changing quickly, has recent releases, and reported issue and pull-request handling is prompt.

Look elsewhere if

  • You need an established project with work distributed across a larger contributor group.
  • You require accounts or built-in access controls for sharing. The README explicitly warns that shared boards have no logins and should only be exposed on a trusted network.
  • Your organization cannot meet the AGPL-3.0 obligations, including source-sharing requirements when offering a modified version over a network.
All health signals
Last commit2026-11-01 (today)
Commits, last 90 days100+
Releases, last 12 months6 (latest v0.2.1, 2026-10-27)
Contributors3 (top contributor: 93% of commits)
Issues closed, last 90 days3 (typically closed in 0 days)
Pull requests merged, last 90 days7 (typically merged in 0 days)
Project age7 days

Checked on 2026-11-01 with the GitHub API.

Project history

Daily GitHub snapshots since Nov 2, 2026. History covers stars and forks; health signals are not tracked historically.

Selected snapshot

Stars

639

Forks

33

More snapshots will appear as the daily collection continues.

Overview

kanzo is a browser-based kanban board and MCP server built in Rust, with SQLite for its board data. It brings people and coding agents onto the same tasks: agents can take work, move cards, and comment through MCP, while people manage the board in a browser or use the CLI. The project is designed to run locally without an account or separate server, on macOS, Linux, Windows, and Raspberry Pi.

Boards can be shared live across computers on a network or synced between machines through a private Git repository. This makes kanzo suited to small teams or individuals who want agent-assisted task tracking without adopting a hosted project-management service.

Key Features

  • Browser-based kanban board with projects, task descriptions, comments, and image attachments.
  • MCP server that lets coding agents take tasks, update their status, and comment.
  • CLI commands for starting the board, sharing or syncing it, and exporting board data as Markdown or JSON.
  • Live board sharing across computers on a trusted network, plus Git-based sync for machines used at different times.
  • Optional backlog column for ideas agents should leave untouched until promoted to todo.
  • SQLite-backed data stored locally, with configurable data directory and port.
  • Service installation to keep the board running and start it at login.

Use Cases

  • A developer wants coding agents to work from a visible task queue while retaining control of which tasks are assigned to people.
  • A solo user wants a local project board that can be accessed from the browser and manipulated from scripts or a terminal.
  • A household or small team wants to share one board across computers on a trusted home network, potentially hosted on a Raspberry Pi.
  • Someone working across machines at different times wants to carry board state through a private Git repository rather than run a shared server.

What you need

Detected in the repository

  • Rust 1.89 or newer (from Cargo.toml)
  • Automated checks on GitHub Actions

License in plain words

AGPL-3.0network copyleft

  • Commercial use: yes
  • Modify and redistribute: yes
  • You must keep: the license notice
  • Share your changes: yes, the full source, also when people only use it over a network (e.g. as a hosted service)
  • Includes an explicit patent grant from the contributors:

A summary, not legal advice: the LICENSE file is what applies.

Getting Started

Install on macOS or Linux with:

curl -LsSf https://github.com/emanuele-em/kanzo/releases/latest/download/kanzo-installer.sh | sh
kanzo

The board opens at http://localhost:4242. Windows installation and agent setup instructions are in the README.

Alternatives

  • kaneo: Kaneo is a team-oriented web app with board, list, calendar, and Gantt views, while kanzo is a local-first Rust kanban board with an MCP server.
  • kanri: Kanri is a standalone desktop Kanban app with import and export options, while kanzo also exposes its local task board to coding agents through MCP.
ProjectLanguageLicenseStarsStatus
kanzoRustAGPL-3.0509New
kaneoTypeScriptMIT9.4kActive
kanriVueGPL-3.02kMaintained

Considerations

  • The project is only days old in the supplied health data and is changing quickly. Although it has recent commits and releases, one contributor accounts for most of the code, so maintenance continuity is a meaningful risk.
  • Rust 1.89 is the listed runtime requirement for building from source. The README describes prebuilt installers and Cargo installation; no Docker or Compose setup is listed.
  • Network sharing has no login system. Keep it on a trusted network or use a VPN for remote access, as the README recommends.
  • AGPL-3.0 permits use and modification but requires sharing source for modified versions offered over a network.
  • The supplied requirements data reports no tests, so adopters should assess their own validation needs before relying on it for critical workflows.

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