kanban-mcp 0.1.12

Kanban board MCP server for Claude Code — track issues, features, and todos

kanban-mcp

A database-backed kanban board that AI coding agents use via MCP (Model Context Protocol). Track issues, features, todos, epics, and diary entries across all your projects — with a web UI for humans and 40+ tools for agents.

More screenshots

What It Does

• Persistent project tracking — issues, features, todos, epics, diary entries stored in MySQL/MariaDB
• Status workflows — each item type has its own progression (backlog → todo → in_progress → review → done → closed)
• Relationships & epics — parent/child hierarchies, blocking relationships, epic progress tracking
• Tags, decisions, file links — attach metadata to any item
• Semantic search — find similar items using local ONNX embeddings (optional; downloads nomic-embed-text-v1.5 from HuggingFace on first use, ~140MB)
• Activity timeline — unified view of status changes, decisions, updates, and git commits
• Export — JSON, YAML, or Markdown output with filters
• Web UI — browser-based board at localhost:5000
• Session hooks — inject active items into AI agent sessions automatically

Quick Start

Linux / macOS:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/multidimensionalcats/kanban-mcp/main/install.sh | bash

Windows (PowerShell):

irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/multidimensionalcats/kanban-mcp/main/install.ps1 | iex

The install script handles everything: installs pipx and kanban-mcp, detects MySQL/MariaDB (or starts it via Docker), creates the database, runs migrations, and writes your config.

Already have MySQL/MariaDB running? The fast path:

pipx install kanban-mcp[semantic]
kanban-setup
kanban-cli --project "$(pwd)" summary

Prerequisites

• Python 3.10+
• MySQL 8.0+ or MariaDB 11+ — one of:
  • Local MySQL/MariaDB install
  • Remote MySQL/MariaDB server
  • Docker (the install script can set this up for you)
• pipx (recommended) — installed automatically by the install script if missing

Installation

The install script is the primary install method. It detects your MySQL/MariaDB situation and walks you through setup:

# Interactive — detects MySQL/MariaDB, offers Docker if needed, installs pipx/kanban-mcp
./install.sh

# Non-interactive with Docker for MySQL/MariaDB
./install.sh --auto --docker

# Non-interactive with remote MySQL/MariaDB
./install.sh --auto --db-host remote.example.com

# Windows equivalents
.\install.ps1
.\install.ps1 -Auto -Docker
.\install.ps1 -Auto -DbHost remote.example.com

Option 1: pipx (recommended)

pipx installs into an isolated virtualenv while making commands globally available. This avoids PEP 668 conflicts on modern distros and ensures hooks work outside the venv.

pipx install kanban-mcp[semantic]

Without semantic search (smaller install):

pipx install kanban-mcp

Upgrade later with:

pipx upgrade kanban-mcp

Option 2: pip

pip install --user kanban-mcp[semantic]

Note: On modern distros (Debian 12+, Fedora 38+, Arch, Gentoo), bare pip install is blocked by PEP 668. Use --user, --break-system-packages, or prefer pipx.

Option 3: From source (development)

git clone https://github.com/multidimensionalcats/kanban-mcp.git
cd kanban-mcp
pip install -e .[dev,semantic]

Note: If PEP 668 blocks the install, use a venv: python3 -m venv .venv && source .venv/bin/activate first. Be aware that hooks run via /bin/sh, not the venv Python — you'll need to use full paths to the venv's console scripts in your hook configuration.

Option 4: Docker (MySQL/MariaDB + web UI)

The install script can start MySQL/MariaDB via Docker for you (./install.sh --docker or choose Docker when prompted). If you prefer to run the compose stack manually:

git clone https://github.com/multidimensionalcats/kanban-mcp.git
cd kanban-mcp
docker compose up

This starts MySQL 8.0 and the web UI on port 5000. Migrations run automatically on web container startup. The database is exposed on port 3306 so the host-side MCP server can connect. The MCP server still needs a separate install (pipx or pip) since MCP clients spawn it as a subprocess.

Credentials are configurable via environment variables:

KANBAN_DB_USER=myuser KANBAN_DB_PASSWORD=secret docker compose up

Database Setup

Requires MySQL 8.0+ or MariaDB 11+ running locally (or remotely).

Automated (interactive)

kanban-setup

Prompts for database name, user, password, and MySQL/MariaDB root credentials (including root password), then creates the database, runs migrations, and writes credentials to ~/.config/kanban-mcp/.env.

Note: On Debian/Ubuntu, default-mysql-server installs MariaDB, which defaults to auth_socket for the root user. Socket auth only works when the OS user matches the MySQL user (i.e. running as OS root). For non-root users, provide the MySQL root password when prompted — this is the normal path.

Note: kanban-setup --with-semantic installs the semantic search Python packages. This is only needed if you installed without [semantic] initially (e.g. pipx install kanban-mcp). If you already installed with kanban-mcp[semantic], you don't need this flag.

Automated (non-interactive / AI agents)

The --auto flag skips all interactive prompts. Without it, kanban-setup will prompt for each value.

# With root password (most common)
kanban-setup --auto --mysql-root-password rootpass

# With explicit credentials via environment variables
KANBAN_DB_NAME=kanban KANBAN_DB_USER=kanban KANBAN_DB_PASSWORD=secret \
  MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=rootpass kanban-setup --auto

# With CLI args
kanban-setup --auto --db-name mydb --db-user myuser --db-password secret

# Socket auth (only works when OS user matches MySQL user, e.g. running as root)
kanban-setup --auto

Important: MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD is required for non-interactive use unless you are running as OS root. Socket auth (auth_socket) only works when the OS user matches the MySQL user — this is uncommon outside of CI or Docker. On Debian/Ubuntu, MariaDB defaults root to auth_socket — set MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD or use the manual SQL setup below.

Install script reference

The install scripts can be run from the repo or downloaded standalone:

./install.sh                                        # interactive (detects MySQL/MariaDB, offers Docker)
./install.sh --auto                                  # non-interactive, local MySQL/MariaDB (socket auth)
MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=rootpass ./install.sh --auto      # non-interactive, with root password
./install.sh --auto --docker                         # non-interactive, Docker
./install.sh --auto --db-host HOST                   # non-interactive, remote
./install.sh --upgrade                               # upgrade existing Docker install

.\install.ps1                         # Windows interactive
.\install.ps1 -Auto                   # Windows non-interactive
.\install.ps1 -Auto -Docker           # Windows Docker
.\install.ps1 -Auto -DbHost HOST      # Windows remote
.\install.ps1 -Upgrade                # upgrade existing Docker install

Env Variable	Default	Description
KANBAN_DB_NAME	kanban	Database name
KANBAN_DB_USER	kanban	Database user
KANBAN_DB_PASSWORD	(auto-generated)	Database password
KANBAN_DB_HOST	localhost	Database host
KANBAN_DB_PORT	3306	Database port
MYSQL_ROOT_USER	root	Database admin user
MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD	(none — tries socket auth)	Database admin password (required unless running as OS root)

Manual

Manual setup is a good alternative if database root auth is problematic (e.g. socket auth issues, restricted access).

-- As MySQL/MariaDB root user:
CREATE DATABASE kanban CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_unicode_ci;
CREATE USER 'kanban'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'your_password_here';
CREATE USER 'kanban'@'%' IDENTIFIED BY 'your_password_here';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON `kanban`.* TO 'kanban'@'localhost';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON `kanban`.* TO 'kanban'@'%';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

Note: On MariaDB, 'kanban'@'%' does not match localhost socket connections — you need both the @'localhost' and @'%' users.

Run the migration files in order:

mysql -u kanban -p kanban < kanban_mcp/migrations/001_initial_schema.sql
mysql -u kanban -p kanban < kanban_mcp/migrations/002_add_fulltext_search.sql
mysql -u kanban -p kanban < kanban_mcp/migrations/003_add_embeddings.sql
mysql -u kanban -p kanban < kanban_mcp/migrations/004_add_cascades_and_indexes.sql

Configuration

Credentials

kanban-setup writes database credentials to a .env file in the user config directory:

• Linux/macOS: ~/.config/kanban-mcp/.env (or $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/kanban-mcp/.env)
• Windows: %APPDATA%\kanban-mcp\.env

All install methods (pipx, pip, source) use this same location. You can also set credentials via environment variables or your MCP client's env block.

Precedence (highest to lowest): MCP client env block → shell environment variables → .env file. In practice, just use one method — the .env file from kanban-setup is simplest.

Variable	Required	Default	Description
KANBAN_DB_HOST	No	localhost	Database server host
KANBAN_DB_PORT	No	3306	Database server port
KANBAN_DB_USER	Yes	—	Database username
KANBAN_DB_PASSWORD	Yes	—	Database password
KANBAN_DB_NAME	Yes	—	Database name
KANBAN_DB_POOL_SIZE	No	5	Connection pool size
KANBAN_PROJECT_DIR	No	—	Override project directory detection
KANBAN_WEB_PORT	No	5000	Web UI port (kanban-web)
KANBAN_WEB_HOST	No	127.0.0.1	Web UI bind address (kanban-web)

MCP Client Setup

The kanban-mcp server speaks JSON-RPC 2.0 over stdin/stdout (standard MCP STDIO transport). Any MCP client can use it. If kanban-setup already wrote your .env file, you only need the command — no env block required.

If you need to pass credentials explicitly (e.g. the client doesn't inherit your shell environment), add an env block:

"env": {
  "KANBAN_DB_HOST": "localhost",
  "KANBAN_DB_USER": "kanban",
  "KANBAN_DB_PASSWORD": "your_password_here",
  "KANBAN_DB_NAME": "kanban"
}

Claude Code

Add to ~/.claude.json (global) or .mcp.json (per-project):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "kanban": {
      "command": "kanban-mcp"
    }
  }
}

Claude Desktop

Add to ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (Linux) or ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "kanban": {
      "command": "kanban-mcp"
    }
  }
}

Gemini CLI

Add to ~/.gemini/settings.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "kanban": {
      "command": "kanban-mcp"
    }
  }
}

VS Code / Copilot

Add to .vscode/mcp.json (per-project):

{
  "servers": {
    "kanban": {
      "command": "kanban-mcp"
    }
  }
}

Note: VS Code uses the key servers, not mcpServers.

Codex CLI

Add to ~/.codex/config.toml:

[mcp_servers.kanban]
command = "kanban-mcp"

Cursor

Add to .cursor/mcp.json (per-project):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "kanban": {
      "command": "kanban-mcp"
    }
  }
}

Other MCP Clients

For any other MCP-compatible tool: point it at the kanban-mcp command with STDIO transport. If the tool can't read the .env file (e.g. it doesn't inherit your shell environment), pass the four KANBAN_DB_* variables via the client's env configuration.

Hooks

Hooks are what make the agent use the board automatically. Without them, the agent only interacts with kanban-mcp when you explicitly ask it to.

Two hooks ship as console scripts, installed alongside kanban-mcp:

kanban-hook-session-start — Runs at session start. Reads the project directory from the hook's stdin JSON (cwd field), looks up the project in the database, and prints any in-progress items. This output gets injected into the conversation context, so the agent knows what's active without being told.

kanban-hook-stop — Runs at session end. Lists items still in progress and suggests creating a diary entry, updating statuses, or adding progress notes. This nudges the agent (and you) to keep the board current.

Both hooks exit silently if the project isn't tracked or the database is unreachable — they never block a session.

Which clients support hooks?

Client	Session hooks?	Config location
Claude Code	Yes	~/.claude/settings.json
Gemini CLI	Yes	~/.gemini/settings.json
VS Code Copilot	Yes (preview)	~/.claude/settings.json¹ or .github/hooks/*.json
Copilot CLI	Yes	Hook config files
Cursor	Yes (plugin primitive)	Hook config

¹ VS Code Copilot reads Claude Code's hook configuration — if you already configured hooks for Claude Code, VS Code Copilot will use them too.

Claude Code, Gemini CLI, and VS Code Copilot all use the same hook format. Gemini CLI also sets CLAUDE_PROJECT_DIR as a compatibility alias, so the kanban hooks work across all three without modification.

Configuration

Hooks run via /bin/sh (Linux/macOS) or cmd (Windows), which do not read shell profiles — you must use absolute paths.

Find your paths:

# Linux/macOS
which kanban-hook-session-start   # typically ~/.local/bin/kanban-hook-session-start
which kanban-hook-stop

# Windows
Get-Command kanban-hook-session-start | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Source
# typically C:\Users\<you>\pipx\venvs\kanban-mcp\Scripts\kanban-hook-session-start.exe

Merge into your client's settings file (~/.claude/settings.json for Claude Code and VS Code Copilot, ~/.gemini/settings.json for Gemini CLI):

Linux/macOS:

{
  "hooks": {
    "SessionStart": [
      { "hooks": [{ "type": "command", "command": "/home/you/.local/bin/kanban-hook-session-start" }] }
    ],
    "Stop": [
      { "hooks": [{ "type": "command", "command": "/home/you/.local/bin/kanban-hook-stop" }] }
    ]
  }
}

Windows:

{
  "hooks": {
    "SessionStart": [
      { "hooks": [{ "type": "command", "command": "C:\\Users\\you\\pipx\\venvs\\kanban-mcp\\Scripts\\kanban-hook-session-start.exe" }] }
    ],
    "Stop": [
      { "hooks": [{ "type": "command", "command": "C:\\Users\\you\\pipx\\venvs\\kanban-mcp\\Scripts\\kanban-hook-stop.exe" }] }
    ]
  }
}

If you already have hooks configured, add the kanban entries to your existing arrays — don't replace them.

Tip: install.sh and install.ps1 print a ready-to-use config snippet with your resolved paths after setup completes.

Usage

First session

Once installed and configured, open your AI agent in a project directory. The first time you do this:

1. The session start hook fires but exits silently (it doesn't know about this project yet)
2. The agent needs to call set_current_project with your working directory's absolute path — this auto-creates the project in the database
3. From this point, all kanban tools work against this project
4. At session end, the stop hook lists any in-progress items and suggests logging progress

On subsequent sessions in the same directory, the start hook injects your active items into the conversation automatically — the agent picks up where you left off.

There is no "create project" command. Projects are created implicitly the first time set_current_project is called for a directory. If the agent doesn't call it on its own, ask it to — or the hooks will handle project context once the project exists in the database.

Important: set_current_project hashes the directory path as-is to identify the project. Always pass the absolute path (e.g. /home/you/my-project), not a relative path like . — relative paths will create a different project entry.

Three interfaces

kanban-mcp provides three ways to interact with the same data:

MCP tools — 40+ tools the AI agent calls during conversation. This is the primary interface. The agent creates items, tracks dependencies, advances statuses, and logs progress as part of your normal workflow. You don't need to tell it to — the session hooks provide context and the agent uses the tools naturally.

Web UI — a browser-based kanban board for humans.

kanban-web                    # http://127.0.0.1:5000
kanban-web --port 8080        # custom port
kanban-web --host 0.0.0.0     # network-accessible (no auth — use with care)
KANBAN_WEB_PORT=8080 kanban-web  # port via env var

macOS note: Port 5000 is used by AirPlay Receiver on modern macOS. If kanban-web fails to bind, use --port 5001 or set KANBAN_WEB_PORT=5001.

The board shows all status columns (backlog → todo → in_progress → review → done → closed) with drag-and-drop between them. Use the project dropdown in the header to switch between projects. Cards show priority, tags, epic membership, blocking relationships, and progress bars for epics.

CLI — kanban-cli for terminal queries, scripts, and exports. Every command takes --project PATH (the same directory path you'd use with your agent) and an optional --format {text,json}.

CLI reference

All commands take --project PATH with the absolute path to your project directory, and an optional --format {text,json}.

# What's currently being worked on?
kanban-cli --project /path/to/project active

# What's in the backlog?
kanban-cli --project /path/to/project todos

# Project overview — counts by type and status
kanban-cli --project /path/to/project summary

# Search items and updates
kanban-cli --project /path/to/project search "authentication"

# Semantic search (requires [semantic] extra)
kanban-cli --project /path/to/project semantic-search "auth problems" --limit 5

# Export the full board
kanban-cli --project /path/to/project export --format markdown
kanban-cli --project /path/to/project export --format json --metrics --relationships

# Get children of an epic
kanban-cli --project /path/to/project children 42 --recursive

# Context dump (what the session hooks use internally)
kanban-cli --project /path/to/project context

# Rebuild embeddings after bulk changes
kanban-cli --project /path/to/project rebuild-embeddings

Tip: Paths are resolved (symlinks, ., ..) before hashing, so --project . and --project $PWD refer to the same project.

Upgrading

Database migrations run automatically on startup — no manual migration step needed after upgrading.

pipx:

pipx upgrade kanban-mcp

pip:

pip install --user --upgrade kanban-mcp

From source:

cd kanban-mcp && git pull && pip install -e .[dev,semantic]

Docker:

./install.sh --upgrade
# Windows: .\install.ps1 -Upgrade

This re-downloads the latest Docker files, rebuilds the web image from PyPI, and restarts the containers. Migrations run automatically on container startup.

For AI Coding Agents

Claude, Gemini, GPT, Codex, and other agents: start here.

If your human has asked you to install kanban-mcp, follow these steps exactly. Do not improvise. The --auto flag handles all prompts.

1. Install and set up the database

Ask your human whether MySQL/MariaDB is already running locally, or whether to use Docker. Then run the appropriate one-liner:

# Local MySQL/MariaDB (socket auth or set MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD):
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/multidimensionalcats/kanban-mcp/main/install.sh | bash -s -- --auto

# No database — use Docker:
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/multidimensionalcats/kanban-mcp/main/install.sh | bash -s -- --auto --docker

# Remote MySQL/MariaDB:
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/multidimensionalcats/kanban-mcp/main/install.sh | bash -s -- --auto --db-host HOST

Set MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD before running if the database root user uses password auth.

For Windows (PowerShell):

irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/multidimensionalcats/kanban-mcp/main/install.ps1 -OutFile install.ps1
.\install.ps1 -Auto

This installs pipx (if needed), installs kanban-mcp, creates the database, runs migrations, and writes credentials to ~/.config/kanban-mcp/.env.

2. Add MCP config

Write the config entry for whichever tool you are:

Tool	Config file	Key	Format
Claude Code	.mcp.json (project) or ~/.claude.json (global)	mcpServers	JSON
Claude Desktop	~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json	mcpServers	JSON
Gemini CLI	~/.gemini/settings.json	mcpServers	JSON
VS Code / Copilot	.vscode/mcp.json	servers	JSON
Cursor	.cursor/mcp.json	mcpServers	JSON
Codex CLI	~/.codex/config.toml	[mcp_servers.kanban]	TOML

The server entry (JSON example):

{
  "kanban": {
    "command": "kanban-mcp"
  }
}

No env block is needed — credentials are read from ~/.config/kanban-mcp/.env which the install script created in step 1.

3. Verify

kanban-cli --project /path/to/humans/project summary

4. Configure hooks (recommended)

Hooks are what make you use the board automatically. Without them, you only interact with kanban-mcp when the human asks you to.

• kanban-hook-session-start — Runs at session start. Reads the project directory, queries in-progress items, and injects them into the conversation so you know what's active.
• kanban-hook-stop — Runs at session end. Lists items still in progress and reminds you to update statuses or create a diary entry.

If your client supports hooks (Claude Code, Gemini CLI, VS Code Copilot, Copilot CLI, Cursor): resolve the absolute paths via which, read your client's hook config file, merge the kanban hook entries (preserving any existing hooks), and write back. Do not overwrite other hook entries. See the Hooks section above for per-client config formats and paths.

Entry Points

Command	Description
kanban-mcp	MCP server (STDIO JSON-RPC) — used by AI clients
kanban-web	Web UI on localhost:5000 (--port, --host, --debug flags; env: KANBAN_WEB_PORT, KANBAN_WEB_HOST)
kanban-cli	CLI for manual queries and hook scripts (--project, --format flags)
kanban-setup	Database setup wizard (--auto for non-interactive, --with-semantic)
kanban-hook-session-start	Session start hook — injects active items into agent sessions
kanban-hook-stop	Session stop hook — prompts for progress updates

MCP Tools Reference

Project Management

Tool	Description
set_current_project	Set the current project context (called at session start with $PWD)
get_current_project	Get the current project context
project_summary	Get summary of items by type and status
get_active_items	Get items in 'in_progress' status
get_todos	Get items in 'backlog' status — the todo queue

Item CRUD

Tool	Description
new_item	Create a new issue, todo, feature, epic, or diary entry
list_items	List items with optional type/status/tag filters
get_item	Get full details of a specific item
edit_item	Edit an item's title, description, priority, complexity, and/or parent
delete_item	Permanently delete an item

Status Workflow

Tool	Description
advance_status	Move item to next status in its workflow
revert_status	Move item to previous status
set_status	Set item to a specific status
close_item	Mark item as done/closed
get_status_history	Get status change history for an item
get_item_metrics	Get calculated metrics: lead_time, cycle_time, time_in_each_status

Progress Updates

Tool	Description
add_update	Add a progress update, optionally linked to items
get_latest_update	Get the most recent update
get_updates	Get recent updates

Relationships & Hierarchy

Tool	Description
add_relationship	Add a relationship (blocks, depends_on, relates_to, duplicates)
remove_relationship	Remove a relationship
get_item_relationships	Get all relationships for an item
get_blocking_items	Get items that block a given item
set_parent	Set or remove parent relationship
list_children	Get children of an item (optional recursive)
get_epic_progress	Get progress stats for an epic

Tags

Tool	Description
list_tags	List all tags with usage counts
add_tag	Add a tag to an item
remove_tag	Remove a tag from an item
get_item_tags	Get all tags assigned to an item
update_tag	Update tag name and/or color
delete_tag	Delete a tag from the project

File Links & Decisions

Tool	Description
link_file	Link a file (or file region) to an item
unlink_file	Remove a file link
get_item_files	Get all files linked to an item
add_decision	Add a decision record to an item
get_item_decisions	Get all decisions for an item
delete_decision	Delete a decision record

Search & Export

Tool	Description
search	Full-text search across items and updates
semantic_search	Search by semantic similarity (requires [semantic] extra)
find_similar	Find items similar to a given item, decision, or update
rebuild_embeddings	Rebuild all embeddings for the project
export_project	Export project data in JSON, YAML, or Markdown

Timeline

Tool	Description
get_item_timeline	Activity timeline for a specific item
get_project_timeline	Activity timeline for the entire project

Item Types & Workflows

Type	Workflow
issue	backlog → todo → in_progress → review → done → closed
feature	backlog → todo → in_progress → review → done → closed
epic	backlog → todo → in_progress → review → done → closed
todo	backlog → todo → in_progress → done
question	backlog → in_progress → done
diary	done (single state)

Contributing

git clone https://github.com/multidimensionalcats/kanban-mcp.git
cd kanban-mcp
python3 -m venv .venv && source .venv/bin/activate
pip install -e .[dev,semantic]

# Run Python tests (requires MySQL/MariaDB with test DB configured)
pytest

# Run frontend JS tests (requires Node.js — optional, only touches web UI code)
npm install && npm test

License

MIT