head to head · open source
nimbalyst vs KaibanJS
nimbalyst has 2,020 GitHub stars, 328 forks, 642 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. KaibanJS has 1,486 stars, 159 forks, 78 open issues and last shipped 6 months ago. nimbalyst leads on adoption by 36% (2,020 vs 1,486 stars). nimbalyst is written in TypeScript under MIT; KaibanJS is written in TypeScript under MIT. nimbalyst has attracted 16% as many forks as stars, KaibanJS 11%. nimbalyst was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (kanban), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| nimbalyst | KaibanJS | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 2.0K | ★ 1.5K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-03 | 2026-05-15 |
| Forks | ⑂ 328 | ⑂ 159 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick nimbalyst if
- You weight community size — 2.0K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick KaibanJS if
- You want the KaibanJS feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and KaibanJS fits your workflow better
About nimbalyst
Nimbalyst: Open source visual workspace for building with Codex, Claude Code, OpenCode, and other coding agents. Work on everything in one place: sessions, worktrees, tasks, docs, diagrams, mockups, commits, and code. Visually editable. Deeply linked. Free and MIT licensed. Desktop app for macOS, Windows, and Linux, with an iOS companion app. Website · Download · Documentation · Discord What you get Visual editing of the agent's work. WYSIWYG editors for markdown, mockups, Mermaid, Excalidraw, CSV, data models, and code in Monaco. You and the coding agent edit the same files. Red/green diff review. Step through…
read the full nimbalyst overview →
About KaibanJS
KaibanJS The JavaScript Framework for Building Multi agent Systems. Kanban for AI Agents? 🤖📋 KaibanJS is inspired by the tried and true Kanban methodology, which is well known for helping teams organize and manage their work. We've adapted these concepts to meet the unique challenges of AI agent management . If you've used tools like Trello, Jira, or ClickUp, you'll be familiar with how Kanban helps manage tasks. Now, KaibanJS uses that same system to help you manage AI agents and their tasks in real time. With KaibanJS, you can: 🔨 Create, visualize, and manage AI agents, tasks, tools, and teams 🎯…
read the full KaibanJS overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is nimbalyst or KaibanJS more popular?
nimbalyst has 2,020 GitHub stars and KaibanJS has 1,486. nimbalyst has the larger community by that measure.
Are nimbalyst and KaibanJS free?
Both are open source. nimbalyst is licensed under MIT and KaibanJS under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between nimbalyst and KaibanJS?
nimbalyst is written in TypeScript and KaibanJS in TypeScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, nimbalyst or KaibanJS?
Choose nimbalyst if you want the larger community (2,020 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose KaibanJS if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.