head to head · open source
vibe-kanban vs cairoshell
vibe-kanban has 28,569 GitHub stars, 3,050 forks, 540 open issues and last shipped 5 days ago. cairoshell has 3,408 stars, 277 forks, 246 open issues and last shipped 19 days ago. vibe-kanban leads on adoption by 738% (28,569 vs 3,408 stars). vibe-kanban is written in Rust under Apache-2.0; cairoshell is written in C# under Apache-2.0. vibe-kanban has attracted 11% as many forks as stars, cairoshell 8%. vibe-kanban was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (task-manager), 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
| vibe-kanban | cairoshell | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 29K | ★ 3.4K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Rust | C# |
| Last push | 2026-10-29 | 2026-10-15 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.0K | ⑂ 277 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick vibe-kanban if
- You weight community size — 29K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick cairoshell if
- You want the cairoshell feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C#
- You evaluated both and cairoshell fits your workflow better
About vibe-kanban
Get 10X more out of Claude Code, Gemini CLI, Codex, Amp and other coding agents... Vibe Kanban is sunsetting. Read the announcement. Overview In a world where software engineers spend most of their time planning and reviewing coding agents, the most impactful way to ship more is to get faster at planning and review. Vibe Kanban is built for this. Use kanban issues to plan work, either privately or with your team. When you're ready to begin, create workspaces where coding agents can execute. Plan with kanban issues — create, prioritise, and assign issues on a kanban board Run coding agents in workspaces — each…
read the full vibe-kanban overview →
About cairoshell
Cairo Desktop Environment A customizable, intuitive desktop environment for Windows. Cairo is a desktop environment for Windows. Our goal is to develop a desktop experience that increases productivity and advances current technology standards. With a focus on stability, performance, and productivity, Cairo aims to deliver an interface that exceeds expectations and delivers superior ease of use. Download The latest version of Cairo can be downloaded on the Releases page . Requirements Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8.1, Windows 10, or Windows 11 More information For an overview of Cairo features, visit our website…
read the full cairoshell overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is vibe-kanban or cairoshell more popular?
vibe-kanban has 28,569 GitHub stars and cairoshell has 3,408. vibe-kanban has the larger community by that measure.
Are vibe-kanban and cairoshell free?
Both are open source. vibe-kanban is licensed under Apache-2.0 and cairoshell under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between vibe-kanban and cairoshell?
vibe-kanban is written in Rust and cairoshell in C#. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, vibe-kanban or cairoshell?
Choose vibe-kanban if you want the larger community (28,569 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose cairoshell if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.