Kanri is a free, open source time & task management project written in Vue and released under GPL-3.0. It has 2,029 GitHub stars, 171 forks and 140 open issues, and was last pushed 5 hours ago. On this registry it ranks #8 of 13 tracked projects in Time & Task Management, with 5 head-to-head comparisons available. It gained 6 stars over the last 6 tracked days.

What is Kanri?

What it is

Kanri is a desktop Kanban board application for Windows, macOS, and Linux, built with Tauri, Nuxt 3, Vue, and TypeScript. It is positioned as an offline-first productivity tool for task management, and it does not require an internet connection or a user account. The project lives in the open-source desktop application ecosystem, where it is distributed as a native application rather than as a hosted web service.

The problem it addresses is the dependence on cloud-based Kanban boards, which often require accounts, network access, and vendor-hosted data. Kanri keeps board data in a single local .json file, so users can create, edit, and organize cards without a remote server. Its stated philosophy is to do one thing well, and the README says there will never be any cloud sync built in. This makes the project suitable for users who want a simple local board while retaining direct control over their data.

Key capabilities

  • Kanri provides a familiar Kanban board layout with customizable columns and cards.
  • Cards support rich-text descriptions, sub-tasks, due dates, and tags.
  • The application stores data offline in one simple .json file.
  • Users can customize the interface with custom themes and board background images.
  • Keyboard shortcuts are available for faster board navigation.
  • Kanri supports basic data import from Trello.
  • It offers granular or full export options for backups.

Who uses it and how

  • Individuals who need a local task board use Kanri on Windows, macOS, or Linux without creating an account.
  • Users migrating from Trello can import existing board data and then continue working offline.
  • People who need backups can export board data from the application and store the exported files themselves.
  • Users who prefer keyboard-driven workflows can navigate boards more quickly with the available shortcuts.
  • Users who want visual customization can change themes and board background images to match their preferences.

Getting started

Kanri is available through installers on its official download page and through GitHub releases, while macOS users can install it with Homebrew. Apple Silicon users may need to run the README command because the application is not signed with an Apple Developer membership.

When to use it — and when not to

Kanri is a good fit when a user wants a simple local Kanban board and does not need cloud synchronization. It is less suitable when someone expects built-in cloud synchronization, remote access through a hosted service, or automatic remote backups. Because the project is still in active development and provided as is, users should make regular exports to protect their data.

project readme (upstream, from github) — read inline

Kanri banner
Made with simplicity and user experience in mind, Kanri helps you create Kanban boards easily, right from your desktop. No internet connection or account needed.

Release Version Badge
Repo license Reuse status

Demo

showcase_gif_kanri

Download

Kanri is available for Windows, macOS and Linux (only supporting more recent versions of the respective operating systems).

There are several ways to download Kanri:

  • Recommended: Select the installer for your operating system on the official download page
  • The same downloads can also be found under the GitHub releases
  • For macOS, you can also use Homebrew:
    brew install kanriapp/cask/kanri
    
Note for Apple Silicon macOS users:Because Kanri is not signed (there is no funding which would sponsor the required Apple Developer membership), you need to run the following command to prevent errors saying the app is broken:
xattr -cr /Applications/kanri.app

Why Kanri?

At it's core, Kanri has the philosophy "do one thing, and do it well". Kanri is supposed to be a simpler, more user-friendly offline alternative to other cloud-based Kanban applications.

No matter what features get added, your data will always be yours, and there will never be any cloud sync built in. In the future, there will most likely be an option to save individual boards to different file paths, which will make the usage of tools such as Syncthing easier, but it's up to you what you do with your data.

Core Features

  • Familiar Kanban board layout with customizable columns, cards, including rich-text descriptions, sub-tasks, due-dates and tags
  • Customization options such as custom themes and board background images
  • Offline data storage in one simple .json file
  • Keyboard shortcuts for faster board navigation
  • Basic data import from Trello, granular or full export for backups

Roadmap

Long term vision for the project:

  • 👷‍♂️ Improve current features and refactor to avoid tech debt
  • ➕ Add additional small/mid-sized features with high impact (reminders, card images, etc.)
  • 🚚 Work towards 1.0 release with features from the backlog like internationalization or a widget panel
  • 🔍 After 1.0: Maintenance mode, smaller releases featuring fixes, new languages and simple features/UX improvements

A granular list of open tasks can be found in the roadmap.

This project is open for any contributions or feature requests as long as they are polite, provide enough context and remain patient (replies might take a few days). If you want to work on a feature which is in the backlog, please ask in the corresponding issue (or open one if there is none) about the status of the feature before implementing it.

[!NOTE] This project is still in active development and is provided "AS IS". Please make regular backups/exports to prevent any data loss.

🛠 Contributing & Build Setup

If you want to contribute, please take a look at the Contribution Guidelines. The main branch is equivalent to a dev branch where development is done on - submit PRs here. The release branch is similar to a stable branch with the code of latest release.

Build Setup: If you want to build the app, you need to install Node.js (latest LTS version recommended), a package manager like yarn and the ↗ Tauri development environment. Then, depending on your use case you can run the commands below:

# Install dependencies
pnpm install

# Start debug tauri build
pnpm tauri dev

# Build tauri for production
pnpm generate
pnpm tauri build

Copyright (c) 2022-2026 trobonox ([email protected]). Licensed under GPL v3 (with some files under Apache 2.0 or other licenses stated in the files themselves). The Kanri logo, name and other branding are NOT open source, full copyright belongs to trobonox.

Frequently asked questions

Is Kanri free to use?

Kanri is open source under the GPL-3.0 licence. There is no licence fee and no seat count — you can self-host it or, where the project offers one, pay a vendor for a managed version instead.

What does Kanri do?

Simplify your workflow with offline Kanban boards

What is Kanri written in?

Kanri is primarily written in Vue. Its source is publicly available at https://github.com/kanriapp/kanri, and it has 2,029 GitHub stars.