Open source · self-hosted · agent-friendly

Manage work from your terminal — or let your agents do it.

A task management CLI with a REST API backend and Kanban board. JSON output makes it scriptable. Structured statuses make it agent-ready.

GitHub Releases

curl -fsSL https://jmkelly.github.io/task/installers/task-install-macos.sh | bash

curl -fsSL https://jmkelly.github.io/task/installers/task-install-linux.sh | bash

irm https://jmkelly.github.io/task/installers/task-install-windows.ps1 | iex

Interfaces: CLI, API, Kanban
Storage: SQLite, self-hosted
Automation: JSON, search, notifications

Developer workflow CLI

$ task server start
Task API started at http://127.0.0.1:45853 (port 45853).

$ task add "Ship GitHub Pages site" \
  --project marketing \
  --tags website,launch

$ task list --json
[
  {
    "uid": "42cada",
    "title": "Ship GitHub Pages site",
    "status": "in_progress"
  }
]

Kanban board Web UI

Task Kanban board screenshot showing Todo, In Progress, Blocked, and Done columns.

Quick start

Start managing work in seconds.

Start the server

task server start

Add a task

task add "Review pull request"

List and search

task list --status todo
task search "review"

Features

Terminal-first. Agent-ready. Your data.

CLI

Works in your terminal

Plain text for humans, JSON for scripts. Add, list, search, complete — without leaving your workflow.

Kanban

Visual board when you need it

Todo, In Progress, Blocked, Done. Spin up the web UI for a quick overview or stakeholder alignment.

API

REST endpoints for automation

Full CRUD, filtering, search, and OpenAPI docs. Plug it into bots, agents, or internal tools.

Self-hosted

SQLite storage, no vendor lock-in. Your data stays with you.

Searchable

Full-text and semantic search across tasks, descriptions, and tags.

Structured output

JSON output with explicit error handling for reliable automations.

Task states

Blocked work, assignees, due dates, tags, and project context.

Integrations

Plug it into your toolchain.

AI agents

Give agents a task backend

JSON I/O, explicit statuses, and tags work well for orchestrator/sub-agent workflows. Your Planner, Coder, and Reviewer can create, assign, and complete tasks agentically. Just add task instructions to your agent md files

Scripts

Automate with shell and cron

Chain commands, pipe JSON to jq, set up overdue alerts. Task fits into existing automation without ceremony.

Notifications

Telegram and custom hooks

Get notified when all tasks clear. Built in Telegram support, extension points for your own providers for Slack, email, or webhooks.

Docs

Everything you need to get started.

Project guide