sanban

Simple kanban that just works. No bloat, no login, no SaaS.

JSON-backed boards with a REST API, MCP server, and a dark UI. For devs who want tasks tracked without the overhead.

Screenshots

Related MCP server: Obsidian Kanban MCP Server

Quick Start

uv sync
uv tool install .
sanban              # http://localhost:8900

The web server runs independently. Agents connect via MCP separately.

Setup with an AI Agent

Paste this into opencode, Claude Code, Cursor, or any AI agent — it will install sanban, start the server, register MCP, load the skill, and verify everything:

Clone https://github.com/aancw/sanban, run `uv tool install .` from inside the repo (binary lands at ~/.local/bin/sanban — ensure ~/.local/bin is on PATH, e.g. `export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"`), start the server with `sanban` running in the background (or nohup/disown), register it as an MCP server named "sanban" running `sanban --mcp-only`, copy SKILL.md from the cloned repo into the agent's skills folder (e.g. ~/.claude/skills/sanban/SKILL.md or ~/.agents/skills/sanban/SKILL.md), then call `list_boards` to confirm it works.

Features

• Multiple boards with custom columns

• Drag-and-drop between columns

• Priority, effort, tags, assignees, due dates

• Full-text search and filters

• Markdown in titles and descriptions (code blocks with syntax highlighting)

• Edit and delete buttons on every card

• Keyboard shortcuts (/ search, n new, e expand)

• Agent-ready via MCP server

Why

• No database — one JSON file per board in ~/.sanban/boards/, easy to diff, commit, back up

• No auth — local-first, runs on localhost

• No framework — vanilla JS frontend, Geist font, dark mode

• Multi-board — one server, unlimited boards

REST API

MCP Server

Agents interact with boards via MCP stdio. This is a separate process from the web server — both read/write the same JSON files.

Agent Config (opencode.json)

{
  "mcp": {
    "sanban": {
      "type": "local",
      "command": ["sanban", "--mcp-only"],
      "enabled": true
    }
  }
}

Or running from source:

{
  "mcp": {
    "sanban": {
      "type": "local",
      "command": ["uv", "run", "--directory", "/path/to/sanban", "python", "-m", "sanban.server", "--mcp-only"],
      "enabled": true
    }
  }
}

Other agents: Adapt the config format for your CLI agent (Claude Desktop, Cursor, etc.). The command is always sanban --mcp-only — only the config wrapper changes.

Tools

Run Modes

sanban                # web server (REST API + UI) — keep this running
sanban --mcp-only     # MCP stdio — for agent config
sanban --rest-only    # REST only, no UI
sanban --port 9000    # custom port

Typical setup: run sanban in a terminal (or background it), then add sanban --mcp-only to your agent config. Both use the same ~/.sanban/boards/ data.

Data

Boards live in ~/.sanban/boards/<id>.json. Override with SANBAN_DATA_DIR.

For Agents

See SKILL.md for the full agent reference — API examples, MCP tools, item fields, and keyboard shortcuts.

Tech

Python 3.10+, FastAPI, uvicorn, MCP SDK. No database, no framework, no build step.

License

MIT