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wtf is kaneo?

usekaneo/kaneo — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-08-13

8,221TypeScriptAudience · developerComplexity · 3/5LicenseSetup · moderate

TL;DR

Kaneo is a self-hosted, open source project management tool, an alternative to Jira or Linear, with kanban boards and AI assistant integration.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((Kaneo))
    What it does
      Project management
      Kanban boards
      Issue tracking
      Jira alternative
    Tech stack
      TypeScript
      Docker
      PostgreSQL
      Kubernetes
    Use cases
      Self-hosted PM
      AI task management
      Team workflows
    Audience
      Developers
      Self-hosters
      Small teams

Code map

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Why would anyone build with this?

REASON 1

Run a self-hosted alternative to Jira or Linear for your team's project tracking.

REASON 2

Set up kanban boards to organize issues and tasks for a software project.

REASON 3

Connect Claude or Cursor to your project data through the built-in MCP server.

REASON 4

Deploy on Kubernetes using the provided Helm chart for a production setup.

What's in the stack?

TypeScriptDockerPostgreSQLKubernetesMCP

How it stacks up

usekaneo/kaneounicity-astrid/sdk-jsfounded-labs/react-native-reusables
Stars8,2218,2108,292
LanguageTypeScriptTypeScriptTypeScript
Last pushed2026-06-07
MaintenanceMaintained
Setup difficultymoderatemoderatemoderate
Complexity3/53/52/5
Audiencedeveloperdeveloperdeveloper

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you spin it up?

Difficulty · moderate Time to first run · 30min

Needs Docker and a PostgreSQL database, or the drim CLI for automated setup.

Use freely for any purpose, including commercial use, as long as you keep the copyright notice.

Wtf does this do

Kaneo is an open source project management tool built as an alternative to platforms like Jira and Linear. It gives teams kanban boards, issue tracking, and project organization without the clutter that the creators felt weighed down other tools. The idea behind it is that most project management software has too many features, buttons, and notifications that pull attention away from the actual work of building things. Kaneo tries to strip that back to a clean interface that focuses on what a team actually needs. Because Kaneo is self-hosted, your data stays on your own servers rather than a third party's cloud, and it is released under the permissive MIT license, so it is free to use, modify, and deploy commercially. There is also a hosted cloud option if you would rather not run it yourself. Getting it running is straightforward. The fastest path is Docker Compose, which starts both Kaneo and a PostgreSQL database with a short setup file, or you can use a companion CLI tool called drim that automates the whole deployment including HTTPS. A Helm chart is available for teams running Kubernetes. A notable feature is Kaneo's built in MCP server, which lets AI assistants such as Claude or Cursor connect directly to your instance and manage tasks, projects, and labels on your behalf through the Model Context Protocol. The project is built with TypeScript, has an active Discord community, and welcomes contributions through bug reports, documentation improvements, and code changes described in its contributing guide.

Yoink these prompts

Prompt 1
Help me set up Kaneo with Docker Compose and connect it to a PostgreSQL database.
Prompt 2
Write a Helm values file to deploy Kaneo on my Kubernetes cluster with TLS enabled.
Prompt 3
Show me how to connect Kaneo's MCP server to Claude so I can manage tasks from a chat interface.
Prompt 4
Explain how Kaneo's environment variables work so I can configure the API and web services correctly.

Frequently asked questions

wtf is kaneo?

Kaneo is a self-hosted, open source project management tool, an alternative to Jira or Linear, with kanban boards and AI assistant integration.

What language is kaneo written in?

Mainly TypeScript. The stack also includes TypeScript, Docker, PostgreSQL.

What license does kaneo use?

Use freely for any purpose, including commercial use, as long as you keep the copyright notice.

How hard is kaneo to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated moderate, with roughly 30min to a first successful run.

Who is kaneo for?

Mainly developer.

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