CLI based human-agent collaboration kanban

[jjohare]

This is an interesting little idea (not mine)
https://github.com/MrLesk/Backlog.md

I wonder if it might help to keep everything in the same interface with this?

[coygeek]

Here is an executive summary of the Backlog.md project.

Project Overview

Backlog.md is a self-contained, Markdown-native project management tool designed to work within any Git repository. It functions as a private, offline-first task manager and Kanban board visualizer. The system uses a directory of plain .md files as its single source of truth, managed through a powerful command-line interface (CLI) and a modern web interface.

Core Features

• Markdown-Native: All tasks, documents, and decisions are stored as human-readable Markdown files.
• Terminal UI (TUI): An interactive, text-based Kanban board and task viewer (backlog board) for managing tasks directly in the terminal.
• Web Interface: A recently implemented embedded web server (backlog browser) that provides a responsive, interactive Kanban board with drag-and-drop, task creation/editing, and real-time updates.
• AI-Driven Development: The project is uniquely structured to be developed by AI agents, with explicit instruction files (AGENTS.md, CLAUDE.md, .cursorrules, GEMINI.md) guiding their workflow, code standards, and task management practices.
• Git-Integrated: All changes are version-controlled, with features for cross-branch task detection to prevent ID conflicts.
• Zero-Config & Cross-Platform: The CLI is a single binary that works on macOS, Linux, and Windows, with sensible defaults and optional project-level configuration.

Technical Architecture

• Backend/CLI: Built with Bun and TypeScript. It uses commander.js for argument parsing and bblessed (a fork of the blessed library) for the terminal UI.
• Web Frontend: The embedded web UI is a single-page application built with React and styled with Tailwind CSS v4.
• Tooling & CI/CD: The project uses Biome for code formatting and linting, Husky for pre-commit hooks, and GitHub Actions for automated testing, building, and publishing platform-specific npm packages.

Development Status & Recent Activity

The project is under active development and "dogfoods" its own methodology, as evidenced by the extensive backlog/ directory containing its own tasks, milestones, and decisions.

Key development themes and recent achievements include:

1. Launch of the Web UI: The most significant recent milestone was the completion of task-100, which introduced the embedded web server and React-based Kanban board. This feature is now considered complete.
2. TUI Stabilization: The project has undergone several iterations to stabilize its terminal UI, particularly for Windows compatibility. It has successfully migrated to bblessed to resolve cross-platform issues related to terminal rendering.
3. Refinement of AI Agent Guidelines: There is a continuous effort to improve the instructions for AI agents, focusing on writing outcome-focused acceptance criteria and standardizing workflows.
4. CLI Feature Enhancement: Ongoing work to improve the CLI experience with new flags (--notes, --desc), shortcuts (-p for parent), and command aliases.

Current Focus & Next Steps

Based on the active tasks in the backlog/tasks directory, current development is focused on expanding the functionality of the new web interface. Key upcoming features include:

• Side navigation menu for different sections (Kanban, Docs, Decisions).
• Dedicated pages for viewing and editing documentation and decisions.
• Live health-check system and dark mode for the web UI.
• Further refinement of CLI commands, such as filtering tasks by parent ID.

[jjohare]

Thanks!
I will unpack like this next time.

[BradKML]

What is the difference between a Task Master and a Kanban when it comes to utility?