RustKanban

A Rust terminal (TUI) kanban board with vim-inspired navigation, tags, search, SQLite persistence, and optional cross-machine sync.

Features

• 3-column board -- Todo, In Progress, Done

• Vim-inspired navigation -- J/L for columns, Up/Down/Tab to move between tasks

• Task management -- create, edit, delete, duplicate, move between columns, cycle priority

• Multiple tags -- create/rename/delete tags, toggle multiple per task, filter by tag

• Search -- live filter tasks by title or description, with match highlighting

• Mouse support -- click to focus/select, scroll wheel, drag tasks between columns

• Sorting -- sort by due date (default) or priority

• Due date warnings -- color-coded urgency (red for overdue, yellow for soon)

• Export / Import -- JSON export and import for backup or migration

• Theme configuration -- customizable colors via TOML config file

• Cross-machine sync -- opt-in sync via GitHub OAuth (works fully offline without an account)

• Persistent preferences -- sort mode and focused column remembered across sessions

• SQLite persistence -- data stored at ~/.local/share/rustkanban/kanban.db

Install

Quick install (Linux / macOS)

curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/shawn-nabizada/rustkanban/main/install.sh | sh

Pre-built binaries (no Rust required)

Download the latest binary for your platform from Releases:

Linux:

curl -L -o rk https://github.com/shawn-nabizada/rustkanban/releases/latest/download/rk-linux-x86_64
chmod +x rk
sudo mv rk /usr/local/bin/

macOS (Apple Silicon):

curl -L -o rk https://github.com/shawn-nabizada/rustkanban/releases/latest/download/rk-macos-aarch64
chmod +x rk
sudo mv rk /usr/local/bin/

macOS (Intel):

curl -L -o rk https://github.com/shawn-nabizada/rustkanban/releases/latest/download/rk-macos-x86_64
chmod +x rk
sudo mv rk /usr/local/bin/

Windows:

1. Download rk-windows-x86_64.exe from the releases page
2. Rename it to rk.exe
3. Create a folder for it, e.g. C:\Tools
4. Move rk.exe into C:\Tools
5. Add C:\Tools to your PATH:
   • Press Win + R, type sysdm.cpl, press Enter
   • Go to the Advanced tab, click Environment Variables
   • Under User variables, select Path and click Edit
   • Click New and add C:\Tools
   • Click OK on all dialogs
6. Open a new terminal and run rk

From source (requires Rust)

cargo install rustkanban

Usage

rk                  # launch the TUI
rk reset            # delete all tasks and tags
rk export           # export tasks and tags to JSON (stdout)
rk import <file>    # import tasks and tags from a JSON file
rk theme            # print default theme config
rk theme --init     # create theme file at ~/.config/rustkanban/theme.toml
rk completions <sh> # generate shell completions (bash, zsh, fish, powershell)
rk manpage          # output man page to stdout
rk login            # authenticate with sync service (GitHub OAuth)
rk logout           # log out from sync service
rk sync             # sync with server (pull + push)
rk status           # show sync status
rk update           # update to the latest version

Keybindings

Board

| ? | Help | | Esc / Q | Quit |

Selected Task

New / Edit Task Modal

Mouse

Theme

Customize colors by creating a theme file:

rk theme --init   # creates ~/.config/rustkanban/theme.toml

Supports named colors (Red, Cyan, LightGreen, etc.) and hex (#FF5500). See the generated file for all options.

Export / Import

rk export > backup.json        # export all tasks and tags
rk import backup.json          # import (additive, deduplicates tags)

Shell Completions

Generate tab completions for your shell:

# Bash
rk completions bash >> ~/.bashrc

# Zsh
rk completions zsh >> ~/.zshrc

# Fish
rk completions fish > ~/.config/fish/completions/rk.fish

# PowerShell
rk completions powershell >> $PROFILE

Sync

RustKanban supports optional cross-machine sync. Sync is purely opt-in -- the app works fully offline without an account.

rk login             # opens browser for GitHub OAuth
rk sync              # manual sync (pull + push)
rk status            # show device, server, and last sync time
rk logout            # log out (local data is preserved)

Once logged in, the TUI automatically pulls on startup and pushes on quit. Press Ctrl+R for a manual sync during a session. The status bar shows sync state: green for synced, yellow for syncing, red for offline.

Conflicts are resolved with last-write-wins. Credentials are stored at ~/.config/rustkanban/credentials.json.

License

Business Source License 1.1 — see LICENSE for details.

Non-commercial use is permitted. After 4 years from each release, the code converts to Apache 2.0.