A lightweight, open-source Kanban board for teams — by OrbitLabs.
OrbitBoard is a small, friendly task board you can self-host in minutes. Organise work into columns, drop cards where they belong, and keep your team in sync — no heavyweight setup, no external database required to get started.
It's part of the OrbitLabs family of developer productivity tools, built and maintained by a community of contributors. 💚
- 📋 Boards & columns — organise work into visual lanes.
- 🃏 Cards — lightweight tasks you can create and move.
- ⚡ Fast — React + Vite front end, Express API back end.
- 🗂️ Zero-DB start — data lives in a local JSON file, so you can run it instantly.
- 🔌 REST API — clean, documented endpoints (see
docs/api.md). - 🧩 Hackable — small codebase, easy to read and extend.
🚧 OrbitBoard is actively being built (~50% complete). Some features are intentionally open for contribution — see Good first issues.
+-----------------------------------------------------------+
| 🛰️ OrbitBoard |
+---------------+---------------+---------------+-----------+
| Backlog | In Progress | Review | Done |
+---------------+---------------+---------------+-----------+
| [ Set up CI ] | [ Build API ] | [ Write docs ]| [ Logo ] |
| [ Seed data ] | [ Board UI ] | | |
+---------------+---------------+---------------+-----------+
(screenshot placeholder — grab your own after running it locally!)
# 1. Clone your fork
git clone https://github.com/<your-username>/orbit-board.git
cd orbit-board
# 2. Use the right Node version
nvm use # reads .nvmrc (Node 18)
# 3. Install everything (root + server + client)
npm run install:all
# 4. Configure environment
cp .env.example .env # Windows: copy .env.example .env
# 5. Seed sample data (optional but nice)
npm run seed
# 6. Run it 🚀
npm run devThen open http://localhost:3000 — you should see the board with sample columns.
👉 Full, detailed instructions live in SETUP.md. If you hit a
snag, that's where the answers are.
OrbitBoard is a great place to make your first open-source contribution:
- ⏳ Drag-and-drop between columns is not implemented yet.
- ⏳ Card editing is currently read-only.
- 🐛 Deleting a card throws an error — a well-contained bug, perfect for a first fix. (The app still runs fine otherwise.)
See docs/faq.md and the Issues tab for details.
We love contributions of all sizes! Read CONTRIBUTING.md
and our CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md to get started.
OrbitBoard is built by the OrbitLabs community — maintainers, first-timers, and everyone in between. Your name could be here next. ✨
MIT © OrbitLabs