Kaban Workflow

Name: kaban-workflow
Rating: 92
Author: kaban-board

Persistent Kanban board for AI agent coordination. Tasks survive sessions and sync with TodoWrite.

Core principle: TodoWrite for session visibility, Kaban for persistence.

When to Activate

•Multi-step features (3+ tasks)
•User says "plan", "track", "board", "kanban"
•Session start with existing board
•Delegating to sub-agents

Not for: Single tasks, pure research, throwaway work.

Availability

MCP Tools (Preferred)

code

kaban_status                      - board status
kaban_list_tasks(assignee?)       - list tasks (filter by assignee)
kaban_add_task                    - add task
kaban_update_task(assignedTo?)    - update task / assign
kaban_move_task                   - move between columns
kaban_complete_task               - mark done

CLI Fallback

bash

which kaban                        # check installation
kaban status                       # board status
kaban list                         # list tasks
kaban list --assignee <agent>      # list MY tasks
kaban add "title"                  # add task
kaban assign <id> <agent>          # assign task to agent
kaban move <id> <col> --assign     # move and claim task
kaban done <id>                    # complete task

Install: npm i -g @kaban-board/cli or brew install beshkenadze/tap/kaban

Never Do

•Check .kaban/board.db directly
•Run source code (bun run, npx ts-node)

Task Sync

Action	TodoWrite	Kaban
Create	`todowrite`	`kaban_add_task`
Assign	-	`kaban assign <id> <agent>`
Start	`status: in_progress`	`kaban move <id> in-progress --assign`
Complete	`status: completed`	`kaban_complete_task`

Always mirror changes to both systems.

Session Start

code

1. kaban_status (or kaban status)
   ├─ No board → proceed normally
   └─ Board exists → check in-progress tasks
      └─ Ask: "Resume [task]?"

Sub-Agent Delegation

code

1. kaban assign <id> <agent-name>   # Assign task to sub-agent
2. Task tool prompt includes:
   - Kaban task ID
   - Agent name for --assignee filter
3. Sub-agent workflow:
   - kaban list --assignee <agent-name>  # See MY tasks
   - kaban move <id> in-progress --assign <agent-name>
   - kaban done <id>                     # When complete

Columns

Column	WIP Limit
Backlog	-
To Do	-
In Progress	3
Done	-

Labels

Type	Examples
Type	`bug`, `feature`, `refactor`
Priority	`p0`, `p1`, `p2`, `p3`
Domain	`frontend`, `backend`, `infra`

Quick Reference

CLI Commands

Command	Description
`kaban init`	Initialize board
`kaban status`	Board summary
`kaban add "title"`	Add task
`kaban list`	List tasks
`kaban list --assignee <agent>`	List agent's tasks
`kaban assign <id> <agent>`	Assign task
`kaban assign <id> --clear`	Unassign task
`kaban move <id> <col>`	Move task
`kaban move <id> <col> -A [agent]`	Move and assign
`kaban done <id>`	Complete task
`kaban archive`	Archive done tasks
`kaban restore <id>`	Restore from archive

MCP Tools

Tool	Key Parameters
`kaban_add_task`	title, column?, labels?
`kaban_move_task`	id, column
`kaban_update_task`	id, assignedTo?, labels?
`kaban_complete_task`	id
`kaban_list_tasks`	columnId?, assignee?, blocked?
`kaban_status`	-
`kaban_archive_tasks`	-
`kaban_restore_task`	id

Rules

•Always sync TodoWrite ↔ Kaban
•Include task ID when delegating
•Respect WIP limits (ask before forcing)
•Use CLI or MCP tools only (never direct DB access)