KanbanCode

A Kanban board that lives inside VS Code — manage tasks with drag-and-drop, reference todos from code comments, and let Copilot help manage your backlog.

Features

Visual Kanban Board

Open a full Kanban board directly in a VS Code editor tab. Columns are fully customizable — rename them, reorder them, pick colors, or add new ones. Cards can be dragged between columns and reordered within a column.

• Keyboard shortcut: Cmd+Shift+K (macOS) / Ctrl+Shift+K (Windows/Linux)
• Command: KanbanCode: Open Board

Rich Todo Cards

Each card supports:

• Priority — None, Low, Medium, High, Critical (with color-coded icons)
• Due dates — with overdue highlighting
• Tags — freeform labels with autocomplete
• Markdown description — full editor with live preview
• Code references — link a card to specific files and lines in your project
• Comments — threaded discussion with author attribution

Sidebar Tree View

A tree view in the Explorer sidebar shows all columns and their cards at a glance. Click any card to focus it on the board. Right-click for quick actions like changing status, setting priority, adding tags, or deleting.

Code Integration

TODO @ References

Write a comment like // TODO @Fix login bug anywhere in your code. KanbanCode scans the workspace, matches it to the corresponding card, and adds an inline decoration showing the priority. This works across 25+ languages including TypeScript, Python, Go, Rust, Java, C++, and more.

Hover Details

Hover over a TODO @ reference to see a popup with the card's full details — column, priority, due date, tags, and description.

Go to Definition

Ctrl+Click (or Cmd+Click) on a TODO @ reference to open the card's detail panel.

Autocomplete

Type @ inside a comment to get autocomplete suggestions for all existing card titles.

Copilot Chat Integration

Mention @kanban in VS Code's chat to interact with your board using natural language.

Built-in commands:

Command	Description
/board	Get an overview of the entire board — columns, counts, priorities, upcoming due dates
/todo <name>	Look up a specific card by name

General chat — Ask questions like "What's left in the sprint?" or "Move the auth task to Done". The full board context is provided to the model.

Copilot Tool Integration

KanbanCode registers six language model tools that Copilot can invoke automatically:

Tool	Description
kanbancode_listTodos	List and filter cards by column, tag, or priority
kanbancode_getTodo	Get full details of a card by title or ID
kanbancode_createTodo	Create a new card with all fields
kanbancode_updateTodo	Update any field on an existing card
kanbancode_changeStatus	Move a card to a different column
kanbancode_addComment	Add a comment to a card (attributed to Copilot)

Data Storage

All data is stored in your workspace under .vscode/kanban/:

.vscode/kanban/
├── board.json          # Column definitions (title, color, order)
├── fix-login-bug.md    # One markdown file per card
├── add-dark-mode.md
└── ...

Each card is a markdown file with YAML frontmatter:

---
id: a1b2c3d4
title: Fix login bug
column: In Progress
order: 0
priority: high
dueDate: 2026-04-20T00:00:00.000Z
tags: [auth, bugfix]
codeReferences:
  - filePath: src/auth/login.ts
    line: 42
createdAt: 2026-04-15T10:00:00.000Z
updatedAt: 2026-04-18T14:30:00.000Z
---

The login endpoint returns 500 when the session cookie is expired.
Need to handle token refresh before retrying.

This format is version-control friendly — diffs are readable, merges are straightforward, and cards can be edited with any text editor.

Commands

Command	Keybinding	Description
KanbanCode: Open Board	Cmd+Shift+K / Ctrl+Shift+K	Open the Kanban board
KanbanCode: Add Todo	—	Quick-add a card via input dialog
KanbanCode: Refresh Sidebar	—	Refresh the sidebar tree view
KanbanCode: Open Todo (Full View)	—	Open a card in a dedicated panel
KanbanCode: Set Status	—	Move a card to a different column
KanbanCode: Set Priority	—	Change a card's priority
KanbanCode: Add Tag	—	Add a tag to a card
KanbanCode: Delete Todo	—	Delete a card (with confirmation)

Getting Started

1. Install KanbanCode from the VS Code Marketplace
2. Press Cmd+Shift+K (macOS) or Ctrl+Shift+K (Windows/Linux) to open the board
3. Add columns and start creating cards
4. Reference cards from code comments with // TODO @Card Title
5. Use @kanban in Copilot chat to manage tasks conversationally

Requirements

• VS Code 1.100.0 or later
• GitHub Copilot (optional, for chat and tool integration)

License

MIT