Kanban for Copilot

A lightweight Kanban board for VS Code with JSON persistence, plus one-click “Copy as Markdown” so you can paste a task into Copilot/Chat.

License / 利用条件

Non-commercial use only. Commercial use is prohibited. See LICENSE. （商用利用は禁止です）

Disclaimer

This is an unofficial project and is not affiliated with Microsoft.

Features

• Drag & drop tasks across columns and within a column
• Store board data in a JSON file inside your workspace
• Edit columns (add / rename / reorder)
• Task fields: title, goal, acceptance criteria, notes, status, priority, difficulty, branch type
• One-click “Copy Markdown” per task (clipboard)
• Search (press Enter to apply; Esc to clear)
• External edits win: if the JSON file changes, the webview reloads from disk

Usage

• Open from the Activity Bar: Task board
• Or run commands from the Command Palette:
  • Kanban: Open Task board
  • Kanban: Open Task board (Floating)
• Copy a task as Markdown: click Copy Markdown on the task

Note: Settings and data files use the internal id kanbanto (e.g. .kanbanto/tasks.json, kanbanto.*).

Data file

By default the board is stored at .kanbanto/tasks.json under your workspace folder.

The file format looks like:

{
  "version": 1,
  "columns": ["Backlog", "To Do", "In Progress", "Review", "Done"],
  "tasks": [
    {
      "id": "81c8c67c",
      "title": "Export JSON",
      "goal": "Write the JSON file",
      "acceptanceCriteria": ["The file is created successfully"],
      "notes": "",
      "status": "Review",
      "priority": 5,
      "difficulty": 3,
      "branchType": "feature",
      "order": 0,
      "updatedAt": "2025-12-15T00:00:00.000Z"
    }
  ]
}

Notes:

• order is persisted as a single 0..n sequence across the whole board.
• If a task has an unknown status, it is normalized to the first column.

Settings

• kanbanto.workspacePath: Absolute folder path to read/write. If empty, uses the currently opened workspace folder.
• kanbanto.boardFileRelativePath: Relative path to the board JSON under workspacePath. Default: .kanbanto/tasks.json.

MCP server (optional)

This repo includes an MCP (Model Context Protocol) server so tools can directly read/write the same board file.

• Project: mcp/kanbanto-mcp
• Tools: board_get, tasks_list, task_add, task_update, task_move, task_delete, column_reorder, columns_update, board_normalize

Configure MCP (so Copilot can manage tasks)

Prereqs: VS Code + Copilot Chat with MCP support (uses .vscode/mcp.json).

Important: the MCP server runs as a separate process. This extension can generate the needed .vscode/mcp.json for you, or you can register a server manually.

Option A (recommended): one-command setup from the extension

1. Install the extension (VSIX / Marketplace).
2. Open the workspace you want Copilot to operate on.
3. Run the command: Kanban: Enable Copilot MCP Tools

This will create/update .vscode/mcp.json for the current workspace. The MCP server executable is bundled with the extension; you do not need to copy the mcp/ folder into your workspace. If Node.js cannot be found, install Node.js or set kanbanto.nodePath. Note: the generated config uses absolute paths; if you move the workspace to another machine, run the command again.

Option B: manual setup (advanced / custom location)

1. Get the MCP server code

• Either clone this repo, or copy the folder mcp/kanbanto-mcp into the workspace where you want to use the board.

2. Build the MCP server

cd mcp/kanbanto-mcp
npm install
npm run build

3. Register the server in your workspace Create/edit .vscode/mcp.json in the workspace you want Copilot to operate on.

Example:

{
  "servers": {
    "kanbanto": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["${workspaceFolder}/mcp/kanbanto-mcp/dist/server.js"],
      "env": {
        "KANBANTO_WORKSPACE": "${workspaceFolder}",
        "KANBANTO_BOARD_PATH": ".kanbanto/tasks.json"
      }
    }
  }
}

Notes:

• If you placed the MCP server somewhere else, change args to the correct dist/server.js path.
• If command: "node" fails with spawn node ENOENT, use an absolute Node path (or run Kanban: Enable Copilot MCP Tools to generate a working config automatically).
• Set KANBANTO_BOARD_PATH to match the extension setting kanbanto.boardFileRelativePath.

Development

npm install
npm run build

Let others try it

Option A: Run from source (recommended for quick testing)

1. Clone this repo.
2. Open the repo folder in VS Code.
3. Run npm install and npm run build.
4. Press F5 to start an Extension Development Host.
5. In the new VS Code window, open the Command Palette and run:

• Kanban: Open Task board

Option B: Share a VSIX (recommended for non-dev users)

Create a VSIX package:

npm install
npm run build
npx @vscode/vsce package

This produces a .vsix file in the project root. Share that file.

Install the VSIX on another machine:

1. Open VS Code.
2. Go to Extensions.
3. Click ... (More Actions) → Install from VSIX....
4. Select the .vsix.

After installation, run Kanban: Open Task board from the Command Palette.

MCP:

cd mcp/kanbanto-mcp
npm install
npm run build