Kanban JSON

Manage a Kanban board inside VS Code from a single kanban.json file that you can version in git.

Features

• Kanban view: columns and cards. Create, rename and delete columns; create, edit and delete tasks; drag cards between columns or within a column.
• Always in sync: the file is the source of truth. Undo/redo, saving and external changes (git, another editor) are reflected in the board.
• No data loss: fields the extension does not know about (startedAt, completedAt, reviewer, ...) are preserved on save.
• Empty file friendly: opening a blank kanban.json offers to initialize it with the Backlog, In Progress and Done columns.

Usage

1. Open any file named kanban.json: it is displayed as a board.
2. Or run Kanban: Create sample kanban.json from the command palette to start a new board in your folder.
3. Click Open as text to edit the JSON in the native text editor.

Commands: Kanban: Create sample kanban.json, Kanban: Open as Text, Kanban: Open as Board.

Format

{
  "board": "My board",
  "columns": [
    {
      "id": "todo",
      "name": "To do",
      "tasks": [
        {
          "id": "TASK-1",
          "title": "My first task",
          "description": "Optional",
          "assignee": "Alex",
          "priority": "alta",
          "labels": ["example"],
          "createdAt": "2026-10-20",
          "dueDate": null
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

priority accepts alta (high), media (medium) or baja (low). Column ids and task ids must be unique.

License

Public domain (Unlicense).