Kaneo is an open-source project management platform designed for teams tired of overcomplicated tools like Jira or Linear. It focuses on minimalism—offering only essential features for issue tracking and kanban-style workflow management without unnecessary notifications, dashboards, or complex configurations. Built with TypeScript, React, and Hono, Kaneo prioritizes speed, clean UI, and user autonomy. It’s ideal for small to medium teams that value privacy, performance, and control over their data.
Unlike cloud-only alternatives, Kaneo is fully self-hosted, giving organizations complete control over data storage and infrastructure. Whether you’re a startup avoiding vendor lock-in or a dev team seeking distraction-free workflow management, Kaneo removes overhead so you can focus on building products—not managing software.
What You Get
- Self-hosted project management - Deploy Kaneo on your own infrastructure using Docker Compose, drim CLI, or Kubernetes—keeping all data under your control with no third-party cloud dependencies.
- Clean, distraction-free interface - A minimalist UI focused solely on task tracking and kanban boards, eliminating clutter from unused features and excessive notifications.
- Fast performance - Optimized frontend (React) and backend (Hono) ensure quick load times and smooth interactions, even with large project backlogs.
- Docker & drim deployment options - Choose between simple one-click setup with drim or full control via Docker Compose, both including automatic HTTPS and PostgreSQL configuration.
- Open source and free forever - MIT-licensed with no paywalls, subscriptions, or feature locks—fully transparent and community-driven.
Common Use Cases
- Building a lightweight internal tool tracker - A small engineering team uses Kaneo to manage bug reports and feature requests without the overhead of enterprise-grade tools like Jira.
- Self-hosted alternative to Linear or Jira - Teams migrating from SaaS project managers seek full data ownership and reduced costs, using Kaneo’s familiar kanban interface with no vendor lock-in.
- Problem: Overwhelmed by complex project tools → Solution: Kaneo’s minimal interface - Teams struggling with feature bloat and slow performance in traditional tools adopt Kaneo to reduce cognitive load and improve focus on actual development work.
- DevOps teams managing microservices - Operations teams use Kaneo to track infrastructure tickets and deployment issues across multiple services, leveraging self-hosted reliability and integration-friendly architecture.
Under The Hood
The Kaneo project is a modern, multi-service API built with TypeScript and structured as a monorepo using pnpm workspaces. It emphasizes modular architecture, database migrations via Drizzle ORM, and integration with external systems like GitHub.
Architecture
The project follows a modular monorepo structure with clear separation between services and shared components. It uses a layered approach for API handling, database interactions, and external integrations.
- Modular organization with distinct services (e.g., auth, github-integration)
- Clear separation of concerns between controllers, schemas, and database logic
- Use of Drizzle ORM for database migrations and schema management
Tech Stack
The project is built with a modern TypeScript ecosystem, leveraging contemporary web frameworks and tools for a full-stack development experience.
- Primary language: TypeScript with Node.js ecosystem
- Database migration tool: Drizzle ORM
- Containerization support via Docker and compose files
- Build and workspace management using pnpm and Turborepo
Code Quality
Code quality is moderate with some inconsistencies in structure and limited test coverage.
- Error handling uses try/catch blocks and custom exceptions
- Code follows some consistent patterns but lacks comprehensive testing
- Naming and structure show variability across modules
- Extensive use of shared utilities but minimal validation or type safety in core logic
What Makes It Unique
It stands out through its integration-focused design and structured approach to modular development.
- Strong emphasis on GitHub integration with webhook handling and migration support
- Modular plugin architecture for extending functionality
- Use of Drizzle ORM with versioned migrations for database consistency