Leantime
A self-hosted project management system connecting goals, plans, tasks, time records, and team collaboration.
Why consider Leantime?
Leantime is an open-source, self-hostable project management system built with ADHD, autism, and dyslexia in mind. It combines strategy, planning, and execution in one tool—offering kanban boards, Gantt timelines, goal tracking, sprints, timesheets, wikis, and AI-powered task breakdown—while keeping the interface simple enough for non-project managers.
Learn Leantime by building
Practical setup notes, real use cases, and copy-ready examples in one focused guide.
In this guide9 sections
Getting Started with Leantime: Neurodivergent-First Project Management
Leantime is an open-source project management system for non-project managers, built with ADHD, autism, and dyslexia in mind. It combines strategy, planning, and execution while making it easy for everyone on the team to use. Unlike rigid enterprise tools, Leantime is designed around how neurodivergent brains actually work—favouring interest-driven goals, clear visual cues, and reduced cognitive overhead over abstract deadlines and overwhelming feature sets.
Key Features at a Glance
All features listed below are included in the open-source version (AGPL-3.0):
| Category | What you get |
|---|---|
| Task Management | Kanban, Gantt/timeline, table, list, and calendar views; unlimited subtasks and dependencies; milestones; sprints |
| Project Planning | Dashboards, reports, goal & metrics tracking, Lean Canvas, SWOT, risk analysis |
| Knowledge Management | Wikis/docs, idea boards, retrospectives, file storage (S3 or local), comments on everything |
| Administration | Two-factor auth, LDAP/OIDC integration, multiple user roles, Slack/Mattermost/Discord integrations, 20+ languages, plugin API |
| Neurodivergent UX | AI-powered task breakdown, emoji sentiment tagging, dopamine-boosting progress visuals, time-blocking, distraction-free mode |
System Requirements
Before installing, confirm your server meets these minimums (from the official README):
- PHP 8.2+
- MySQL 8.0+ or MariaDB 10.6+
- Apache or Nginx (IIS works with modifications)
- Required PHP extensions:
bcmath,ctype,curl,dom,exif,fileinfo,gd,mbstring,mysqli,openssl,pcntl,pdo,zip, and others
Installing Leantime with Docker Compose (Recommended)
The fastest path to a working Leantime instance is Docker Compose via the official docker-leantime repository.
Step 1 — Clone the Docker repository
git clone https://github.com/Leantime/docker-leantime.gitcd docker-leantimeStep 2 — Configure your environment
Copy the sample environment file and open it in your editor:
cp sample.env .envAt minimum, set these variables inside .env:
LEAN_APP_URL=http://localhost:8080MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=yourSecureRootPasswordMYSQL_DATABASE=leantimeMYSQL_USER=leantimeMYSQL_PASSWORD=yourSecurePasswordStep 3 — Start the stack
The official docker-compose.yml (source: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Leantime/docker-leantime/master/docker-compose.yml) defines two services—a MySQL 8.4 database and the Leantime application container:
version: '3.3'services: leantime_db: image: mysql:8.4 container_name: mysql_leantime volumes: - db_data:/var/lib/mysql restart: unless-stopped env_file: ./.env networks: - leantime-net command: --character-set-server=UTF8MB4 --collation-server=UTF8MB4_unicode_ci healthcheck: test: ["CMD", "mysqladmin", "ping", "-h", "localhost"] interval: 30s timeout: 10s retries: 3 leantime: image: leantime/leantime:${LEAN_VERSION:-latest} restart: unless-stopped env_file: ./.env security_opt: - no-new-prBring both containers up in detached mode:
docker-compose up -dThen visit http://localhost:8080 (or your configured domain) to complete the setup wizard.
Navigating the Neurodivergent-Friendly Interface
Once inside, Leantime separates concerns in a way that reduces executive-function load:
- My Work dashboard — A personal hub showing tasks grouped by Overdue, Due this week, and Due later, plus a day-view calendar and high-level metrics. This combats time-blindness by surfacing only what matters right now.
- Goals module — Tracks strategic objectives with measurable metrics so every task visibly connects to a larger purpose, feeding the interest-driven motivation loop common in ADHD brains.
- Multiple task views — Switch between kanban, table, list, Gantt, or calendar depending on how you best process information. Each view is a first-class citizen, not an afterthought.
- Emoji sentiment tags — Add emotional context directly to tasks to stay connected to why something matters or to surface blockers before they become blockers.
- AI task breakdown — When a project feels overwhelming, the built-in AI assistant can decompose it into smaller, actionable steps automatically.
Upgrading and Maintenance
To upgrade a running Docker installation, pull the latest image and recreate the containers. Always back up your database first:
# Backup the databasedocker exec mysql_leantime mysqldump -u root -p leantime > leantime_backup.sql# Pull latest image and restartdocker-compose pulldocker-compose up -dFor troubleshooting, inspect container logs:
docker logs leantimedocker ps -aCommunity and Extending Leantime
Leantime is extensible via a plugin and REST API system and integrates out-of-the-box with Slack, Mattermost, and Discord. The project is actively translated through Crowdin and is available in over 20 languages. You can join the community on Discord, contribute translations at Crowdin, or browse the source on GitHub.
The Docker image is published to Docker Hub at leantime/leantime and has accumulated a significant number of pulls, reflecting wide adoption among self-hosters looking for a Jira/Asana alternative that respects neurodivergent workflows.
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