What is Planka used for?

Planka is listed as a Productivity tool on TiloBox. Review the overview, features, and official documentation on this page to decide whether it solves your specific workflow.

How do I get started with Planka?

Start with the project's GitHub repository and official website for supported installation and deployment instructions. Test the setup with representative data or a small project before rolling it out more widely.

What license does Planka use?

Planka is listed under the AGPL-3.0 license. Read the complete license text and the project's notices before using, modifying, or distributing the software.

Is Planka ready for production use?

Production readiness depends on your requirements. Review maintenance activity, security practices, documentation, backup and upgrade procedures, and compatibility with your stack; then validate it in a non-production environment.

Is Planka an alternative to Trello?

Planka is listed as an alternative to Trello. Compare the core workflow, deployment model, integrations, and licensing against your must-have requirements before switching.

Productivity Alternative to Trello

Planka

The open-source real-time collaborative Kanban board alternative to Trello.

View on GitHub Visit website

LicenseAGPL-3.0

GitHub stars12.4k

Last commit3 weeks ago

Tags6 topics

ReactSelf HostedReal TimeTrello AlternativeCollaborationKanban

Overview

Why consider Planka?

Planka is an open-source Kanban board application built with React and Redux. It features real-time card updates, customizable lists, attachments, labels, and user mentions.

Guided learning

Learn Planka by building

Practical setup notes, real use cases, and copy-ready examples in one focused guide.

3 min read 10 sections

In this guide10 sections

What is Planka?

Planka is an open-source, real-time collaborative Kanban board application developed with Node.js, Sails.js, React, and Redux. It operates as a modern, clean, self-hosted alternative to commercial Kanban boards like Trello.

Planka focuses on speed and simplicity: it allows teams to create unlimited project boards, organize cards into customizable lists, assign members, add colored labels, track subtask checklists, attach files, write Markdown comments, and collaborate with real-time WebSocket state synchronization.

Who Is It For?

Small Development & Design Teams: Managing task backlogs, UI review pipelines, and sprint goals with zero friction.
Freelancers & Solopreneurs: Tracking client deliverables, freelance invoices, and personal to-do lists in a beautiful interface.
Self-Hosters & Homelabbers: Deploying an uncomplicated, lightweight Trello alternative that consumes minimal system memory.

Key Features

Real-time collaborative updates powered by WebSockets: Card moves and edits reflect instantly for all connected teammates.
Unlimited projects, boards, lists, and task cards with drag-and-drop organization.
Rich Markdown card descriptions, checklists with progress bars, and image/file attachments.
Color-coded labels, due date reminders, and member assignments with avatar badges.
Single Sign-On (SSO) support via OpenID Connect (OIDC) for enterprise user directories.

Deploying Planka with Docker Compose

yaml

1version: '3.7'

3services:

4 planka:

5 image: ghcr.io/plankanban/planka:latest

6 container_name: planka

7 restart: unless-stopped

8 ports:

9 - "3000:1337"

10 environment:

11 - BASE_URL=http://localhost:3000

12 - DATABASE_URL=postgresql://postgres:secure_planka_pass@postgres/planka

13 - SECRET_KEY=generate_a_secure_random_64_char_secret_key

14 volumes:

15 - ./user-avatars:/app/public/user-avatars

16 - ./project-background-images:/app/public/project-background-images

17 - ./attachments:/app/private/attachments

18 depends_on:

19 - postgres

21 postgres:

22 image: postgres:15-alpine

23 container_name: planka_postgres

24 restart: unless-stopped

25 volumes:

26 - ./pgdata:/var/lib/postgresql/data

27 environment:

28 - POSTGRES_DB=planka

29 - POSTGRES_USER=postgres

30 - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=secure_planka_pass

Start the instance:

bash

1docker compose up -d

Open http://localhost:3000 in your browser to complete administrator onboarding and create your first Kanban board.

Practical Use Cases

1. Real-Time Agile Team Standups

A team conducts daily standup meetings on Planka; as developers drag task cards from "In Progress" to "Testing", changes animate on everyone's screen simultaneously.

2. Design Review & Asset Approval

A graphic designer attaches high-resolution mockups to Planka cards; team members comment on specific revisions using Markdown and checklists.

3. Customer Project Milestone Tracker

A consulting agency shares a dedicated Planka board with a client to provide transparent visibility into upcoming deliverables and completed tasks.

Troubleshooting and Limitations

Base URL Setting: Ensure BASE_URL matches your exact external access URL (including port or HTTPS protocol) so attachment links and email notifications generate accurately.
WebSocket Reverse Proxying: When placing Planka behind Nginx, configure WebSocket proxy headers (Upgrade $http_upgrade and Connection "upgrade") to maintain live real-time sync.

Official Resources

Official Website: https://planka.app
GitHub Repository: https://github.com/plankanban/planka
Documentation: https://docs.planka.app

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