Backlog.md

Markdown‑native Task Manager & Kanban visualizer for any Git repository

npm i -g backlog.md or bun add -g backlog.md or brew install backlog-md or nix run github:MrLesk/Backlog.md

Backlog.md turns any folder with a Git repo into a self‑contained project board
powered by plain Markdown files and a zero‑config CLI.

Features

• 📝 Markdown-native tasks -- manage every issue as a plain .md file

• 🤖 AI-Ready -- Works with Claude Code, Gemini CLI, Codex & any other MCP or CLI compatible AI assistants

• 📊 Instant terminal Kanban -- backlog board paints a live board in your shell

• 🌐 Modern web interface -- backlog browser launches a sleek web UI for visual task management

• 🔍 Powerful search -- fuzzy search across tasks, docs & decisions with backlog search

• 📋 Rich query commands -- view, list, filter, or archive tasks with ease

• 📤 Board export -- backlog board export creates shareable markdown reports

• 🔒 100 % private & offline -- backlog lives entirely inside your repo and you can manage everything locally

• 💻 Cross-platform -- runs on macOS, Linux, and Windows

• 🆓 MIT-licensed & open-source -- free for personal or commercial use

Five‑minute tour

# 1. Make sure you have Backlog.md installed (global installation recommended) 
bun i -g backlog.md 
or 
npm i -g backlog.md 
or 
brew install backlog-md

# 2. Bootstrap a repo + backlog and choose the AI Agent integration mode (MCP, CLI, or skip)
backlog init "My Awesome Project"

# 3. Create tasks manually  
backlog task create "Render markdown as kanban"

# 4. Or ask AI to create them: Claude Code, Gemini CLI, or Codex (Agents automatically use Backlog.md via MCP or CLI)
Claude I would like to build a search functionality in the web view that searches for:
* tasks
* docs
* decisions
  Please create relevant tasks to tackle this request.

# 5. See where you stand
backlog board view or backlog browser

# 6. Assign tasks to AI (Backlog.md instructions tell agents how to work with tasks)
Claude please implement all tasks related to the web search functionality (task-10, task-11, task-12)
* before starting to write code use 'ultrathink mode' to prepare and add an implementation plan to the task
* use multiple sub-agents when possible and dependencies allow

All data is saved under backlog folder as human‑readable Markdown with the following format task-<task-id> - <task-title>.md (e.g. task-10 - Add core search functionality.md).

Web Interface

Launch a modern, responsive web interface for visual task management:

# Start the web server (opens browser automatically)
backlog browser

# Custom port
backlog browser --port 8080

# Don't open browser automatically
backlog browser --no-open

Features:

• Interactive Kanban board with drag-and-drop
• Task creation and editing with rich forms
• Interactive acceptance criteria editor with checklists
• Real-time updates across all views
• Responsive design for desktop and mobile
• Task archiving with confirmation dialogs
• Seamless CLI integration - all changes sync with markdown files

🔧 MCP Integration (Model Context Protocol)

The easiest way to connect Backlog.md to AI coding assistants like Claude Code, Codex, and Gemini CLI is via the MCP protocol. You can run backlog init (even if you already initialized Backlog.md) to set up MCP integration automatically, or follow the manual steps below.

Client guides

[!IMPORTANT] When adding the MCP server manually, you should add some extra instructions in your CLAUDE.md/AGENTS.md files to inform the agent about Backlog.md. This step is not required when using backlog init as it adds these instructions automatically. Backlog.md's instructions for agents are available at /src/guidelines/mcp/agent-nudge.md.

claude mcp add backlog --scope user -- backlog mcp start

codex mcp add backlog backlog mcp start

gemini mcp add backlog -s user backlog mcp start

Use the shared backlog server name everywhere – the MCP server auto-detects whether the current directory is initialized and falls back to backlog://init-required when needed.

Manual config

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "backlog": {
      "command": "backlog",
      "args": ["mcp", "start"]
    }
  }
}

Once connected, agents can read the Backlog.md workflow instructions via the resource backlog://docs/task-workflow. Use /mcp command in your AI tool (Claude Code, Codex) to verify if the connection is working.

CLI reference

Project Setup

backlog init keeps first-run setup focused on the essentials:

• Project name – identifier for your backlog (defaults to the current directory on re-run).
• Integration choice – decide whether your AI tools connect through the MCP connector (recommended) or stick with CLI commands (legacy).
• Instruction files (CLI path only) – when you choose the legacy CLI flow, pick which instruction files to create (CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md, GEMINI.md, Copilot, or skip).
• Advanced settings prompt – default answer “No” finishes init immediately; choosing “Yes” jumps straight into the advanced wizard documented in Configuration.

You can rerun the wizard anytime with backlog config. All existing CLI flags (for example --defaults, --agent-instructions, or --install-claude-agent true) continue to provide fully non-interactive setups, so existing scripts keep working without change.

Documentation

• Document IDs are global across all subdirectories under backlog/docs. You can organize files in nested folders (e.g., backlog/docs/guides/), and backlog doc list and backlog doc view <id> work across the entire tree. Example: backlog doc create -p guides "New Guide".

Task Management

Multi‑line input (description/plan/notes)

The CLI preserves input literally; \n sequences are not auto‑converted. Use one of the following to insert real newlines:

• Bash/Zsh (ANSI‑C quoting)
  • Description: backlog task create "Feature" --desc $'Line1\nLine2\n\nFinal paragraph'
  • Plan: backlog task edit 7 --plan $'1. Research\n2. Implement'
  • Notes: backlog task edit 7 --notes $'Completed A\nWorking on B'
  • Append notes: backlog task edit 7 --append-notes $'Added X\nAdded Y'
• POSIX sh (printf)
  • backlog task create "Feature" --desc "$(printf 'Line1\nLine2\n\nFinal paragraph')"
• PowerShell (backtick)
  • backlog task create "Feature" --desc "Line1nLine2nnFinal paragraph"`

Tip: Help text shows Bash examples with escaped \\n for readability; when typing, $'\n' expands to a newline.

Search

Find tasks, documents, and decisions across your entire backlog with fuzzy search:

Search features:

• Fuzzy matching -- finds "authentication" when searching for "auth"
• Interactive filters -- refine your search in real-time with the TUI
• Live filtering -- see results update as you type (no Enter needed)

Draft Workflow

Dependency Management

Manage task dependencies to create execution sequences and prevent circular relationships:

Dependency Features:

• Automatic validation: Prevents circular dependencies and validates task existence
• Flexible formats: Use task-1, 1, or comma-separated lists like 1,2,3
• Visual sequences: Dependencies create visual execution sequences in board view
• Completion tracking: See which dependencies are blocking task progress

Board Operations

Statistics & Overview

Web Interface

Documentation

Decisions

Agent Instructions

Maintenance

Full help: backlog --help

Configuration

Backlog.md merges the following layers (highest → lowest):

1. CLI flags
2. backlog/config.yml (per‑project)
3. ~/backlog/user (per‑user)
4. Built‑ins

Configuration Commands

Interactive wizard (backlog config)

Run backlog config with no arguments to launch the full interactive wizard. This is the same experience triggered from backlog init when you opt into advanced settings, and it walks through the complete configuration surface:

• Cross-branch accuracy: checkActiveBranches, remoteOperations, and activeBranchDays.
• Git workflow: autoCommit and bypassGitHooks.
• ID formatting: enable or size zeroPaddedIds.
• Editor integration: pick a defaultEditor with availability checks.
• Web UI defaults: choose defaultPort and whether autoOpenBrowser should run.

Skipping the wizard (answering “No” during init) applies the safe defaults that ship with Backlog.md:

• checkActiveBranches=true, remoteOperations=true, activeBranchDays=30.
• autoCommit=false, bypassGitHooks=false.
• zeroPaddedIds disabled.
• defaultEditor unset (falls back to your environment).
• defaultPort=6420, autoOpenBrowser=true.

Whenever you revisit backlog init or rerun backlog config, the wizard pre-populates prompts with your current values so you can adjust only what changed.

Available Configuration Options

Note: Set remoteOperations: false to work offline. This disables git fetch operations and loads tasks from local branches only, useful when working without network connectivity.

Git Control: By default, autoCommit is set to false, giving you full control over your git history. Task operations will modify files but won't automatically commit changes. Set autoCommit: true if you prefer automatic commits for each task operation.

Git Hooks: If you have pre-commit hooks (like conventional commits or linters) that interfere with backlog.md's automated commits, set bypassGitHooks: true to skip them using the --no-verify flag.

Performance: Cross-branch checking ensures accurate task tracking across all active branches but may impact performance on large repositories. You can disable it by setting checkActiveBranches: false for maximum speed, or adjust activeBranchDays to control how far back to look for branch activity (lower values = better performance).

Date/Time Support: Backlog.md now supports datetime precision for all dates. New items automatically include time (YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm format in UTC), while existing date-only entries remain unchanged for backward compatibility. Use the migration script bun src/scripts/migrate-dates.ts to optionally add time to existing items.

💡 Shell Tab Completion

Backlog.md includes built-in intelligent tab completion for bash, zsh, and fish shells. Completion scripts are embedded in the binary—no external files needed.

Quick Installation:

# Auto-detect and install for your current shell
backlog completion install

# Or specify shell explicitly
backlog completion install --shell bash
backlog completion install --shell zsh
backlog completion install --shell fish

What you get:

• Command completion: backlog <TAB> → shows all commands
• Dynamic task IDs: backlog task edit <TAB> → shows actual task IDs from your backlog
• Smart flags: --status <TAB> → shows configured status values
• Context-aware suggestions for priorities, labels, and assignees

📖 Full documentation: See completions/README.md for detailed installation instructions, troubleshooting, and examples.

Sharing & Export

Board Export

Export your Kanban board to a clean, shareable markdown file:

# Export to default Backlog.md file
backlog board export

# Export to custom file
backlog board export project-status.md

# Force overwrite existing file
backlog board export --force

# Export to README.md with board markers
backlog board export --readme

# Include a custom version string in the export
backlog board export --export-version "v1.2.3"
backlog board export --readme --export-version "Release 2024.12.1-beta"

Perfect for sharing project status, creating reports, or storing snapshots in version control.

📊 Backlog.md Project Status (v1.18.5)

This board was automatically generated by Backlog.md

Generated on: 2025-10-30 22:30:20

License

Backlog.md is released under the MIT License – do anything, just give credit. See LICENSE.