kaban-board/kaban
Overview
This skill syncs TodoWrite session tasks with a persistent Kaban kanban board to coordinate multi-step work across AI agents. It activates when users plan, track progress, or create three or more tasks, ensuring tasks survive sessions and remain assignable. The skill enforces board rules like WIP limits and mirrors changes between TodoWrite and Kaban so session visibility and long-term persistence stay aligned.
How this skill works
On activation the skill checks the Kaban board status and existing in-progress tasks, then offers to resume or create tasks. It uses MCP tools when available (preferred) or falls back to the Kaban CLI to list, add, assign, move, and complete tasks. Every create/assign/start/complete action is mirrored: TodoWrite for session view and Kaban for persistence, and task IDs are included when delegating to sub-agents.
When to use it
- Creating or coordinating multi-step workflows (three or more tasks).
- User language includes 'board', 'kanban', 'track', or 'plan'.
- Starting sessions when a persistent board already exists to resume work.
- Delegating tasks to sub-agents that need persistent assignment and tracking.
- Enforcing WIP limits or formal task states across agents and sessions.
Best practices
- Always mirror actions in both TodoWrite and Kaban (create, assign, start, complete).
- Prefer MCP tools (kaban_* tools) for reliable operations; use CLI only as fallback.
- Include the Kaban task ID in any sub-agent prompts or task metadata when delegating.
- Respect WIP limits—ask before forcing a task into In Progress if the limit is reached.
- Avoid direct DB access or running source code; use only provided tools/CLI commands.
Example use cases
- User asks to 'plan a release'—create a backlog of features, assign owners, and enforce WIP while work proceeds.
- Session begins and a board exists—check for in-progress tasks and ask whether to resume a specific task.
- Delegating subtasks to sub-agents—assign by ID, include the ID in the sub-agent prompt, and let the agent claim and complete tasks via the CLI.
- Tracking a multi-step bugfix pipeline—add tasks with labels (bug, priority), move through columns, and mark done when complete.
- Onboarding long-running infrastructure work so tasks persist beyond the current session and are discoverable by other agents.
FAQ
It prefers MCP kaban_* tools (kaban_status, kaban_add_task, kaban_move_task, etc.) and falls back to the Kaban CLI commands if MCP tools are unavailable.
How are WIP limits handled?
The skill enforces WIP limits (e.g., In Progress ≤ 3) and will ask for confirmation before forcing a move that would exceed the limit.
How do I delegate tasks to a sub-agent?
Assign the Kaban task ID to the sub-agent, include the ID and agent name in the sub-agent prompt, and the sub-agent uses list/assign/move/done commands with --assignee filters.
