Show HN: Kan.bn – An open-source alterative to Trello

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Existing alternatives and comparisons

  • Commenters list many current Kanban/Trello-like tools: Wekan, Taiga, Kanboard, Planka/4gaBoards, Nullboard, Vikunja, Kaneo, Plane, Eigenfocus, Obsidian+Kanban plugin, Kanboard on LAMP, etc.
  • Some feel none match Trello’s polish; others think tools like Plane or Planka are already “better than Trello” or close clones.
  • Several people say Kanboard and Wekan are solid for self‑hosting but dated in UI/UX. Others like Vikunja but criticize UX, lack of keyboard‑driven flows, and flaky mobile.

Licensing and “open source” terminology

  • Strong debate over calling Planka (and similar licenses) “open source” vs “source available.”
  • Multiple comments insist “open source” should be reserved for OSI‑style licenses allowing modification and redistribution without heavy restrictions; anything else should be “source available.”
  • Some argue everyday English would interpret “open source” as “viewable code,” but others push back that the term is already idiomatic and precise, and blurring it creates confusion.

Feature set, UX, and differentiation

  • Several people say Kan.bn currently looks like “just another Kanban board” (lists, cards, labels) and ask what it does differently from existing tools.
  • Requests include: better keyboard navigation, markdown with code blocks, webhooks, multi‑assignee support, multi‑language (e.g., Spanish), family pricing, and native/ offline‑first clients with simple sync (iCloud/Dropbox).
  • Some suggest specializing for a niche (e.g., game development) instead of generic boards.

Bugs, stability, and readiness

  • Multiple reports of bugs on the public roadmap board: card details not loading, filters resetting, back button hijacked, scrolling issues, broken roadmap formatting, inability to create certain list names, and inconsistent invites.
  • A security issue with arbitrary file upload via profile pictures was found and then patched.
  • Lack of real‑time multi‑user updates is noted as a missing “key Trello feature.” Several conclude it’s not production‑ready yet.

Deployment and self‑hosting

  • One commenter says self‑hosting Kan.bn is hard and build times are long; others pivot to discussing how easy or hard Next.js is to deploy off‑Vercel. Opinions range from “overblown concern” to “non‑trivial but manageable with Docker/Kubernetes/Amplify.”
  • Broader conversation emphasizes that on‑prem, self‑hosted deployments are a large and often underestimated market.

Market and ecosystem reflections

  • Some are skeptical another Trello clone can be sustainable; others argue there’s still demand for high‑quality, open, self‑hostable kanban tools.
  • Side discussions cover Trello’s perceived decline post‑acquisition, pricing, conditional automation, interoperability standards for task data, and speculative uses of LLMs to combat “card rot” and analyze boards.