Focalboard

Open source alternative to Trello, Jira, Asana, ClickUp, Airtable and Linear

26.5K stars
Updated this year
Last commit 156 days ago

Last verified Oct 20, 2026

Manage Kanban boards, project plans, and team workflows in a self-hosted workspace for teams moving from Trello, Asana, or Notion.

Visit website GitHub26.5K 1-click deploy on Hostinger

Read the full breakdownWho it is for, how it works, trade-offs and the FAQ

who it's for

Who Focalboard is for#

Existing Focalboard users documenting the tradeoff

Use Focalboard when an existing deployment already works and the team understands the maintenance risk.

Skip if:

Skip it for new critical project management rollouts unless your team can maintain the codebase.

Personal or low-stakes self-hosted boards

Use Focalboard for personal boards, experiments, or small internal trackers where simple views matter more than active vendor development.

Skip if:

Skip it if mobile polish, long-term maintenance, and enterprise collaboration features are required.

the problem

The problem it solves#

Lightweight project management tools often start as convenient hosted boards, then become operational memory for engineering, content, and support teams. Once the board holds roadmap decisions, customer requests, and release planning, lock-in and export limits matter more. Teams that want a simple self-hosted board need to know whether the project is actively maintained before putting core work into it.

Focalboard offers the familiar board-based workflow with local and server options, but its maintenance status is now part of the evaluation. It can still be relevant for existing users, experiments, and teams comfortable maintaining their own fork or accepting project risk.

how Focalboard solves it

How it solves it#

Board, table, gallery, and calendar views

Track tasks and project work in multiple views so teams can choose the layout that fits planning, content calendars, roadmaps, or personal task lists.

Desktop and personal server editions

Run Focalboard as a local desktop app or as a self-hosted personal server. That gives individuals and small groups options beyond a hosted SaaS board.

Templates and custom attributes

Start from project, roadmap, meeting, content, or goal templates and add custom card attributes. This supports lightweight process structure without a heavy project suite.

Open project files and source access

Teams can inspect and modify the codebase, but should weigh that control against the repository’s current maintenance warning.

strengths · trade-offs

Strengths and trade-offs#

Strengths

Familiar Trello-style workflow without SaaS dependencyFocalboard is useful when a team wants self-hosted boards, simple task views, and local control rather than another hosted project management account.
Honest fit for low-risk or existing deploymentsBecause the repository warns it is not maintained, the strongest fit is for existing users, internal experiments, or teams prepared to own maintenance.

Trade-offs

-Standalone project is not actively maintainedThe GitHub README warns that the repository is currently not maintained. New teams should consider Planka, Wekan, OpenProject, or Huly if they need active roadmap momentum.

versus alternatives

Focalboard vs alternatives#

Focalboard vs Trello

Focalboard is the better fit when a team wants a simple self-hosted task board and accepts the maintenance risk of the standalone project. Trello is stronger when a team wants a polished managed board product, mobile apps, automations, integrations, and vendor continuity. Choose Focalboard for low-risk self-hosted boards; choose Trello when product maturity and managed operations matter more.

tech stack · detected from GitHub

What it's built on#

Languages: GoTypeScript
Frameworks: React
Tooling: Webpack

frequently asked

FAQ#

What does Focalboard replace?

Focalboard can replace lightweight Trello, Asana, or Notion board workflows for self-hosted task tracking. It does not replace full enterprise project portfolio management.

Is Focalboard self-hosted?

Yes. Focalboard has desktop and personal server options, and the README documents local server and Docker paths.

Is Focalboard still maintained?

The current community repository warns that standalone Focalboard is not maintained. Treat that as a major adoption factor before using it for critical team workflows.

Looking for more

Other ways to replace Trello, Jira, Asana, ClickUp, Airtable and Linear#

Windshift

#1 in the Jira guide

Jira-shaped tracker with a documented Cloud and Data Center importer on a single AGPL-3.0 binary

357

OpenProject

#2 in the Jira guide

Full project planning suite with work packages, Gantt charts, roadmaps and Scrum backlogs in the Community edition

16,508

Plane

#3 in the Jira guide

Modern Linear-style tracker with cycles, modules and burndown in the AGPL-3.0 Community edition

60,980

Taiga

#4 in the Jira guide

Focused Scrum and Kanban tracker with native sprints, burndown, epics and configurable issue types in the open-source edition

385

All 13 Jira alternatives 10 open source Jira alternatives, ranked

by category

Open source tools in these categories#

106

Hostinger

Run Focalboard on your own server

Hostinger sets Focalboard up as a one-click app on a VPS.

Deploy on Hostinger

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Who Focalboard is for#

Existing Focalboard users documenting the tradeoff

Use Focalboard when an existing deployment already works and the team understands the maintenance risk.

Skip if:

Skip it for new critical project management rollouts unless your team can maintain the codebase.

Personal or low-stakes self-hosted boards

Use Focalboard for personal boards, experiments, or small internal trackers where simple views matter more than active vendor development.

Skip if:

Skip it if mobile polish, long-term maintenance, and enterprise collaboration features are required.

The problem it solves#

How it solves it#

Board, table, gallery, and calendar views

Track tasks and project work in multiple views so teams can choose the layout that fits planning, content calendars, roadmaps, or personal task lists.

Desktop and personal server editions

Run Focalboard as a local desktop app or as a self-hosted personal server. That gives individuals and small groups options beyond a hosted SaaS board.

Templates and custom attributes

Start from project, roadmap, meeting, content, or goal templates and add custom card attributes. This supports lightweight process structure without a heavy project suite.

Open project files and source access

Teams can inspect and modify the codebase, but should weigh that control against the repository’s current maintenance warning.

Strengths and trade-offs#

Strengths

Familiar Trello-style workflow without SaaS dependencyFocalboard is useful when a team wants self-hosted boards, simple task views, and local control rather than another hosted project management account.
Honest fit for low-risk or existing deploymentsBecause the repository warns it is not maintained, the strongest fit is for existing users, internal experiments, or teams prepared to own maintenance.

Trade-offs

-Standalone project is not actively maintainedThe GitHub README warns that the repository is currently not maintained. New teams should consider Planka, Wekan, OpenProject, or Huly if they need active roadmap momentum.

Focalboard vs alternatives#

Focalboard vs Trello

FAQ#

What does Focalboard replace?

Focalboard can replace lightweight Trello, Asana, or Notion board workflows for self-hosted task tracking. It does not replace full enterprise project portfolio management.

Is Focalboard self-hosted?

Yes. Focalboard has desktop and personal server options, and the README documents local server and Docker paths.

Is Focalboard still maintained?

The current community repository warns that standalone Focalboard is not maintained. Treat that as a major adoption factor before using it for critical team workflows.

Other ways to replace Trello, Jira, Asana, ClickUp, Airtable and Linear#

Windshift

#1 in the Jira guide

Jira-shaped tracker with a documented Cloud and Data Center importer on a single AGPL-3.0 binary

357

OpenProject

#2 in the Jira guide

Full project planning suite with work packages, Gantt charts, roadmaps and Scrum backlogs in the Community edition

16,508

Plane

#3 in the Jira guide

Modern Linear-style tracker with cycles, modules and burndown in the AGPL-3.0 Community edition

60,980

Taiga

#4 in the Jira guide

Focused Scrum and Kanban tracker with native sprints, burndown, epics and configurable issue types in the open-source edition

385

All 13 Jira alternatives 10 open source Jira alternatives, ranked

Who Focalboard is for#

Existing Focalboard users documenting the tradeoff

Skip if:

Personal or low-stakes self-hosted boards

Skip if:

The problem it solves#

How it solves it#

Board, table, gallery, and calendar views

Desktop and personal server editions

Templates and custom attributes

Open project files and source access

Strengths and trade-offs#

Strengths

Trade-offs

Focalboard vs alternatives#

Focalboard vs Trello

What it's built on#

FAQ#

Other ways to replace Trello, Jira, Asana, ClickUp, Airtable and Linear#

Open source tools in these categories#

Product & Project Management

Communication & Collaboration

Business & Productivity

Find open source alternatives to paid software

Who Focalboard is for#

Existing Focalboard users documenting the tradeoff

Skip if:

Personal or low-stakes self-hosted boards

Skip if:

The problem it solves#

How it solves it#

Board, table, gallery, and calendar views

Desktop and personal server editions

Templates and custom attributes

Open project files and source access

Strengths and trade-offs#

Strengths

Trade-offs

Focalboard vs alternatives#

Focalboard vs Trello

What it's built on#

FAQ#

Other ways to replace Trello, Jira, Asana, ClickUp, Airtable and Linear#

Open source tools in these categories#

Product & Project Management

Communication & Collaboration

Business & Productivity

Find open source alternatives to paid software