Kandev
A self-hostable AI Kanban and development environment: orchestrate parallel coding agents, review changes, open PRs — with no telemetry and no vendor lock-in.
- Source repo
- kdlbs/kandev
- Stars
- ★ 1k
- Last updated
- today
- License
- AGPL-3.0
- Primary language
- Go
- FA score
- 74/100 · Some gaps
At a glance
- How it runs
- Works with
- Universal · cross-platformCodex · Claude Code
- Cost
- Free software; you pay for model usage
- Setup effort
- Medium · a few setup steps
- You'll need
- Typical use
- A senior developer running multiple agents in parallel on a large codebase: worktree isolation prevents conflicts and offloads saturation from the local machine to remote executors.
- Not a fit if
- Users unwilling to pay for or install separate agent CLIs like Cursor Pro, Devin, or Kimi
- Teams needing a production-ready Kubernetes executor, which is not implemented
- Source review
- 74/100 · Some gaps
What does this agent do, and when should you use it?
Kandev is an open-source AI Kanban and agentic development environment for power users who want deep control over how AI coding agents work. It consists of a Go backend (orchestrator, lifecycle, agentctl, WS gateway), a Vite/React frontend, an npx CLI launcher, and a Tauri desktop shell. Agents connect via ACP (Agent Client Protocol) — Claude Code, Codex, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI and 20+ others — and any agent CLI can also run as a TUI via CLI passthrough. Tasks execute in isolated Git worktrees through local-process, Docker, SSH, or sprites.dev executors. An integrated workspace bundles a terminal, LSP-enabled editor, file tree, browser preview, and git changes panel; the project is AGPL-3.0 licensed, runs locally or self-hosted, and supports remote access via Tailscale or Cloudflare Tunnel.
Kandev pulls issues into a kanban board (integrating GitHub, GitLab, Jira, Linear, Sentry, Azure DevOps; Bitbucket via plugin) and manages them with drag-and-drop columns and workflow automation. When you assign an agent to a task, Kandev launches it inside an isolated Git worktree via ACP or CLI passthrough, using a local process, Docker container, SSH remote, or sprites.dev executor. Agent output — code changes and conversations — appears in the integrated workspace with built-in terminal, LSP editor, git changes panel, embedded VS Code, and chat; after human review, per-repo branches become PRs. Agents can use task-agent MCP to spawn subtasks, target sibling repos, attach extra branches for multiple PRs, and message other tasks; external agents can manage Kandev itself via an external MCP over streamable HTTP or SSE. Workflows export/import as portable YAML, and tasks can be triggered on schedules or webhooks via Automations.
- A senior developer running multiple agents in parallel on a large codebase: worktree isolation prevents conflicts and offloads saturation from the local machine to remote executors.
- A team requiring human review before anything merges: review-first gates plus the integrated workspace let humans inspect agent changes before opening PRs.
- An engineer who wants to supervise agents remotely or from mobile: self-host the server and connect via Tailscale or Cloudflare Tunnel from a phone.
- A team mixing vendors: e.g., Claude Code Opus designs the plan, GitHub Copilot Sonnet implements, Codex reviews — orchestrated as a multi-step pipeline.
- Teams needing scheduled or event-driven agent work: Automations trigger tasks on cron-like schedules or webhooks with configurable concurrency.
- A developer splitting an oversized task into several PRs: sub-tasks resume from the parent task's session and can produce multiple PRs from one starting point.
How do you install or deploy this agent?
macOS/Linux (Homebrew): brew install kdlbs/kandev/kandev && kandev. Windows (Scoop): scoop bucket add kandev https://github.com/kdlbs/scoop-kandev && scoop install kandev && kandev (native bundle, no Node.js needed). NPX: npx kandev@latest (npm 7+). Global npm: npm install -g kandev@latest && kandev. Nightly: npx -y kandev@nightly. From source: git clone [email protected]:kdlbs/kandev.git && cd kandev && make start, requiring Go 1.26.0, Node.js 24, pnpm 9.15.9 (pinned in mise.toml); Docker optional. Worktrees and the SQLite db live in ~/.kandev by default. Runs on macOS, Linux, and Windows (WSL or native).
How do you use this agent?
Start kandev and open the Web UI. Configure agents in agent profiles — pick an ACP package (e.g., @agentclientprotocol/claude-agent-acp) or enter any CLI command to run it as a TUI. Pull issues from GitHub/GitLab/Jira/Linear into the kanban, create tasks, assign agents, and choose an executor (local/Docker/SSH/Sprites). Agents run in isolated worktrees; review and iterate on changes in the integrated workspace (terminal, editor, git changes panel, chat), then open PRs. Configure executor profiles, secrets, custom prompts, MCP, plugins, and updates in Settings; npm/npx installs can switch Stable/Nightly in Settings > System > Updates. For remote access, follow docs/public/mobile-remote-access.md to connect via Tailscale or Cloudflare Tunnel.
What are this agent's strengths and limitations?
- True multi-provider: 20+ ACP agents (Claude Code, Codex, Copilot, Gemini CLI, Cursor, Devin, etc.) side by side, not locked to one vendor.
- Server-first architecture: the core app runs as a service accessible from any device including your phone, with SSH, Docker, and sprites.dev remote executors that offload execution beyond the local machine.
- Review-first integrated workspace: terminal, LSP editor, git changes panel, embedded VS Code, and chat in one view — addressing the scalability gap of reviewing changes in terminal TUIs.
- Worktree isolation and multi-repository tasks: concurrent agents don't conflict, and one task can span multiple repos/branches to produce several PRs.
- No telemetry, fully self-hostable: data stays on your infrastructure, and workflows migrate between Kandev installs via portable YAML.
- Non-trivial runtime requirements: building from source needs Go 1.26.0, Node.js 24, and pnpm 9.15.9; npx needs npm 7+; container executors require Docker configuration.
- Agents require their own subscriptions or credentials (Cursor Pro for Cursor; Devin, Kimi, Kiro, Qoder, Trae require separately installed CLIs), so real cost depends on the providers you choose.
- Office mode — the persistent agent-team autonomy layer — is still in progress behind a feature flag and is not yet documented as a supported feature.
- The Kubernetes executor is not implemented; it exists only on the roadmap.
- The AGPL-3.0 license imposes compliance obligations for teams embedding it in closed-source distributed services.
How does this agent compare with similar options?
Key facts side by side with the most closely related agents.
| Agent | Source review | Form / cost | Stars | Updated | Language | Full support on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kandev This agent | 74 · Some gaps | CLIFree + model costs | ★ 1k | today | Go | Codex · Claude Code |
| Ateam Agent Workbench | 70 · Some gaps | Desktop appFree + model costs | ★ 14 | 1d ago | TypeScript | Codex · Claude Code |
| Delegatus Agent Workbench | 55 · Major gaps | CLI | ★ 33 | today | TypeScript | Codex · Claude Code |
| Synara | 52 · Major gaps | Desktop appFree + model costs | ★ 2.1k | today | TypeScript | Codex · Claude Code |
How does FollowAgents rate this agent?
Why each dimension lost points
CI workflows explicitly implement least privilege (contents: read, persist-credentials: false, SHA-pinned actions, digest-pinned images); Docker/SSH executors and git worktrees isolate parallel agents; a dedicated poisoned-env job prevents accidental credential injection — full marks for least_privilege. Review-first gates, redacted Gist snapshots with revoke, and opt-in hostname resolution support user_confirmation and sensitive_data_handling at 2: real but evidenced mainly via tests and narrative, not product-level documentation of confirmation UX. No telemetry and self-hosting help transparency, but per-flow data handling with third-party agent vendors is not itemized — deduct 1. External effects (PRs, webhooks) are configurable behind review, yet safeguards against destructive remote actions from automations are not directly shown. Rollback: only session resume and a git changes panel are visible; no documented restore mechanism — 1. Attribution is clear (acknowledgments, AGPL, Discord/issues) but the publisher is unverified with no stated maintenance entity.
README, workflow comments, and e2e tests are mutually consistent on auth and merge-queue semantics, with candid disclosure of nightly and unpinned-runtime caveats — self_consistency 2. Dependency availability is partially handled: managed-runtime update mechanism, mise-pinned toolchain, prebuilt CI image; but agent runtimes are deliberately unpinned and rely on npm's best-effort cache, as documented. Failure handling is well evidenced in tests (asserted error strings; careful CI handling of cancelled vs skipped; fail-open logic explained), but product-level error documentation is absent from the provided files — 2.
Audience and scenarios are thoroughly described (power users, teams, remote/mobile access, multi-repo, multi-provider) — 3. Environment fit is strong: macOS/Linux/Windows, four install channels, multiple executors, pinned dev toolchain — 3. Capability boundaries are partly handled: Office mode explicitly declared unsupported, manual-install agents flagged; but hard limits (dangerous-command safeguards, sandbox boundaries) are not documented — 2. Trigger precision: schedules/webhooks expose concurrency, destinations, and context, but matching/dedup details are unseen — 2.
Information architecture is excellent (structured docs tree navigated from README) — 3. Install notes cover brew/scoop/npx/npm, updates, nightly semantics, source build with pinned prerequisites — 3. Naming is consistent (kandev, KANDEV_ env prefix) but versioning rests only on latest/nightly tags. Examples exist (screenshots, workflow-tips, add-agent guide) but no FAQ — 2. Limitations are candidly disclosed — 2. Full AGPL-3.0 text — 3. No CHANGELOG file is visible; history relies on npm tags — 1. Maintenance is signaled via issues/Discord/contributing but no maintainer commitments — 2.
Output usability is strong: integrated review workspace (editor, terminal, browser preview, git changes, PR linking), session resume, shareable snapshots — 3. Marginal value over TUI agents is concretely argued (review doesn't scale in terminals, remote offload, multi-provider, server-first) — 3. Cost/benefit: self-hosted, no telemetry is a clear benefit, but resource/API-cost tracking sits in the unbuilt Office roadmap — 2.
Major claims link to docs, and workflows plus e2e tests corroborate README security claims (cookie scoping, member isolation, anonymous WS rejection) — 2 rather than 3 because many feature claims (agent integration quality, Sprites, plugin marketplace) cannot be cross-verified in the provided files. Cross-source corroboration among README, CI comments, and tests is genuine but incomplete. Fact/inference separation is good: Office mode marked in-progress, K8s operator aspirational, iFlow beta — 2.
- This is a static source review with low confidence; no runtime verification was performed — reproduce installation, auth, and agent behavior yourself.
- Publisher identity is unverified: the kdlbs org cannot be confirmed via a curated registry; vet maintainership and supply chain (Homebrew tap, Scoop bucket, npm ownership) before production use.
- Agent runtimes are deliberately unpinned and rely on npm's best-effort cache; audit and pin upstream versions in integrity-sensitive environments.
- Automations (schedules/webhooks) can trigger agent execution and open PRs: grant minimal credentials and enforce review gates; avoid destructive remote permissions.
- No explicit rollback mechanism is documented: recovery from mistaken agent changes relies on worktrees/PR review — rehearse recovery paths yourself.
- If exposing the self-hosted web service, enable opt-in authentication (KANDEV_FEATURES_AUTH), use a private channel such as Tailscale/Cloudflare Tunnel, and keep the instance off the public internet.
Recent releases
Latest entries from the project's GitHub Releases. Notes are quoted from upstream as written, not rewritten or tested by FollowAgents.
-
Release notes excerpt
> [!WARNING] > macOS, Windows desktop installers in this release are unsigned development builds. > They may require manual OS security bypasses and are not trusted downloads. > > If macOS blocks Kandev after you verify the checksum, run: > > ```bash > xattr -d com.apple.quarantine /Applications/Kandev.app > ``` 0.98.0 - 2026-10-23 Features - link task mentions in chat bubbles ([#4664](https://github.com/kdlbs/kandev/pull/4664)) - add archive shortcut and list filters ([#4629](https://github.com/kdlbs/kandev/pull/4629)) …View on GitHub ↗ -
Release notes excerpt
> [!WARNING] > macOS, Windows desktop installers in this release are unsigned development builds. > They may require manual OS security bypasses and are not trusted downloads. > > If macOS blocks Kandev after you verify the checksum, run: > > ```bash > xattr -d com.apple.quarantine /Applications/Kandev.app > ``` 0.97.0 - 2026-10-04 Features - add the Quick Chat opening composer ([#4173](https://github.com/kdlbs/kandev/pull/4173)) - add task-scoped create completion callbacks ([#4187](https://github.com/kdlbs/kandev/pull/4187)) by @Fclem …View on GitHub ↗ -
Release notes excerpt
> [!WARNING] > macOS, Windows desktop installers in this release are unsigned development builds. > They may require manual OS security bypasses and are not trusted downloads. > > If macOS blocks Kandev after you verify the checksum, run: > > ```bash > xattr -d com.apple.quarantine /Applications/Kandev.app > ``` 0.96.0 - 2026-09-25 Features - support a default saved view ([#3924](https://github.com/kdlbs/kandev/pull/3924)) - share local Cursor MCP authentication ([#3923](https://github.com/kdlbs/kandev/pull/3923)) …View on GitHub ↗