Getting started

Install the CLI

Kanbus has two command lines that behave identically, because both are tested against the same behavior specifications and read and write the same files. A team can mix them.

• kbs is the Rust CLI. It is the fastest, and it comes with kbsc, the board server.
• kanbus is the Python CLI. It has the same commands, without the board server.

The examples on this site use kbs. Replace it with kanbus if you installed the Python CLI.

curl -L -o kbs.tar.gz https://github.com/AnthusAI/Kanbus/releases/latest/download/kbs-aarch64-apple-darwin.tar.gz
curl -L -o kbsc.tar.gz https://github.com/AnthusAI/Kanbus/releases/latest/download/kbsc-aarch64-apple-darwin.tar.gz
tar -xzf kbs.tar.gz && tar -xzf kbsc.tar.gz
sudo mv kbs kbsc /usr/local/bin/
kbs --version

cargo install kanbus
kbs --version

pip install kanbus
kanbus --version

Put a board in a repository

From the root of a git repository:

kbs init

This adds .kanbus.yml and a project/ folder. Open .kanbus.yml and set a short project_key that is unique to this repository and a console_port of its own, then commit the setup.

kbs create "Launch the website" --type epic
kbs create "Write the landing page" --parent acme-4e3b31
kbs list
kbsc

kbs create prints each new issue's id, which is what --parent and the other commands take. kbsc serves the board on the port you chose.

Hand it to your agents

kbs setup agents

This writes the Kanbus instructions into AGENTS.md and keeps agents from editing issue files directly. From then on an agent can read the board, claim a task, comment on what it did and close it, and kbs commit records the board changes in git.

Pick how far to take it