A kanban board that lives in your markdown. Zero dependencies, one file of server, one file of UI. Your BACKLOG.md stays the single source of truth — Autobahn renders it as lanes, and dragging a card rewrites the file, byte-for-byte. Commit as usual.

Built at Rams to run our own backlog; shared because it turned out to be the whole tool.

Why

Markdown backlogs are great for working with agents and humans in the same file: greppable, diffable, reviewable, no lock-in. What they lack is a glanceable board. Autobahn is that board — nothing more. There is no database, no accounts, no sync. If you delete Autobahn tomorrow, your backlog loses nothing.

Quickstart

git clone https://github.com/rams-design/autobahn
cd autobahn
node server.mjs example     # → http://localhost:4780

Then point it at your own project:

node server.mjs ~/code/my-project

It looks for BACKLOG.md in that directory (see FORMAT.md for the card grammar — or copy example/BACKLOG.md as a starter). Every other .md file in the directory shows up as a read-only rendered tab.

Requires Node 18+. No install step, no dependencies.

What it does

  • Lanes — ## Now, ## Next, ## Later headings in the backlog open lanes; every ## PREFIX-N · Title block under them is a card.
  • Drag to move — between lanes, or onto a card to insert before it. Both splice the card's markdown block into its new position and write the file back.
  • Shipped is derived — cards whose Status starts with done / shipped / resolved / retired (or whose title says so) collect in a Shipped column automatically. No archiving ritual.
  • New card — mints the next id (TASK-007) and appends a template card.
  • Card lightbox — click any card for its full rendered body.
  • Pinned notes — non-card ## blocks inside the first lane render as pinned notes above the board (sprint goals, standing reminders).
  • Docs tabs — the rest of your project's markdown, rendered read-only.
  • Dirty flag — shows when the directory has uncommitted git changes.

Configuration

Optional autobahn.config.json next to your backlog:

{
  "backlog": "BACKLOG.md",
  "docs": ["PLAN.md", "NOTES.md"],
  "lanes": ["Now", "Next", "Later"],
  "prefix": "TASK",
  "port": 4780
}

Everything is optional. Without docs, every .md in the directory (except the backlog) becomes a tab. prefix is what New card mints; existing cards can use any PREFIX-N id.

Design notes

  • The file is the database. Autobahn never stores state of its own.
  • Writes are whole-block splices — a moved card is the same bytes in a new position, so diffs stay readable and merge conflicts stay rare.
  • Intended for localhost. There is no auth; don't expose the port.
  • The markdown renderer is deliberately small and only fed your own local files.