Focalboard vs Tasks.md
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted project management & tasks options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Focalboard
Open-source project and task management boards
VS
Tasks.md
Self-hosted Markdown file-based task management board
| Feature | Focalboard | Tasks.md |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 69 · Good | 66 · Good |
| Category | Project Management & Tasks | Project Management & Tasks |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | TypeScript | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 26,483 | ★ 2,200 |
| First released | 2021 | 2023 |
| Replaces | Trello, Asana, Notion | Trello |
What are Focalboard and Tasks.md?
Focalboard
Focalboard is an open-source project management tool with kanban boards, tables, and calendar views for organizing work. It targets teams wanting a self-hosted Trello-style board. It is deployed via Docker or as part of Mattermost.
- Kanban, table and calendar views
- Personal and team boards
- Integrates with Mattermost
- Templates for common workflows
Tasks.md
Tasks.md is a self-hosted, file-based task management tool where every card is a Markdown file. It provides a kanban interface backed entirely by plain text files.
- Cards stored as Markdown files
- No database required
- Drag-and-drop kanban board
- Easy to back up with git
Focalboard vs Tasks.md: key differences
Focalboard is written in TypeScript, while Tasks.md is built with JavaScript. Tasks.md is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Focalboard. Focalboard is the more established project (first released 2021), while Tasks.md arrived in 2023. Focalboard has the considerably larger community, at 26,483 GitHub stars versus 2,200.
Why pick each one
Choose Focalboard if…
- Clean Trello-like UI
- Lightweight
- Mattermost integration
Watch out for
- Development has slowed
- Fewer power features
Choose Tasks.md if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (2.2k GitHub stars)
Frequently asked questions
Is Focalboard or Tasks.md better?
Neither is universally better. Focalboard has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Focalboard and Tasks.md free and open-source?
Yes. Focalboard is licensed under MIT and Tasks.md under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Focalboard and Tasks.md with Docker?
Focalboard: yes. Tasks.md: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Focalboard or Tasks.md?
Tasks.md has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Focalboard. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.