Taskcafe vs Taskell
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted project management & tasks options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Taskcafe | Taskell |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 21 · At risk | 15 · At risk |
| Status | Actively maintained | Archived |
| Category | Project Management & Tasks | Project Management & Tasks |
| License | MIT | BSD-3-Clause |
| Language | TypeScript | Haskell |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5,214 | ★ 1,783 |
| First released | 2020 | 2018 |
| Replaces | Trello, Asana | Trello, Things |
What are Taskcafe and Taskell?
Taskcafe
Taskcafe is an open-source project management tool inspired by Trello and Asana. It offers kanban boards, task assignment, due dates, and a clean interface.
- Kanban project boards
- Task assignment and labels
- Due dates and checklists
- GraphQL API
Taskell
Taskell is an open-source command-line kanban board application that stores boards as Markdown files. It offers a keyboard-driven terminal interface for managing personal task lists.
- Terminal kanban board
- Markdown file storage
- Keyboard-driven
- No database needed
Taskcafe vs Taskell: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: Taskell's repository is archived and no longer developed, while Taskcafe is actively maintained. Taskcafe is written in TypeScript, while Taskell is built with Haskell. Licensing differs — MIT for Taskcafe versus BSD-3-Clause for Taskell. Taskell is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Taskcafe. Taskell is the more established project (first released 2018), while Taskcafe arrived in 2020. Taskcafe has the considerably larger community, at 5,214 GitHub stars versus 1,783. Taskcafe lists first-class Docker deployment; Taskell does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Taskcafe if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 5.2k GitHub stars
- Written in TypeScript
Choose Taskell if…
- Released under the BSD-3-Clause license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Active community (1.8k GitHub stars)
- Written in Haskell
Frequently asked questions
Is Taskcafe or Taskell better?
Neither is universally better. Taskcafe has the larger community, while Taskell is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Taskcafe and Taskell free and open-source?
Yes. Taskcafe is licensed under MIT and Taskell under BSD-3-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Taskcafe and Taskell with Docker?
Taskcafe: yes. Taskell: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Taskcafe or Taskell?
Taskell has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Taskcafe. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.