Taskell vs Vikunja
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted project management & tasks options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Vikunja
Open-source to-do and project management app
| Feature | Taskell | Vikunja |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 15 · At risk | 90 · Excellent |
| Status | Archived | Actively maintained |
| Category | Project Management & Tasks | Project Management & Tasks |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Haskell | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,783 | ★ 5,494 |
| First released | 2018 | 2019 |
| Replaces | Trello, Things | Todoist, Trello, Asana |
What are Taskell and Vikunja?
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
Vikunja
Vikunja is an open-source to-do app and project management tool with lists, kanban, gantt, and calendar views. It targets individuals and teams wanting flexible task management. It is deployed via Docker or a single binary.
- List, kanban, gantt and calendar views
- Reminders and recurring tasks
- REST API
- Lightweight single binary
Taskell vs Vikunja: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: Taskell's repository is archived and no longer developed, while Vikunja is actively maintained. Taskell is written in Haskell, while Vikunja is built with Go. Licensing differs — BSD-3-Clause for Taskell versus AGPL-3.0 for Vikunja. Taskell is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Vikunja. Vikunja has the considerably larger community, at 5,494 GitHub stars versus 1,783. Vikunja lists first-class Docker deployment; Taskell does not.
Why pick each one
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
Choose Vikunja if…
- Flexible task views
- Lightweight
- Good API
Watch out for
- Smaller ecosystem
- Fewer integrations than rivals
Frequently asked questions
Is Taskell or Vikunja better?
Neither is universally better. Vikunja has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Taskell and Vikunja free and open-source?
Yes. Taskell is licensed under BSD-3-Clause and Vikunja under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Taskell and Vikunja with Docker?
Taskell: check the project docs for container support. Vikunja: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Taskell or Vikunja?
Taskell has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Vikunja. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.