Asana
Web and mobile work management platform to organize and track team projects and tasks
Focalboard
Open-source project management alternative to Trello and Notion
Self-hosted, multilingual project management tool for organizing and tracking work across individuals and teams. Available as desktop apps or multi-user server.
Overview
What is Focalboard?
Focalboard is a self-hosted project management platform designed to help individuals and teams define, organize, track, and manage work. Built as an open-source alternative to tools like Trello, Notion, and Asana, it offers multilingual support and flexible deployment options.
Deployment Options
Focalboard comes in two editions: Personal Desktop provides a standalone, single-user application for macOS, Windows, and Linux, ideal for personal todos and projects. Personal Server delivers a multi-user server environment suitable for development teams and collaborative work.
Technical Foundation
Built primarily with TypeScript and Go, Focalboard includes a REST API for integration and automation. The server runs against SQLite for lightweight deployments or can be configured for production environments. Docker images are available for containerized deployments, and the platform supports cross-platform builds for Windows, Mac, and Linux.
Note: This standalone version is currently unmaintained. Teams using Mattermost should consider the mattermost-plugin-boards integration instead.
Highlights
Self-hosted deployment with full data ownership and control
Dual editions: single-user desktop apps and multi-user server
Multilingual interface supporting international teams
REST API for custom integrations and workflow automation
Pros
- Complete alternative to commercial tools like Trello and Notion
- Multiple deployment options from desktop to Docker containers
- Active community with 25,000+ GitHub stars
- Cross-platform support for Windows, macOS, and Linux
Considerations
- Standalone repository is currently unmaintained
- Cross-compilation not fully supported; requires platform-specific builds
- Personal Server edition targets development and personal use cases
- Mattermost plugin recommended over standalone for team deployments
Managed products teams compare with
When teams consider Focalboard, these hosted platforms usually appear on the same shortlist.
Looking for a hosted option? These are the services engineering teams benchmark against before choosing open source.
Fit guide
Great for
- Individuals seeking privacy-focused personal project management
- Development teams wanting self-hosted Kanban and tracking tools
- Organizations requiring data sovereignty and on-premise deployment
- Teams migrating from commercial tools to open alternatives
Not ideal when
- Production teams needing active maintenance and regular updates
- Organizations without technical resources for self-hosting
- Users preferring cloud-hosted SaaS solutions
- Mattermost users who should use the official plugin instead
How teams use it
Personal Task Management
Individuals organize personal todos and projects using the desktop app without cloud dependencies or subscription fees.
Development Team Sprint Planning
Engineering teams deploy Personal Server to track sprints, manage backlogs, and visualize work across multiple projects.
Self-Hosted Knowledge Base
Organizations maintain project documentation and workflows on internal infrastructure, ensuring complete data control.
Collaborative Goal Tracking
Small teams coordinate objectives and milestones through shared boards on a multi-user server instance.
Tech snapshot
TypeScript54%
Go40%
SCSS4%
Swift1%
C#1%
Makefile1%
Frequently asked questions
Is Focalboard still maintained?
The standalone repository is currently unmaintained. Teams using Mattermost should use mattermost-plugin-boards. The community is seeking new maintainers.
What's the difference between Personal Desktop and Personal Server?
Personal Desktop is a single-user application for individual use on Windows, Mac, or Linux. Personal Server is a multi-user web server for teams and development environments.
Can I run Focalboard in Docker?
Yes, official Docker images are available. Run with 'docker run -it -p 80:8000 mattermost/focalboard' or build custom images for specific architectures.
Does Focalboard have an API?
Yes, Focalboard includes a REST API for boards and related resources. API documentation is available in the repository's Swagger docs.
What database does Focalboard use?
The Personal Server and desktop apps run against SQLite by default. The server can be configured for other databases in production deployments.
Project at a glance
Active- Stars
- 25,742
- Watchers
- 25,742
- Forks
- 2,466
Repo age5 years old
Last commit3 months ago
Self-hostingSupported
Primary languageTypeScript
Last synced 10 hours ago