---
title: "Deploy Kanboard"
description: "Kanboard — minimalist Kanban project management, Trello alternative"
category: "Starters"
url: https://railway.com/deploy/kanboard-1
---

# Deploy Kanboard

Kanboard — minimalist Kanban project management, Trello alternative

**[Deploy Kanboard on Railway](https://railway.com/template/kanboard-1)**

- **Creator:** INAPP
- **Category:** Starters
- **Total deploys:** 2

## Template content

### kanboard

- **Source:** https://github.com/INAPP-Mobile/railway-kanboard
- **Public domain:** Yes

## Documentation

# Deploy and Host

[![Deploy on Railway](https://railway.app/button.svg)](https://railway.com/deploy/nNza4s)

![OG Image](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/INAPP-Mobile/railway-kanboard/main/og-image.svg)

Kanboard is a free and open-source Kanban project management software. It focuses on simplicity, speed, and a minimalistic approach — no complexity, no external dependencies. Manage your projects, tasks, and team workflow visually with an intuitive Kanban board deployed on Railway in minutes.

## About Hosting

Kanboard runs as a single container with SQLite for persistence. Railway provides the compute, TLS at the edge, and a public URL. The service includes an Nginx reverse proxy with automatic PORT substitution, a persistent volume for the SQLite database and file uploads, and a built-in health check that Railway monitors for automatic restarts.

## Why Deploy

- **Zero external dependencies** — SQLite-based, no PostgreSQL or Redis required. Single container with a persistent volume.
- **Visual Kanban boards** — Drag-and-drop task management with swimlanes, categories, and custom columns.
- **Enterprise-ready auth** — LDAP, OAuth, and local account authentication out of the box.
- **50+ languages** — Fully internationalized with community-maintained translations.
- **Built-in analytics** — Burndown charts, time tracking, and task statistics.
- **Plugin system** — Extend functionality via the plugin directory (enable with `PLUGIN_INSTALLER=true`).
- **Full REST API** — Automate workflows, integrate with CI/CD, or build custom tooling.

## Common Use Cases

- **Project management** — Track tasks across multiple projects with Kanban, Gantt, and list views
- **Team collaboration** — Assign tasks, set due dates, and manage user roles
- **Bug tracking** — Lightweight issue tracker with categories, priorities, and swimlanes
- **Personal task board** — Self-hosted todo list with time tracking and analytics
- **Client project portals** — Share project dashboards with external stakeholders

## Dependencies for Kanboard

### Deployment Dependencies

Kanboard requires no external dependencies on Railway. It uses embedded SQLite for storage and runs entirely within its container. Optional: MySQL or PostgreSQL can be configured via environment variables for production deployments with multiple replicas.

- [Railway Account](https://railway.app) — hosting platform
- No external database, cache, or message queue required

---

## Features

- **Visual Kanban Boards** — Drag-and-drop task management
- **Project Management** — Multiple projects with swimlanes and categories
- **Task Analytics** — Burndown charts, time tracking, and statistics
- **Authentication** — LDAP, OAuth, and local accounts
- **Notifications** — Email, webhooks, and Slack integration
- **Multi-language** — 50+ supported languages
- **REST API** — Full API for integrations and automation
- **Plugins** — Extend functionality via the plugin system
- **No External Database Required** — Uses SQLite by default (zero config)

## Quick Start

1. Click **Deploy on Railway** above
2. Open your Railway URL — Kanboard starts in ~30s
3. Log in with `admin` / `admin` (change immediately!)

## Environment Variables

Kanboard is pre-configured for SQLite — deploy and start using it immediately. For production setups with MySQL or PostgreSQL, use the variables below.

| Variable | Default | Description |
|----------|---------|-------------|
| `PLUGIN_INSTALLER` | `false` | Enable the plugin installer from the UI (`true`/`false`) |
| `MAIL_FROM` | `notifications@localhost` | From address for email notifications |

### Database (optional — SQLite works out of the box)

| Variable | Default | Description |
|----------|---------|-------------|
| `DB_DRIVER` | `sqlite` | Database driver: `sqlite`, `mysql`, or `postgres` |
| `DB_HOSTNAME` | — | Database hostname (required for MySQL/Postgres) |
| `DB_NAME` | `kanboard` | Database name (required for MySQL/Postgres) |
| `DB_USERNAME` | — | Database username (required for MySQL/Postgres) |
| `DB_PASSWORD` | — | Database password (required for MySQL/Postgres) |
| `DB_PORT` | — | Database port (optional, defaults to driver default) |

### Email notifications (optional)

| Variable | Default | Description |
|----------|---------|-------------|
| `MAIL_TRANSPORT` | `smtp` | Mail transport: `smtp`, `sendmail`, or `mail` |
| `MAIL_SMTP_HOSTNAME` | — | SMTP server hostname |
| `MAIL_SMTP_PORT` | `25` | SMTP server port |
| `MAIL_SMTP_USERNAME` | — | SMTP username |
| `MAIL_SMTP_PASSWORD` | — | SMTP password |
| `MAIL_SMTP_ENCRYPTION` | — | SMTP encryption: `tls` or `ssl` |
| `DEBUG` | `false` | Enable debug mode (`true`/`false`) |

### Linking a Database

To use MySQL or PostgreSQL instead of SQLite:

1. Create a Railway MySQL or PostgreSQL database service
2. Link it to your Kanboard service
3. Set these variables on the Kanboard service:

```
DB_DRIVER=mysql
DB_HOSTNAME=${{YourDatabaseService.MYSQLHOST}}
DB_NAME=${{YourDatabaseService.MYSQLDATABASE}}
DB_USERNAME=${{YourDatabaseService.MYSQLUSER}}
DB_PASSWORD=${{YourDatabaseService.MYSQLPASSWORD}}
DB_PORT=${{YourDatabaseService.MYSQLPORT}}
```

For PostgreSQL, use `DB_DRIVER=postgres` with the corresponding `PG*` variables.

## Architecture

```
┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│          Railway Edge               │
│     (TLS termination, routing)      │
└────────────┬────────────────────────┘
             │
┌────────────▼────────────────────────┐
│          Nginx (port $PORT)          │
│    Reverse proxy + static assets     │
└────────────┬────────────────────────┘
             │
┌────────────▼────────────────────────┐
│     PHP-FPM (Kanboard Application)  │
│   Kanban logic, REST API, Auth      │
└────────────┬────────────────────────┘
             │
┌────────────▼────────────────────────┐
│  Persistent Volume (kanboard-data)  │
│  /var/www/app/data                   │
│  └─── SQLite database               │
│  └─── File uploads                  │
│  └─── Cache                         │
└─────────────────────────────────────┘
```

### Persistence

Kanboard stores all data in `/var/www/app/data`:
- **SQLite database** (`sqlite` directory) — tasks, projects, users
- **File uploads** (`files` directory) — attached files and images
- **Cache** (`cache` directory) — application cache
- **Logs** (`debug.log`) — debug logging when enabled

This directory is mounted as a Railway persistent volume, so your data survives redeploys.

## Default Credentials

| Role | Username | Password |
|------|----------|----------|
| Administrator | `admin` | `admin` |

**Important:** Change the default password immediately after first login.

## Troubleshooting

| Issue | Solution |
|-------|----------|
| 502 Bad Gateway | Verify `PORT` is set (Railway does this automatically) |
| Health check failing | Wait 15s — migrations run on first startup |
| Plugin installer not showing | Set `PLUGIN_INSTALLER=true` in Variables |
| Database connection errors | Verify DB credentials and that the database service is linked |

## Local Development

```bash
git clone https://github.com/INAPP-Mobile/railway-kanboard && cd railway-kanboard
docker build -t kanboard .
docker run -d -p 8080:80 -v kanboard-data:/var/www/app/data kanboard
```

## Resources

- [Kanboard Official Website](https://kanboard.org/)
- [Kanboard Documentation](https://docs.kanboard.org/)
- [Kanboard GitHub Repository](https://github.com/kanboard/kanboard)
- [Kanboard Docker Image](https://hub.docker.com/r/kanboard/kanboard)
- [Railway Documentation](https://docs.railway.app/)

## License

This template is provided under the MIT License. Kanboard itself is licensed under the MIT License. Template by [INAPP-Mobile](https://github.com/INAPP-Mobile).

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