Boards

Learn everything about boards - your top-level organizational units in Kanman.

Boards are the primary way to organize your work in Kanman. They serve as the top-level containers that group related projects and tasks together, giving you a dedicated space for each distinct area of your work or life.

Whether you’re managing a product launch, organizing client work, or tracking personal goals, each board provides a focused environment where everything related to that context lives together. You can customize each board’s appearance with backgrounds, icons, and accent colors to make it instantly recognizable and visually distinct from your other boards.

Board view

What is a Board?

A board is much more than a simple folder—it’s a complete workspace designed to help you focus on one area at a time. Think of it as:

  • A dedicated workspace for organizing all work related to a specific context, like “Product Development” or “Personal Finance”
  • A visual environment with customizable backgrounds, icons, and accent colors that make each board uniquely yours
  • A filtering boundary that lets you focus on one area without distraction from unrelated work
  • A layout choice that can be set to Simple (list-based) or Kanban (column-based) view depending on how you prefer to work

Board Properties

Property Description Required
label Board name (max 255 chars) Yes
description Rich text description No
icon_name Lucide icon identifier No
background_color Hex color code No
background_image_url Unsplash image URL No
accent_color Hex color for UI elements No
layout_preference simple or kanban No (default: simple)

Creating a Board

From the Sidebar

  1. Click + New Board at the bottom of the sidebar
  2. Enter a board name
  3. Click Create

With Customization

  1. Click + New Board
  2. Fill in the board name
  3. Click Customize to expand options:
    • Choose an icon
    • Set a background color or image
    • Pick an accent color
  4. Click Create

Board Limits

The number of boards you can create depends on your plan:

Plan Active Boards
Personal 5
Pro 15
Teams 50

Note: Deleted boards in trash don’t count toward your limit.

Customization Options

Icons

Choose from hundreds of Lucide icons to give your board instant visual recognition:

  • Search by keyword (e.g., “briefcase”, “home”, “code”)
  • Icons appear in the sidebar and board header
  • Leave empty for no icon
Screenshot not found: /images/board-form/icon-picker

Background Colors

Set a solid background color:

  • Use the color picker
  • Enter a hex code directly
  • Background applies to the board view

Background Images

Use Unsplash for beautiful, free photos:

  1. Click Choose Image
  2. Search for a theme (e.g., “mountains”, “workspace”)
  3. Select an image
  4. Photographer credit is automatically saved
Screenshot not found: /images/board-form/wallpaper-picker
Board appearance settings (Desktop) Board appearance settings (Mobile)

Accent Colors

The accent color appears in:

  • Project headers
  • Progress bars
  • Buttons and interactive elements
  • Hover states

Choose a color that complements your background.

Layout Options

Board workflow settings (Desktop) Board workflow settings (Mobile)

Simple Layout

The default list-based view:

  • Projects appear as expandable cards
  • Tasks listed vertically within projects
  • Great for quick task management
  • Works well on all screen sizes

Kanban Layout

A visual board with columns:

  • Tasks organized by status (Waiting, In Progress, Finished)
  • Drag and drop between columns
  • Custom workflow lanes
  • Ideal for visual thinkers and sprint planning

Switch layouts anytime via the layout toggle in the board header.

Layout switch animation

Board Operations

Editing a Board

  1. Open the board
  2. Click the settings icon (⚙️) in the header
  3. Make changes in the modal
  4. Changes save automatically when you close
Board settings form

Duplicating a Board

Currently, board duplication is not supported. As a workaround:

  1. Create a new board with similar settings
  2. Manually recreate projects (tasks won’t copy)

Archiving vs Deleting

Kanman uses soft deletion:

  • Delete: Moves to trash, recoverable for 40 days
  • Permanent Delete: After 40 days in trash, or manually emptied

There’s no separate “archive” feature - use trash for temporary removal.

Deleting a Board

  1. Open board settings
  2. Scroll to Danger Zone
  3. Click Delete Board
  4. Confirm deletion

Warning: Deleting a board also deletes all projects, tasks, and subtasks within it. They all go to trash together.

Board with Notes

Each board can have associated notes for documentation:

  • Meeting notes
  • Reference information
  • Project guidelines
  • Team agreements

Access notes via the Notes button in the board header.

Board with Workflow Lanes

In Kanban layout, you can create custom workflow lanes:

Kanban view with workflow lanes (Desktop) Kanban view with workflow lanes (Mobile)

Lanes help visualize your specific workflow within each status stage. Common lane setups include:

  • Waiting: Backlog, To Review
  • In Progress: Development, Review, Testing
  • Finished: Done, Deployed

Best Practices

One Purpose Per Board

Keep boards focused:

  • ✅ “Marketing Campaigns”
  • ✅ “Product Development”
  • ❌ “Everything Work Related”

Consistent Naming

Establish naming conventions:

  • “Client: [Name]” for client work
  • “[Year] [Initiative]” for time-bound projects
  • “[Area] - [Focus]” for departmental work

Regular Cleanup

  • Archive completed projects
  • Delete obsolete boards
  • Review quarterly to stay organized

Last updated: January 1, 0001

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