Kanban Board + Hub Sync (Spoke Side)

Type: infra Origin repo(s): kanbai (hub, folding into devplane), 11 spoke apps Extraction readiness: copy-paste bundle Depends on: Hub ecosystem sync (for bi-directional card flow) Last reviewed: 2026-04-24

What it is

Local PostgreSQL-backed kanban (cards, epics, subtasks, lifecycle columns) embedded in each spoke app. Syncs bi-directionally with the Kanbai hub: card creation/moves push to the hub, inbound webhook pushes from hub apply to the local board. Some variants support AI agent runners that claim cards, execute them, and complete via a structured completion block.

Consolidation note: devplane's own kanban (the product of this hub repo) is in the same family. When kanbai folds into devplane, the hub side unifies — devplane becomes the single kanban authority for the portfolio. Spoke apps in the people-analytics toolbox continue to maintain local boards that sync with devplane.

Data shape

• cards — local kanban card (id, asn, title, column, agent_type, dependencies JSONB).
• card_activity — append-only event log per card (status changes, completion blocks, comments).
• card_sync_state — per-card (hub_card_id, last_synced_at, pending_push: boolean).
• completion_blocks — structured completion records (P04 two-phase commit).

UI / surface shape

• Board view: columns = lifecycle stages, cards = draggable.
• Card detail: title, description, dependencies, activity log, completion block viewer.
• Agent-facing: /api/agent/* surface (claim, list, log completion) bypasses user auth.

Variants in the wild

• Kanbai — canonical hub + its own kanban UI.
• Devplane — parallel implementation focused on cross-repo orchestration. Richer agent dispatch. Folds with kanbai going forward.
• Metric-market, reincarnation — support AI agent runners that claim + complete cards.
• Most other spokes — read-only or minimal mirrors.

Primary files in origin

• src/kanban.ts (devplane) — local kanban CRUD + lifecycle
• src/dispatch.ts (devplane) — agent dispatch spawning Claude subprocess
• src/completion.ts — completion block protocol (DP-01/02/03)
• server/kanban-agent-runner.ts (variants across spokes) — budgeted agent runner (Prompt F target)

Next-version notes

• Merge kanbai's hub-side into devplane (explicit consolidation decision already made).
• The completion block protocol (P04 / devplane's DP-01/02/03) should become the canonical format for all spoke → hub completion messages, replacing the drifted ad-hoc formats in some spokes.
• Budgeted agent runners across spokes should adopt the canonical Budgeted Agent pattern (hub MASTER-PATTERNS → "Canonical Implementations" → "Budgeted AI Agent with Pause/Resume").

Related patterns

• P04 — Discriminated-Union State Machine with Two-Phase Commit
• P19 — Two-Phase Actor Handoff (Builder → Reviewer)
• P08 — Sequential Subprocess Dispatcher with Lenient Success Heuristic
• Canonical: Budgeted AI Agent with Pause/Resume