Getting Started with Kanban Pro - Your First Board in 2 Minutes
Getting Started with Kanban Pro: Your First Board in 2 Minutes
No account. No onboarding wizard. No cloud configuration. You open Kanban Pro, point it at a folder, and your board is ready. That's the whole setup.
Here's what to expect in the first two minutes.
Download and Install
Kanban Pro is available on the Mac App Store as a one-time purchase. Once installed, open it from your Applications folder or Launchpad. No login required.
Open a Project Folder
Kanban Pro stores your boards as plain files in a folder of your choosing — on your Mac, an external drive, or a cloud folder like iCloud Drive, Dropbox, or Google Drive.
On first launch, you'll be prompted to open a folder. You can:
- Create a new empty folder for a fresh project
- Open an existing folder if you're migrating from another tool
- Point it at a shared cloud folder to collaborate with a teammate
Kanban Pro creates a small .kanban/ configuration file inside the folder and a tickets/ directory. Everything else in the folder is left untouched.
Create Your First Columns
A new project starts with a default set of columns: To Do, In Progress, and Done. You can rename, reorder, add, or delete columns at any time — right-click a column header to access column settings.
Your column structure is yours. Some people use a simple three-stage workflow. Others build out detailed pipelines with eight or more stages. Kanban Pro doesn't impose a template.
Add Your First Ticket
Click the + button at the top of any column, or press N to create a new ticket. Give it a title, press Return, and it's on the board.
Open any ticket to add priority, type, assignee, due date, a rich-text description, file attachments, tags, custom fields, and links to other tickets. Tickets are plain Markdown files on disk — readable in any text editor.
Switch Views Anytime
Your project isn't locked to the board view. Use the toolbar to switch between Board, List, Table, Calendar, and Gantt. All views show the same data — nothing is hidden in a specific view. The Gantt view supports drag-to-reschedule and dependency tracking if you need it.
Cloud Collaboration
If you opened a folder inside iCloud Drive, Dropbox, Google Drive, or any sync service, Kanban Pro automatically stays in sync across any Macs pointing at the same folder. No account, no server — sync is handled by whatever cloud provider you already use.
For a full walkthrough of cloud sync options, see the Cloud Sync FAQ.
That's It
Most people are running a real board within five minutes of downloading. The learning curve is intentionally short — if you know how a sticky note works, you know how Kanban Pro works.