Overview
Kanban Pro provides native macOS widgets that let you see your project status at a glance — directly on your desktop or in the Notification Centre. View task counts by column, upcoming due dates, and more without opening the app.
Requirement
Kanban Pro widgets require macOS 14 Sonoma or later. Interactive widget features — such as quick-adding tickets and moving tickets between columns — require macOS 15 Sequoia or later.
Available Widget Sizes
| Size | Dimensions | What It Shows |
|---|---|---|
| Small | Square | Total ticket count and project name. A compact status indicator for your board. |
| Medium | Wide rectangle | Per-column ticket counts with a horizontal bar chart. See your workflow distribution at a glance. |
| Large | Tall rectangle | Column counts plus upcoming due dates. Lists the next 5 tickets with due dates approaching, sorted by urgency. |
All widget sizes display the project name and update automatically when your board changes. You can add multiple widget instances — for example, one per project — and configure each independently.
Adding a Widget to Your Desktop
- Right-click (Control-click) on your desktop and select Edit Widgets… from the context menu. Alternatively, click the date and time in the menu bar to open Notification Centre, then scroll to the bottom and click Edit Widgets.
- Search for Kanban Pro in the widget gallery. You can type "Kanban" in the search field or scroll through the list of available apps.
- Choose a widget size. You will see previews of the Small, Medium, and Large widgets. Click the + button on your preferred size, or drag it to a specific location on your desktop for precise placement.
- Position the widget. Drag the widget to your preferred location on the desktop. macOS will snap it to the grid alongside your other widgets.
- Configure the widget. Right-click the widget and select Edit "Kanban Pro". Choose which project folder the widget should display. If you have multiple projects, you can add multiple widgets — one per project.
Tip
Desktop widgets were introduced in macOS 14 Sonoma. If you are running macOS 13 Ventura or earlier, widgets are only available in the Notification Centre.
Adding a Widget to Notification Centre
- Click the date and time in the top-right of the menu bar to open Notification Centre.
- Scroll to the bottom of the widget area and click Edit Widgets.
- Find Kanban Pro in the gallery, choose your preferred size, and click + to add it.
- Click Done to save your layout. The widget will appear in your Notification Centre alongside your other widgets.
Interactive Widgets on macOS 15 Sequoia
On macOS 15 Sequoia and later, Kanban Pro widgets support interactive actions directly from your desktop — no need to open the app first.
- Quick Add: Tap a column button in the Quick Add widget to create a new ticket in that column. Kanban Pro opens with the new ticket dialog pre-filled.
- Move to Next Column: The Task List widget displays up to 7 tickets from a selected column. Tap the move button on any ticket to advance it to the next column in your workflow. The change appears on your board within a few seconds.
Tip
On macOS 14 Sonoma, tapping a widget opens Kanban Pro. On macOS 15 Sequoia, interactive buttons perform actions directly — the app only opens when navigating to a specific ticket.
How Widgets Stay in Sync
Kanban Pro widgets read directly from your project folder on disk. When you add, move, or complete tickets in the app, the widget detects the filesystem changes and refreshes its display.
- Local projects: Updates appear within seconds.
- Cloud-synced projects: The widget refreshes as soon as the cloud provider syncs the changed files to your Mac. This typically takes a few seconds on iCloud Drive or Dropbox.
macOS also refreshes widgets periodically on its own schedule (typically every 5–15 minutes). If you need an immediate refresh, you can open Kanban Pro's Settings → Widgets tab and click Sync Widgets Now.
Tip
Widgets read your project data in a read-only manner (except for interactive features on Sequoia). Standard widgets do not modify your ticket files or board configuration.
Configuring Widget Preferences
Each widget instance can be configured independently. There are two ways to adjust preferences:
From the widget itself
Right-click the widget and select Edit "Kanban Pro" to choose which project folder the widget displays.
From the Kanban Pro app
Open Kanban Pro's Settings → Widgets tab (only visible on macOS) for more detailed configuration:
- Enable Widget Integration: Toggle widget support on or off.
- Project folder: Choose which Kanban Pro project to display.
- Default column: Select which column the Task List widget shows by default.
- Max tickets shown: Limit how many tickets appear in the Task List widget (3, 5, 7, or 10).
- Display fields: Toggle whether to show priority, assignee, due date, and tags on widget ticket rows.
- Columns to show: On Medium and Large widgets, select which columns appear in the count breakdown.
- Due date range: On the Large widget, set how far ahead the due date list should look (e.g. next 7 days, next 14 days, or all upcoming).
Widget preferences auto-save as you change them. Click Sync Widgets Now to push an immediate update to your widgets.
Troubleshooting
- Widget shows "No Project Selected": Right-click the widget, choose Edit "Kanban Pro", and select your project folder.
- Widget not updating: Ensure the project folder is accessible. If it is on a cloud drive, check that sync is active. You can also try removing and re-adding the widget, or click Sync Widgets Now in Settings → Widgets.
- Widget not appearing in the gallery: Ensure you are running macOS 14 Sonoma or later and that Kanban Pro is installed from the Mac App Store. Try restarting your Mac if the widget gallery does not list Kanban Pro after a fresh install.
- Interactive buttons not working: Interactive widget features (Quick Add, Move to Next Column) require macOS 15 Sequoia or later. On macOS 14, tapping the widget opens the app instead.
- Counts seem outdated: macOS controls widget refresh timing (typically every 5–15 minutes). For the most current data, open the Kanban Pro app directly or click Sync Widgets Now in Settings. The widget will catch up on its next refresh cycle.
- Low Power Mode slowing updates: macOS reduces background activity when Low Power Mode is enabled, which can delay widget refreshes. Disable Low Power Mode in System Settings → Battery for more frequent updates.
- Multiple widgets showing the same project: Each widget instance is configured independently. Right-click each widget and select Edit "Kanban Pro" to choose a different project or column for each one.