You don't need Jira, Trello, or Linear to run a kanban workflow. If your code is already on GitHub, your task management can live there too. Here's how to set it up with GitInflow.

The 4-Column Approach

A simple kanban board has four columns:

Column	Meaning	When to use
Backlog	New ideas, bug reports, feature requests	When an issue is created but not yet prioritized
Ready	Triaged and ready to start	After you've decided this is worth doing soon
In Progress	Currently being worked on	When you start working on it
Done	Completed	When the work is finished

How GitInflow Maps This to GitHub

GitInflow uses labels to represent status:

• No label → Backlog
• status:ready → Ready
• status:inProgress → In Progress
• status:done → Done (issue is also closed)

This is the key insight: GitHub doesn't have built-in kanban columns, but labels are flexible enough to serve the same purpose. And since labels are part of the GitHub API, any tool can read and write them.

A Typical Daily Workflow

Morning: Triage Your Backlog

1. Open GitInflow → Backlog tab
2. Scan new issues that came in overnight
3. Swipe right on important ones to move them to Ready
4. Add labels and milestones as you go

During the Day: Track Progress

1. Pick an issue from Ready, swipe to In Progress
2. Work on it
3. Leave comments via swipe actions for quick notes
4. When done, swipe to Done — the issue auto-closes on GitHub

End of Day: Review

1. Check the Done tab — what did you accomplish?
2. Check In Progress — anything stuck?
3. Glance at the widget on your home screen for a quick count

Tips for Multi-Repository Users

If you work across multiple repos (personal, work, side projects):

• Select up to 5 repos in Settings
• Use filter chips to focus on one repo at a time
• Set a default repo for quick issue creation
• The Share Extension respects your default repo too

Why Labels Over GitHub Projects?

GitHub Projects is great for teams, but it's heavyweight for personal use:

• Labels are universal — they work with any GitHub tool
• Labels are simple — no board configuration needed
• Labels are portable — switch apps anytime, your data stays
• GitInflow creates the status labels automatically on first use

Getting Started

1. Install GitInflow
2. Select your repos
3. Start triaging your Backlog
4. Build the habit: Backlog → Ready → In Progress → Done

It takes about 30 seconds to set up, and you'll never go back to unorganized issues.

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Questions about the kanban workflow? Let us know.