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Wekan: Open Source alternative to Trello in 2026

Wekan is an open source Kanban board with lists, cards, labels and checklists, very similar in experience to Trello and with active community support.

Alternative to Trello
License MIT21.1k starsWebsite GitHub Repository

Audit Snapshot

View notes →

  • License — Matches GitHub

  • GitHub — Active

  • Latest release — v12.39 · today

  • Docker Compose — Partial

  • Production — Not production-tested by AltFreeStack

Wekan vs. Trello

Pros

  • Very permissive MIT license
  • Minimal adoption curve

Things to consider

  • Somewhat less polished interface than Trello

Quick Docker installation guide

Copy this docker-compose.yml, adjust the example passwords and run docker compose up -d on your server. See the full step-by-step guide →

💡 Official SaaS or self-hosted with AltFreeStack?

  • On the official cloud: $5/mo per user on Trello.
  • On your own VPS: 100% free software on your own server, with no artificial row, project or user limits.
docker-compose.yml
version: "3.9"
services:
  wekan:
    image: wekanteam/wekan:v12.12
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "8080:8080"
    environment:
      - MONGO_URL=mongodb://wekan-db:27017/wekan
      - ROOT_URL=http://localhost:8080 # CHANGE THIS TO YOUR DOMAIN
    depends_on:
      - wekan-db
  wekan-db:
    image: mongo:7
    restart: unless-stopped
    volumes:
      - wekan_mongo_data:/data/db
volumes:
  wekan_mongo_data:

🚀 Deploy in 1 command

Recommended for beginners

Copy this single command and paste it into your freshly created VPS's console (Vultr, DigitalOcean...). It downloads the script, prints it to your screen so you can see exactly what it's about to do (never a blind direct pipe), and only then installs Docker if needed, writes the files with secrets already generated, and starts everything — no nano, no pasting code blocks.

curl -sSL ".../api/deploy?stack=wekan" -o deploy.sh && cat deploy.sh && bash deploy.sh
See what this script does →

This docker-compose corresponds to an actively maintained project — last commit today.

This docker-compose not working for you? Report it on GitHub →

Technical profile

License
MIT
Category
Productivity
Replaces
Trello
Tech stack
MeteorMongoDB

Under the hood

Database

MongoDB

Language

Node.js (Meteor)

Platforms

Web

Key features

  • Kanban boards with labels and checklists
  • Swimlanes and multiple views
  • Webhook integrations

Frequently asked questions

What is Wekan?

An open source Kanban board (MIT license) with lists, cards, labels, and checklists, very similar in experience to Trello, with active community support.

Wekan vs Trello: what changes?

The experience is very similar (lists, cards, swimlanes), but Wekan's interface is somewhat less polished than Trello's — in exchange, it's free, self-hostable, and under a very permissive MIT license, with no free-SaaS-account limits.

How do you deploy Wekan with Docker?

With the official `wekanteam/wekan` image and a MongoDB database — this page's docker-compose includes both services ready to copy.

💾 Backups in 3 steps (Day 2)

As long as the ./data folder (the "volume" mapped into the container) exists on your server, your data survives any restart or container update — that's the only thing you need to back up.

1. Create a compressed backup on the server

tar -czvf backup-$(date +%F).tar.gz ./data

2. Download it to your computer

From your computer's terminal (not your server's):

scp root@YOUR_IP:~/app/backup-*.tar.gz ./

3. Restore in case of emergency

tar -xzvf backup-file.tar.gz
🌐 Connect your domain with free SSL

Step 1 — Set up the DNS

In your domain registrar's dashboard (Cloudflare, Namecheap, GoDaddy...), create a record:

Type
A
Name/Host
@ (root domain) or a subdomain, e.g. app
Content/Value
Your server's public IP

Wait 5 to 15 minutes for the record to propagate across the internet.

Step 2 — Automatic reverse proxy with Caddy

One single file, no Nginx config or manual certificates — Caddy issues and renews Let's Encrypt HTTPS on its own.

Create a file called Caddyfile:

yourdomain.com {
    reverse_proxy localhost:8080
}

Start Caddy with this command (pulls the image and runs it in the background):

docker run -d -p 80:80 -p 443:443 --name caddy --restart always -v $PWD/Caddyfile:/etc/caddy/Caddyfile -v caddy_data:/data caddy