Kanban Board
The Kanban board is the central interface for organizing your AI agent tasks. Cards flow through horizontal columns from left to right, creating a visual pipeline that tracks each task from idea to completion.
Column Types
Every column in Stib has a type that determines how it behaves — whether an agent runs, what permissions it has, and how cards advance.
| Type | Agent Behavior | Auto-Advance | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passive | No agent runs | Manual move only | Backlog, Done, staging areas |
| Conversational | Claude in "plan" permission mode | Pauses for user approval | Requirements refinement, planning |
| Dev | Claude with default permissions | Auto-advances on completion | Code implementation |
| Skill | Invokes a CLI skill (e.g., /review) | Auto-advances on completion | Automated quality gates |
Passive
Passive columns are read-only staging areas. No agent runs when a card enters a passive column — cards are manually placed or moved here. Backlog and Done are the most common passive columns.
Conversational
Conversational columns run a Claude agent in plan permission mode. The agent can read files and discuss ideas, but cannot write code or execute commands. Auto-advance pauses until you approve continuation, making these columns ideal for refining requirements before development.
Dev
Dev columns run a Claude agent with default permissions. The agent can read and write files, execute commands, and perform full development work. Cards auto-advance to the next column when the agent completes.
Skill
Skill columns invoke a specific CLI skill (e.g., /review, /test, /audit). Each skill column is associated with a skill name and an optional prompt template. Cards auto-advance on completion, making skill columns perfect for automated quality gates in your pipeline.
Default Pipeline
When you create a new board without selecting a template, Stib uses a 4-column fallback pipeline:
| Position | Column | Type | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Backlog | Passive | Collect and stage new tasks |
| 2 | Plan | Conversational | Refine requirements with the agent |
| 3 | Dev | Dev | Implement the task |
| 4 | Done | Passive | Completed tasks |
WARNING
Backlog and Done are system columns — they cannot be deleted.
Board Templates
Board templates let you define custom column pipelines for reuse. A template specifies column names, types, positions, and settings.
- Default template — marked with a ★ in the UI, used automatically when creating new boards
- Shared templates — available to other users in the same project
- Custom pipelines — add specialized columns like Code Review (skill), Test (skill), or Planning (conversational)
Templates are managed from Project Settings.
TIP
Create a template that matches your team's workflow — for example, a 6-column pipeline with dedicated Code Review and Test skill columns before Done.
Managing Columns
Adding a Column
Click the "+" button at the end of the board. New columns are inserted before the Done column.
When adding a column, configure:
- Name — 1 to 50 characters
- Type — passive, conversational, dev, or skill
- Skill name and prompt template — for skill columns only
- Reset Context — optionally start a fresh agent conversation when a card enters (available on active columns). This setting can only be defined at column creation time.
Removing a Column
Open the dropdown menu in the column header and select Delete. Only deletable columns can be removed — Backlog and Done cannot be deleted.
INFO
Cards in a deleted column are automatically moved to Backlog.
Reordering Columns
Drag and drop column headers to change their order in the pipeline.
Renaming a Column
Double-click the column name or select Rename from the column header dropdown menu. Names can be up to 50 characters.
Column Configuration
Access column settings from the column header dropdown → Configure. Available options depend on the column type.
Passive Column Settings
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
cardsEditable | Allow inline editing of card title and description |
cleanupWorktree | Auto-cleanup Git worktree when cards enter this column |
cleanAll | Show a "delete all cards" button in the column header |
bmadImport | Show a BMAD import button. Only visible when BMAD is enabled on the board. |
Active Column Settings
These apply to conversational, dev, and skill columns:
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
statusConditions | Regex-based patterns to auto-mark cards as "waiting" or "error" based on agent output |
Status conditions support these operators: contains, starts_with, ends_with, and regex.
Skill Column Settings
In addition to the active column settings above:
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
skill | CLI skill name (e.g., /review, /test) |
promptTemplate | Template with |
Auto-Pipeline Behavior
Columns with syncEnabled participate in auto-advance. When an agent completes its work in a column:
- Dev and Skill columns auto-advance the card to the next enabled column
- Conversational columns pause and wait for user approval before advancing
- Passive columns do not participate in auto-advance
Each card can override which columns are included in its pipeline. See the Cards guide for details on per-card pipeline configuration.
Visual Indicators
Column headers show visual cues to help you identify column types at a glance:
| Type | Top Border Color | Badge Color |
|---|---|---|
| Conversational | Amber | Amber |
| Dev | Blue | Blue |
| Skill | Accent | Accent |
| Passive | None | Gray |
Each column header also displays a card count badge showing the number of cards in that column.
Next Steps
TIP
Learn how to create and manage cards in the Cards guide, or set up automated pipelines in the Pipeline guide.