Chief vs Vibe Kanban

Vibe Kanban is a popular open-source kanban board for planning work and running coding agents on it, one workspace per task. Chief is an AI agent manager that plans your goals as milestones and runs your agents for you. Here's what each one does, how they compare, and how they fit together.

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The short version

  • Choose Vibe Kanban when you want a local, open-source board where you write the issues, start an agent workspace for each one and review the diffs yourself.
  • Choose Chief when you want to set a goal and have the work planned, dispatched to your agents and reviewed for you, from the web, your phone or your AI assistant.
  • Use both when you like a hands-on board for some work and want Chief to keep the rest of your projects moving.

What is Vibe Kanban?

Vibe Kanban is an open-source tool for getting more out of Claude Code, Codex and other coding agents. It's licensed under Apache-2.0 and is one of the most-starred projects in its category, with more than 28,000 stars on GitHub.

What Vibe Kanban does well:

  • A kanban board for agent work. Create, prioritise and assign issues, then start a workspace for each one when you're ready.
  • A workspace per task. Each workspace has its own branch, terminal and dev server, so agents work side by side.
  • Many coding agents. Its docs list Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot, Amp, Cursor, OpenCode, Droid, Qwen Code and more.
  • Review in place. Read each diff, leave inline comments and send them straight back to the agent.
  • A built-in preview. Check your app in a preview browser with devtools.
  • Pull requests. Open pull requests with AI-generated descriptions, then review and merge them on GitHub.

Start it with npx vibe-kanban after signing in to your coding agent.

Since April 2026, Vibe Kanban has been open source and community maintained, after bloop, the company that created it, closed. The project's announcement confirms that local workspaces keep working.

What is Chief?

Chief is an AI agent manager. You describe an outcome, and Chief plans it as milestones, runs each one with the coding agent you choose and checks the result before it reaches you.

  • Set a goal, get a plan. Chief writes the milestones for you, each with a definition of done and the milestones it depends on, and proposes the next step as work lands.
  • Parallel by plan. Chief runs every milestone whose dependencies are done at the same time, planning shared pieces first so agents stay out of each other's way.
  • Your agents, on your machine. The Chief relay runs Claude Code, Codex, Gemini through the Antigravity CLI, Qwen Code, OpenCode, Kimi Code, Muse Code and DeepSeek Harness on your own computer, signed in with your own accounts.
  • Every result is reviewed. Chief checks each milestone against its definition of done and collects the decisions only you can make in one queue.
  • Check in from anywhere. Approve work in the web app, on your phone, from the Chief MCP server in Claude, Claude Code or Codex, or in Discord.

Chief vs Vibe Kanban at a glance

Vibe KanbanChief
What it isKanban board and workspaces for coding agentsAI agent manager that plans and runs your agents
Where you use itA local web app you start with npxWeb, mobile, MCP clients and Discord
Where agents runYour machine, one workspace per taskYour machine, through the Chief relay
Who writes the tasksYou, as issues on the boardChief proposes milestones from your goal; you approve
Keeping agents apartA branch and workspace per taskDependency-aware planning in your project folder
AgentsClaude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI, Copilot, Amp, Cursor, OpenCode, Qwen Code and moreClaude Code, Codex, Antigravity CLI, Qwen Code, OpenCode, Kimi Code, Muse Code, DeepSeek Harness
ReviewDiffs with inline comments sent back to the agent; preview browserEach milestone checked against its definition of done
ShippingPull requests with AI-generated descriptionsCommits tagged with their milestone in your repo
PriceFree and open source (Apache-2.0)Free plan; paid plans for more

Vibe Kanban details were checked against its GitHub README, docs and announcement in October 2026.

When Vibe Kanban is a great fit

  • You think in boards. Vibe Kanban gives agent work the familiar shape of a kanban board.
  • You want a hands-on review loop. Inline comments on a diff go straight back to the agent, and the preview browser shows the result.
  • You want open source you can run and change. Vibe Kanban is Apache-2.0 and runs locally.
  • You use many different agents. Its list of supported coding agents is one of the broadest around.

When Chief is a great fit

  • You'd rather set goals than write tickets. Chief turns a one-line goal into a plan and proposes what comes next.
  • You run several projects. Chief shows what's in flight, what's waiting on you and what shipped across every project.
  • You want work to continue while you're away. Auto mode keeps working toward your goals within a task limit and a weekly usage cap you set.
  • You want to check in from your phone. Approve milestones and answer questions from anywhere.

Using Vibe Kanban and Chief together

  1. Let Chief plan and run the milestones for a goal in your project folder.
  2. Keep Vibe Kanban for the issues you want to drive and review by hand, each in its own workspace.
  3. Review Chief's queue when it needs a decision, and your Vibe Kanban diffs when your workspaces are ready.

For more on running agents side by side, see subagents vs parallel agents and the best AI coding agents.

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FAQ

What is Vibe Kanban?

Vibe Kanban is a free, open-source kanban board for coding agents. You plan issues on the board, start a workspace for each one with Claude Code, Codex or another agent, review the diff and open a pull request.

Is Vibe Kanban still available?

Yes. Vibe Kanban has been open source and community maintained since April 2026, and its local workspaces keep working. You can still start it with npx vibe-kanban.

Is Chief a replacement for Vibe Kanban?

They work differently. In Vibe Kanban you write and manage the issues yourself. In Chief you set a goal and Chief plans and runs the milestones. Many developers can use both.

Does Chief have a kanban board?

Chief organises work as milestones that move from proposed to approved, in progress and done, with a queue for the decisions that need you. You see the same flow, with Chief doing the planning.

Does Chief support the same agents as Vibe Kanban?

Both run Claude Code, Codex, Gemini, OpenCode and Qwen Code. Chief also runs Kimi Code, Muse Code and DeepSeek Harness, and Vibe Kanban also runs agents such as GitHub Copilot, Amp, Cursor and Droid.

Is Chief free like Vibe Kanban?

Chief has a free plan with no credit card required. You use your own agent subscriptions with both tools.

See also

Claude Code Alternatives

The best Claude Code alternatives and competitors in 2026, from Codex and Gemini to open-source agents, and how Chief runs several of them together.

Cursor Alternatives

The best Cursor alternatives in 2026, from AI editors like Devin Desktop, Zed and Kiro to coding agents like Claude Code and Codex, and how Chief fits in.

Chief vs Cursor

Cursor perfected the AI-enhanced IDE. Chief is what comes next — the platform for AI-native builders who manage agent teams instead of writing code by hand.

Chief vs Windsurf

Windsurf is the AI-powered IDE for interactive coding. Chief is where AI-native builders go next — managing agent teams across every project instead of coding by hand.

Chief vs Conductor

Conductor (conductor.build) runs parallel Claude Code and Codex agents on your Mac. Chief plans the work, keeps agents busy and reviews the output.

Chief vs Emdash

Emdash is old-school orchestration — you define tasks, you pick agents, you review every diff. Chief is AI-native management that proactively proposes next steps toward your goals.

Chief vs Devin

Devin is an autonomous AI engineer that handles tasks end-to-end. Chief is the management layer that coordinates multiple agents across your portfolio — planning, dispatching, and reviewing at scale.

Chief + Claude Code

A Claude Code dashboard for every project: see what each agent is doing, what needs you and what it used, and plan and review work from web or phone.

Chief + Codex

Codex is a cloud-native coding agent. Chief scales it across your portfolio — proactively planning what to build, decomposing complex goals, and mixing the right provider for each task.

Chief + Qwen Code

Qwen Code is a powerful open-weight coding agent. Chief scales it across your portfolio — proactively planning what to build, decomposing complex goals, and coordinating agents end-to-end.

Chief + OpenCode

OpenCode is a flexible open-source coding agent that works with any LLM provider. Chief scales it across your portfolio — proactively planning what to build, decomposing complex goals, and coordinating agents end-to-end.

Chief + Kimi

Kimi Code brings a 1M-token context window to your terminal on a flat subscription. Chief scales it across your portfolio — proactively planning what to build, decomposing complex goals, and coordinating agents end-to-end.

Chief + Gemini

Google's Antigravity CLI brings Gemini models to your terminal under your own Google sign-in. Chief scales it across your portfolio — proactively planning what to build, decomposing complex goals, and coordinating agents end-to-end.

Chief + Muse Code

Muse Code runs Meta's Muse models in your terminal on your own subscription. Chief plans the work, dispatches it across projects and reviews each result.

Chief + DeepSeek Harness

DeepSeek Harness runs DeepSeek models in your terminal on your own API key. Chief plans the work, dispatches it across projects and reviews each result.

Chief + Copilot

Copilot assists you in the editor and on GitHub. Chief manages the coding agents that build across your portfolio — planning, dispatching, and reviewing.

Chief + Aider

Aider is the open-source pair programmer in your terminal. Chief manages coding agents across your whole portfolio — planning, dispatching, and reviewing.

Chief vs Claude Squad

Claude Squad runs Claude Code, Codex and other agents side by side in your terminal. Chief plans the work and runs them for you. Use both together.

Ready to manage your agents?

_Vibe Kanban is an open-source project by its maintainers. Claude Code is a trademark of Anthropic. Chief is an independent product and is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by either._

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