A minimalist task board, honestly reviewed. No fluff — just what you actually get when you open a single HTML file.

TL;DR

What it is: A single-page kanban board — literally one HTML file — that stores all your data in your browser’s localStorage. No server, no account, no cloud required [README].
Who it’s for: Solo founders, individual contributors, or anyone who wants a fast, private, zero-setup task board that lives entirely on their machine and starts instantly.
Cost: Free to use. The only cost is a VPS if you choose to host it for browser-accessible access — but that’s optional. The HTML file works offline by design [README].
Key strength: Absolute minimum friction. Open the file, start working. No signup, no onboarding wizard, no loading spinner. The UI hides controls by default so the board stays clean and readable [README].
Key weakness: Data lives in localStorage, which browsers silently wipe when you clear cache. No mobile support. No collaboration. No server sync out of the box. Still self-described as beta [README].

What is Nullboard

Nullboard is a minimalist kanban board written as a single HTML file with an old jQuery dependency and a webfont pack. The author built it after trying and rejecting Trello (cloud, data not local), Wekan (too heavy, no offline), Things (wrong tool for the job), Inkscape with text items (no joke — it worked, didn’t scale), and plain text files [README]. What came out is the opposite of a feature-heavy SaaS: a single page that opens in any browser, stores everything locally, and gets out of your way.

The GitHub repository describes it plainly: “Nullboard is a minimalist take on a kanban board / a task list manager, designed to be compact, readable and quick in use.” That’s accurate and complete. There’s no secondary pitch about AI features, enterprise compliance, or team collaboration. It does one thing [README].

As of this review it sits at 4,122 GitHub stars. The license is the 2-clause BSD license with the Commons Clause appended — meaning you can use, modify, and redistribute it freely, but you cannot sell it [README]. That’s a meaningful restriction if you’re building a product on top of it, but irrelevant for personal or internal business use.

The project is explicitly in beta. The README says so. Keep that in mind [README].

Why people choose it

The comparison set in the self-hosted task tool category includes tools like Planka, Wekan, Tasks.md, Focalboard, and Kanboard. Enchanted Code’s self-hosted review series [1] grouped Nullboard directly with Tasks.md and Planka as three distinct approaches to the same problem — and that grouping is instructive. They’re not really competing for the same user.

Planka is a full Trello-clone with a server, database, user accounts, and real-time updates. Tasks.md stores boards as flat markdown files. Nullboard stores everything in localStorage and doesn’t require a server at all. The choice between them is mostly a question of how much infrastructure complexity you’re willing to take on [1].

The case for Nullboard is simple: it has the absolute lowest possible barrier to entry for a visual task board. You download or copy the HTML file, open it in a browser, and you have a working kanban board in under ten seconds. No Docker, no PostgreSQL, no nginx, no SMTP, no domain name. If your goal is to get tasks out of your head and onto a board today, nothing beats it for speed.

The community listing on The Homelab Wiki [3] describes it as “single-page minimalist kanban board; compact, highly readable and quick to use” — which matches what you actually experience. The density of information on screen is genuinely different from bulkier tools. Notes are small, lists are tight, and the board doesn’t waste space on headers, buttons, and decorative chrome. That’s a deliberate design priority.

The honest counter-argument: Nullboard doesn’t try to solve collaboration, persistence guarantees, or mobile access. If you need any of those three things, it’s the wrong tool regardless of how clean the UI is.

Features

From the README and direct inspection:

Core board mechanics:

Multiple boards with near-instant switching [README]
Lists with drag-and-drop reordering [README]
Notes that can be dragged between lists [README]
In-place editing — click any note to edit, changes save automatically [README]
50-revision undo/redo history per board (configurable in source code) [README]
Keyboard shortcuts including Tab to move between notes [README]

Note display options:

Notes can be collapsed to show only the first line — useful for dense boards [README]
“Raw” note styling (slightly different visual treatment) for section headers or dividers within a list [README]
Links starting with https:// or http:// are recognized and can be opened via right-click menu [README]
Pressing CapsLock reveals and left-click-enables all links on the board [README]

UI preferences:

Font choice with size and line height controls [README]
Color theme inversion (dark mode) [README]
Controls hidden by default to minimize visual clutter — hover to reveal [README]

Data management:

Export and import via plain JSON text files [README]
Automatic backup support via three community-built agents:
- Nullboard Agent — native Windows app [README]
- Nullboard Agent Express Port — Node.js/Express, cross-platform [README]
- nbagent — Python-based, for Unix systems [README]

What’s not there:

No user accounts
No server-side persistence
No real-time collaboration or sharing
No mobile interface (explicitly untested on touch devices) [README]
No labels, due dates, assignees, or attachments
No REST API
No notifications

The feature list is short by design. Nullboard is not trying to replace a project management tool. It’s trying to replace the sticky-note stack on your desk.

Pricing: SaaS vs self-hosted math

There’s no SaaS version and no pricing tiers. The software is free.

Nullboard itself: $0. Download the HTML file from GitHub, open it in a browser, done [README].

If you want persistent hosting (so you can access it from different machines or not worry about browser profiles): You’d need a VPS to serve the static file. The cheapest options run $3–6/month on Hetzner or Contabo. There’s a Dockerized fork referenced in the README for this case [README]. You still don’t get server-side storage — Nullboard’s data stays in localStorage of whichever browser opens the page.

The comparison to Trello:

Trello Free: unlimited cards, up to 10 boards per workspace, limited automation
Trello Standard: $5/user/month
Nullboard self-hosted: $0/month if you open the file locally; $3–6/month VPS if you want it hosted

The pricing comparison is trivially in Nullboard’s favor. The real comparison is value: Trello includes cloud sync, mobile apps, collaboration, integrations, and guaranteed data persistence. Nullboard gives you a fast, private, local board and zero of those other things. Whether that trade-off makes sense depends entirely on whether you need the other things.

Deployment reality check

There are two modes:

Mode 1 — Open the HTML file directly. Download nullboard.html from the GitHub releases or repository. Open it in Firefox or Chrome. You now have a working kanban board. This is the intended primary use case. No setup required [README].

Mode 2 — Host it on a VPS. There’s a Dockerized fork referenced in the README for this purpose [README]. This lets you access the board from any browser pointing to your domain. You still need a VPS, Docker, and a reverse proxy for HTTPS — roughly the same setup complexity as any other self-hosted web app, but you’re doing it for a static file, which is at the simpler end of that spectrum.

The localStorage problem is real. Nullboard stores its data in browser localStorage. The README itself warns: “Uses localStorage for storing boards/lists/notes, so be careful around clearing your cache.” This is a genuine fragility issue. Clearing your browser cache, using a private/incognito window, or browser profile changes can silently destroy your boards [README]. The export/import feature and backup agents exist specifically to mitigate this — but you have to actively use them. If you’re managing anything you’d be upset to lose, set up the backup agent or export manually.

The backup agents (Nullboard Agent for Windows, nbagent for Unix) connect to your browser via a local port and write exports to disk automatically. They work, but they’re a separate setup step that requires running a process alongside your browser session [README].

Mobile: Don’t expect it to work on your phone. The README says explicitly it’s written for desktop and keyboard/mouse, essentially untested on mobile and touch input [README].

Pros and Cons

Pros

Zero setup for local use. Open one HTML file and you’re working. No install, no Docker, no database, no account creation. Possibly the fastest path from “I want a kanban board” to “I have a kanban board” in the entire category [README].
Offline-first, by design. Not “works offline as a feature” — the whole architecture is offline-first. No network dependency whatsoever [README].
Clean, information-dense UI. Controls hidden by default, notes compact and readable, multiple board switching instant. Several tools in this category bury you in UI chrome; Nullboard doesn’t [README][1].
No cloud footprint. Your task data never leaves your machine. No vendor to trust, no API to call, no telemetry. Privacy is structural, not a setting [README].
Auto-save + 50-revision history. You won’t lose work mid-session. The undo buffer is deep enough to recover from most mistakes [README].
Dark mode, font controls. UI preferences that matter for daily use are covered [README].
BSD-2-Clause license (with caveat below). Permissive for personal and business use — the Commons Clause only restricts selling the software itself [README].

Cons

localStorage is fragile. Clearing browser cache deletes your boards. Using the wrong browser profile loses your data. This is the most serious real-world risk for someone using Nullboard as their primary task system [README].
No mobile. Explicitly untested on touch devices. If you sometimes work from your phone or tablet, Nullboard isn’t your tool [README].
No collaboration. Single-user only. There’s no concept of sharing a board, assigning notes to other people, or commenting [README].
No server-side persistence without workarounds. Even when self-hosted, data lives in the client’s localStorage, not on the server. The hosted version doesn’t solve the sync problem [README].
Beta status. The README says it. The project hasn’t declared a stable release [README].
Commons Clause on the license. The BSD-2-Clause + Commons Clause combination is not considered fully open source by OSI standards — the Commons Clause prohibits selling. For personal or internal business use this doesn’t matter; for building a product on top of it, it might [README].
No labels, due dates, attachments, or integrations. This is intentional minimalism, but if you outgrow sticky-note-level task management, Nullboard has nowhere to grow with you.

Who should use this / who shouldn’t

Use Nullboard if:

You want a kanban board today, on your machine, in under a minute.
You work solo and your boards don’t need to be accessed across multiple devices simultaneously.
You’re privacy-conscious and don’t want task data in any cloud system.
You find Trello, Notion, and Planka visually overwhelming for simple personal task lists.
You’re comfortable exporting regularly or setting up a backup agent to protect your data.

Skip it if:

You need to access your boards on mobile.
You work with even one other person who needs to see or update the board.
You need due dates, labels, attachments, or integrations with other tools.
You’re looking for a tool to run your team’s sprint planning — Nullboard doesn’t do that.
You’ve lost data to localStorage before and don’t want to think about it again.

A note for non-technical founders specifically: Nullboard is excellent for personal clarity work — capturing and organizing your own tasks quickly. It’s not a team tool, and trying to use it as one will fail. If you need to coordinate with others, Planka or Kanboard are more appropriate self-hosted options.

Alternatives worth considering

Planka — Full Trello-clone with server, database, real-time updates, and user accounts. Mentioned alongside Nullboard in the same self-hosted review [1]. The right choice if you need collaboration, persistence, and don’t mind running a Node.js server with PostgreSQL.
Kanboard — Simple, mature PHP-based kanban. Older look but stable, well-documented, and handles basic team use [3]. Less beautiful than Planka, more proven in production.
Tasks.md — Kanban boards stored as flat markdown files [1][3]. If you want local storage but with better persistence guarantees than localStorage (files are files), this is worth comparing.
Focalboard — Self-hosted alternative to Trello/Notion/Asana [3]. Considerably more feature-heavy; MIT licensed; good if you need multiple view types beyond kanban.
Wekan — The README author explicitly tried and rejected Wekan as “too heavy and no offline usage support or local storage option” [README]. That’s still true — Wekan is a full server application with MongoDB. More capable than Nullboard, but opposite philosophy.
Trello — The cloud incumbent. Easiest onboarding in the category, free tier is genuinely usable, but all your data is on Atlassian’s servers and the free plan has limitations that push toward paid plans over time.
Obsidian + Kanban plugin — Not self-hosted, but if you’re already in Obsidian, the Kanban plugin gives you markdown-backed boards with better persistence semantics than localStorage.

Bottom line

Nullboard is the right tool for a narrow use case, and it’s genuinely excellent at that use case. If you want a fast, private, offline-capable kanban board for personal task management and you’re not afraid of the localStorage fragility, nothing else has this level of zero-friction. Open the file, work. That’s the whole product.

The limits are real and structural: no mobile, no collaboration, no server sync, beta status, and a fragile persistence model that requires active backup discipline. Nullboard doesn’t apologize for any of this — the README is honest about the trade-offs. The author built what they wanted: the minimum viable kanban board for one person on a desktop.

For founders who want to self-host a team task board, Planka or Kanboard are the more practical choices. For a founder who wants to get their personal backlog out of their head and onto a visual board right now, Nullboard is faster to start than anything else in this list.