Leantime is a goals focused project management system for non-project managers. Building with ADHD, Autism, and dyslexia in mind.
10.2k
Stars
1k
Forks
289
Open issues
30
Contributors
AI Analysis
Leantime is an open-source project management platform designed specifically for non-project managers, emphasizing accessibility for users with ADHD, autism, and dyslexia. It combines task management, strategic planning, and execution through kanban, Gantt, calendar, and table views, positioning itself as a simpler alternative to Jira while remaining feature-complete compared to ClickUp or Asana. Best suited for small to mid-sized teams, startups, and organizations prioritizing inclusive desi...
Inferred from signals mentioned in the README (tests, CI, type safety) — not a review of the actual code.
AI's overall editorial judgment — not an average of the bars above, can weigh other factors too.
Self-hosted project management built for neurodivergent teams, with full Jira-class features in open source
Leantime is a self-hosted, open source project management platform targeting non-project managers, explicitly designed with ADHD, autism, and dyslexia in mind. It covers the full stack from task management (kanban, gantt, sprints) to goal tracking, wikis, timesheets, and business canvases. Its primary audience appears to be small teams, nonprofits, and individuals who need structured PM tooling without the cognitive overhead of enterprise tools. The AGPL license and Docker-based deployment make it attractive for privacy-conscious self-hosters.
Created in January 2015, Leantime predates most modern self-hosted PM alternatives. It has evolved over a decade from a lean-methodology tool into a broad-scope PM platform, adding neurodivergent accessibility as a core design pillar.
Growth appears to have accelerated around 2023, likely driven by broader self-hosting trends, dissatisfaction with SaaS pricing, and growing public awareness of neurodivergent-friendly tooling. The 10k star milestone and Docker Hub pull volume suggest sustained organic interest. Recent 51 stars in 7 days indicates steady but not explosive momentum.
Docker Hub pull count badge is visible in README but the exact number is not captured in provided metadata. GitHub download stats badge is shown. Over 995 forks and 10k stars across a decade suggest real deployment usage. A hosted SaaS version exists at leantime.io, implying commercial production usage. Adoption volume not independently verified from external sources, but signals are consistent with moderate real-world deployment.
Likely a PHP monolith (PHP 8+) with MySQL/MariaDB backend, served via Apache or Nginx. README references Docker deployment, S3-compatible file storage, LDAP/OIDC SSO, and a plugin/API extension system, suggesting a modular but server-rendered architecture. Frontend appears to be server-side rendered with some JS enhancements based on screenshot style.
not documented in README
Last push was June 21, 2026 — 5 days before evaluation date — indicating active, ongoing development. The project has been maintained for over a decade and shows no signs of abandonment. Crowdin integration suggests active i18n maintenance. Discord community presence indicates active engagement beyond just code commits.
ADOPT IF: you need a self-hosted, full-featured PM tool for a small-to-medium team with neurodivergent members, or if AGPL self-hosting, data sovereignty, and no per-seat cost matter more than polish and integrations. AVOID IF: your team requires deep developer tooling (GitHub PR integration, CI pipelines), needs mobile-first UX, or demands enterprise SLA support without paying for the commercial tier. MONITOR IF: you are evaluating self-hosted PM alternatives and want to track whether the plugin ecosystem and AI-assisted features mature over the next 12 months.
Independent dimensions
Mainstream potential
4/10
Technical importance
6/10
Adoption evidence
5/10
- AGPL license may be a barrier for organizations wanting to integrate it into proprietary internal tooling without legal review.
- PHP monolith architecture may limit scalability for larger organizations and may be less attractive to contributors compared to TypeScript/Go alternatives.
- The neurodivergent-focused positioning, while differentiated, is a narrow marketing angle that may limit enterprise procurement conversations.
- Commercial sustainability depends on the hosted SaaS and potential enterprise tiers — if revenue is insufficient, long-term maintenance could be at risk, though 10+ years of operation reduces this concern.
- Breadth of features (canvases, SWOT, Lean model) may result in a tool that feels unfocused to teams with simple PM needs, increasing onboarding friction.
Leantime will likely continue steady growth as self-hosting interest persists. It may carve out a durable niche in the neurodivergent and SMB self-hosted space, but is unlikely to challenge dominant SaaS tools at scale.
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Languages
Information
- Website
- https://leantime.io
- Language
- PHP
- License
- AGPL-3.0
- Last updated
- 23h ago
- Created
- 140mo ago
- Analyzed with
- anthropic/claude-haiku-4-5
Stars over time
Contributors over time
Top 100 contributors only — repos with more will plateau at 100.
Open issues
Bug: Input field for a Goal's `Current` Value appears to be missing
Bug: isClocked() throws Carbon InvalidFormatException when punchIn is stored as a Unix timestamp
Not able to delete newline via backspace in tiptap
Cannot create a goal within a project
Not able to delete notes in List View
Top contributors
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Focalboard has 2.6x the stars and TypeScript stack, but was effectively sunset as a standalone product and folded into Mattermost. Leantime offers broader feature depth (timesheets, canvases, goals) and is actively maintained as an independent product.
Comparable star count and also PHP. Kanboard is more minimalist and kanban-focused. Leantime is significantly broader in scope, includes goal tracking and strategy tools, and explicitly addresses accessibility — Kanboard does not.
Plane is a more engineering-team-focused alternative with a modern React frontend and stronger GitHub integration. Leantime targets general/non-technical teams with a different UX philosophy and clearer accessibility mission.
Solidtime focuses specifically on time tracking; Leantime includes time tracking as one feature among many. These are not direct competitors — solidtime may complement rather than substitute.
Leantime positions itself as a self-hosted, privacy-respecting, neurodivergent-friendly alternative to these. It lacks their ecosystem integrations and polish, but avoids per-seat pricing and data lock-in.
