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Backlog.md

Markdown-based project management for AI agents

A tool for managing project collaboration between humans and AI agents in a git ecosystem. Uses markdown files as the source of truth for backlogs, tasks, and progress tracking. Keeps everything version-controlled and transparent, making it easy to assign work to AI agents and review their contributions alongside human commits.

About Backlog.md

Backlog.md brings project management into the git workflow by using markdown files as the single source of truth for backlogs, tasks, and sprint planning. It is designed specifically for teams that collaborate with AI agents, providing a structured way to assign work, track progress, and maintain context across both human and AI contributors.

The tool integrates naturally with any git-based workflow and does not require external project management platforms. Tasks live alongside code, making them accessible to AI coding agents that can read, update, and complete work items directly from the repository.

Pricing & Platform Specs

Pricing Summary

100% free and open-source under the MIT license. Backlog.md is a Git-native markdown task management CLI for AI agents with no subscription fees, seat licensing, or external database hosting requirements.

full pricing breakdown →

Supported Platforms

CLI tool; markdown-based backlog management

Explore categories, tags & use cases

AI-driven task management for agentic coding

Taskmaster AI is an open-source task management system for AI-driven development that turns PRDs into structured, dependency-aware coding tasks. It runs as an MCP server inside Cursor, Claude Code, Windsurf, Lovable, and Roo, giving AI agents a disciplined workflow instead of ad-hoc code generation. Supports multiple AI providers with configurable main, research, and fallback models.

Open Source

Built-in project planning for GitHub

GitHub's built-in project management tool that organizes issues, pull requests, and draft items into customizable boards, tables, and roadmap views directly within your repositories. Features custom fields, automated workflows for moving items based on PR/issue status, grouping, filtering, milestones, and iteration planning. Integrated with GitHub Issues and PRs for seamless developer workflows. Free for all GitHub users. A lightweight alternative to Jira for GitHub-centric teams.

freemium

Issue tracking built for software

Fast, opinionated project management for software teams with a keyboard-first interface, cycles, roadmaps, and deep GitHub/GitLab integration. Used by Vercel, Anthropic, and Coinbase. The modern Jira alternative that engineering teams actually enjoy using, with a clean design and responsive UI that makes issue tracking feel effortless rather than burdensome.

freemium

Community experience

Sources & verification

Sources checked
Content verified

Verification dates are editorial checks. Routine CMS saves and automatic updatedAt timestamps do not advance them.

FAQ

What is Backlog.md?

A tool for managing project collaboration between humans and AI agents in a git ecosystem. Uses markdown files as the source of truth for backlogs, tasks, and progress tracking. Keeps everything version-controlled and transparent, making it easy to assign work to AI agents and review their contributions alongside human commits.

Is Backlog.md free?

Yes — Backlog.md is open source and free to use. 100% free and open-source under the MIT license. Backlog.md is a Git-native markdown task management CLI for AI agents with no subscription fees, seat licensing, or external database hosting requirements.

Is Backlog.md open source?

Yes — Backlog.md is open source.

Is Backlog.md still maintained?

Yes — Backlog.md is active. Its listing was last verified on September 6, 2026.

What are the best Backlog.md alternatives?

The first editor-selected Backlog.md alternatives are Taskmaster AI, GitHub Projects, Linear.