Leantime: The Open-Source Project Management Platform Built for Non‑Project Managers (and the Neurodiverse)

Ever had to run a project without feeling like a “project manager”? Maybe you’ve bounced between tools that were either too simple to be useful or so complex they stole your time. Here’s the good news: there’s a middle ground.

Leantime is an open-source project management system designed for non-project managers—startups, agencies, nonprofits, product teams, and everyone who needs to get work done without drowning in process. It combines strategy, planning, and execution in one place. And it’s built with ADHD, dyslexia, and autism in mind.

As the team behind Leantime likes to say: as simple as Trello, as feature-rich as Jira. The result is a tool your whole team can actually use—without the onboarding headache.

In this guide, I’ll show you what makes Leantime different, why it’s a strong alternative to ClickUp, Monday, or Asana, and how to get started in minutes (self-hosted or managed). If you’re looking for a tool that keeps you focused and moves your projects forward, stick around.

What Is Leantime? A Quick Primer

Leantime is a full-featured, open-source project management platform that brings strategy, planning, and execution into a single, accessible workspace. It’s made for teams who want to ship real work without getting lost in Gantt chart rabbit holes.

Key idea: Leantime is designed for “non-project managers.” You won’t need certifications to run it. But you’ll still have the power of serious PM features.

Why teams choose Leantime: – Open source and self-hostable (no vendor lock-in) – Easy to use for busy teams with mixed roles and experience – Neurodiversity-friendly design choices that reduce cognitive load – Powerful features: Kanban, Gantt, time tracking, docs, goals, canvases, retros, and more

Learn more at leantime.io.

Why Leantime Is Different: Built for Real Humans

Most project tools assume you’re already a project management expert. Leantime assumes you’re a busy human who just needs clarity and momentum. Here’s what stands out.

Neuroinclusive by Design

Leantime is built with ADHD, dyslexia, and autism in mind. That means visual clarity, predictable flows, concise interfaces, and features that reduce decision fatigue.

A “My Work” dashboard that highlights only what matters today
Clear grouping of tasks (Overdue, Due this week, Due later)
Simple day calendar for time-blocking and realistic planning
Minimal noise, strong contrast, and easy-to-read layouts

This matters because a huge number of knowledge workers are neurodivergent, diagnosed or not. Inclusive design doesn’t just help a subset of people. It helps everyone keep focus and move forward. For context: – ADHD affects millions of adults worldwide; see resources from the CDC. – Accessibility guidance from the W3C WAI and WCAG standards inform better design for all users. – Autism statistics and context: CDC on ASD.

Leantime applies these principles in the product’s core—not just as an add-on.

The “My Work” View: Less Guessing, More Doing

Open Leantime and you’re greeted with a personal command center: – Big, at-a-glance metrics: tasks completed, goals you’re contributing to, scheduled to-dos – A simple calendar with your day at a glance – Tasks grouped into Overdue, Due this week, Due later

That immediate signal helps you prioritize fast. It’s like a morning standup without the meeting. And it reduces the “where do I start?” anxiety that kills productivity.

Core Features You’ll Actually Use

Leantime packs a lot. The difference is that you can actually use it—without reading a 100-page guide.

Task Management Your Team Will Love

Multiple views for the same work: Kanban boards, Gantt (timeline), Table, List, and Calendar
Unlimited subtasks and dependencies for clarity and realistic planning
Milestone management to frame progress and celebrate wins
Sprint management for teams running Agile or hybrid workflows
Comments and discussions on everything, so context doesn’t get lost

New to Kanban or Gantt? – Kanban is a visual workflow method—great for flow and WIP limits. Learn more from the Kanban Guide. – Gantt helps you see timeline dependencies and milestones at a glance—ideal for complex projects with coordination needs.

From Strategy to Execution: Goals, Canvases, and Metrics

Leantime bridges the gap between vision and daily tasks: – Goal and metrics tracking to align work with outcomes – Lean Canvas and Business Model Canvas for product strategy – SWOT Analysis to stress-test your approach (Investopedia’s overview) – Risk analysis to avoid surprises – Retrospectives to learn and improve each cycle (see a primer on Agile retros)

This is where Leantime shines. You’re not just “managing tasks.” You’re connecting tasks to strategy in the same tool.

If you’re new to Agile, the Agile Alliance has a solid intro.

Knowledge and Collaboration That Scales

Docs/Wikis for requirements, specs, and team knowledge
Idea boards to capture and triage brainstorms
File storage via local filesystem or S3-compatible storage
Screen and webcam recording for quick async updates
Integrations with Slack, Mattermost, and Discord to meet teams where they already communicate

Sometimes the fastest way to clarify a task is to record a 60-second video. Leantime builds that into the workflow.

Time Tracking and Reporting

Time tracking and timesheets by task, project, or user
Reports and status updates for stakeholders and leadership
Project dashboards for quick progress snapshots

If your business bills hourly or needs cost tracking, this is essential. Even for non-billing teams, time tracking helps forecast realistically.

Administration, Security, and Extensibility

Multiple user roles and per-project permissions
Two-factor authentication (2FA)
LDAP and OpenID Connect (OIDC) support for SSO (LDAP basics, OIDC)
Extendable via plugins and API
Available in 20+ languages

And yes—these features are included in the open-source version.

“As Simple as Trello, as Feature-Rich as Jira”

Leantime lives in the sweet spot between ease and power: – Like Trello, you can spin up boards and move fast with minimal overhead. – Like Jira, you get rich features for complex projects, dependencies, and reporting.

The difference? Leantime brings strategy tools (Goals, Canvases, SWOT) into the core product. And it avoids the overwhelming “config everything first” feeling you often get in enterprise tools.

What About ClickUp, Monday, or Asana?

These are great tools. But Leantime offers distinct advantages: – Open source: no vendor lock-in, full control, host it yourself – Lower total cost of ownership (especially at scale) – Privacy and compliance benefits when self-hosted – Built-in strategy tools and neuroinclusive UX

If you want full ownership of your data and an experience tailored for non-project managers, Leantime is a compelling alternative.

Open Source You Can Trust

Open source means transparency, control, and community. You can install Leantime on your servers, inspect the code, and extend it to fit your needs. See the repo on GitHub. For the definition of open source, check the Open Source Initiative.

Community resources: – Documentation: docs.leantime.io – Docker image: Docker Hub – Translations via Crowdin – Community chat on Discord

Prefer not to host it yourself? Leantime also offers managed hosting and SaaS plans on leantime.io.

System Requirements at a Glance

For self-hosting, you’ll need: – PHP 8.2+ with common extensions (mbstring, cURL, PDO, OpenSSL, GD, etc.) – MySQL 8.0+ or MariaDB 10.6+ – Apache or Nginx (IIS works with a few tweaks) – Optional integrations for LDAP/OIDC

Helpful resources: – PHP – MySQL Docs – MariaDB

If that sounds technical, don’t worry. The Docker route is even easier.

Installation: Production and Development

There are two main ways to deploy Leantime for production: locally on your server, or via Docker. For development, there’s a ready-to-run Dockerized environment.

Production Install (Local)

Download the latest release ZIP from GitHub
Create a MySQL/MariaDB database
Point your domain root to the public/ directory
Rename config/.env.sample to config/.env and add your DB credentials
Navigate to yourdomain.com/install and follow the prompts

Using IIS? You may need to allow the PATCH method in Handler Mappings.

Production Install (Docker)

Leantime maintains an official Docker image. You can get started fast: – Ensure you have a MySQL database available (container or external) – Run the Leantime container – Visit your domain and complete the install wizard

If you’re behind a reverse proxy with SSL, set LEAN_APP_URL=https://yourdomain.com. If you plan to use plugins, mount the plugins folder and ensure www-data has write access.

Resources: – Docker Documentation – Leantime Docker Hub

Development Environment (Docker)

Leantime provides a Dockerized dev setup that includes: – Leantime app (port 8090) – MailDev (to test emails) – phpMyAdmin – S3-compatible storage (optional) – Xdebug for PHP debugging

You’ll need Docker, Docker Compose, Git, NPM, and Composer. After cloning the repository, build and run the dev environment. You’ll be able to start building, testing, and contributing quickly.

A 60-Minute Setup: From Strategy to Tasks

Let’s say you’re launching a new product feature. Here’s a practical flow to get value fast.

1) Create a project – Name it clearly and add a short description. – Set roles and permissions so stakeholders can view progress without editing.

2) Set high-level goals – Add outcomes and link them to measurable metrics. – Think “increase trial-to-paid conversion by 15%” versus “launch new feature.”

3) Map your strategy – Fill in a Lean Canvas or Business Model Canvas to outline assumptions. – Use SWOT analysis to surface risks and opportunities. – This gives your team a shared mental model before tasks begin.

4) Capture ideas – Use the Ideas board to collect possible approaches. – Prioritize with your team; move top ideas into tasks.

5) Plan the work – Break ideas into tasks with subtasks, dependencies, and realistic estimates. – Group tasks into milestones (e.g., “Alpha,” “Beta,” “Public Launch”).

6) Choose your execution style – Use Kanban if your team flows work continuously. – Use sprints if you prefer two-week time-boxed cycles.

7) Schedule smartly – Add tasks to the Calendar when it helps your team time-block. – Avoid over-scheduling—leave buffer for the unexpected.

8) Keep everyone in the loop – Connect Slack, Mattermost, or Discord for status updates. – Use the project dashboard and reports to keep leadership aligned.

9) Track time and adjust – Log time to learn how long tasks actually take. – Use this data to plan more accurately in the next cycle.

10) Hold short retrospectives – What went well? What didn’t? What should we try next? – Keep it light but consistent—small improvements compound.

This workflow is simple but powerful. It supports both on-the-fly teams and those with more structure.

Who Leantime Is Perfect For

Startups and scale-ups needing strategy and execution in one place
Agencies juggling client work, deadlines, and reporting
Nonprofits coordinating distributed teams and grants
Product teams aligning roadmaps to outcomes
IT and operations groups that need clarity without complex overhead
Academic labs and research groups managing grants and deliverables
Neurodiverse teams that value low-friction, focused design

If your team is a mix of doers who want to see their work and get moving, Leantime fits.

Tips to Get the Most Out of Leantime

Start simple: pick one primary view (e.g., Kanban) and expand as needed
Use Goals as your North Star: tie tasks to outcomes
Reduce friction: keep “My Work” clean; clear overdue tasks weekly
Make strategy a habit: revisit Canvases and SWOT monthly
Use Docs/Wikis for repeatable processes and onboarding
Keep retros short and consistent—15 minutes wins
Enable 2FA and SSO for security
Use Slack/Mattermost/Discord integrations to reduce context switching
Log time for two sprints to improve estimates—even if you don’t bill
Consider plugins and the API when your team develops repeatable workflows

Self-Hosted or Managed: Your Call

Leantime gives you options: – Self-hosted: full control, privacy, and customization using PHP/MySQL or Docker – Managed hosting/SaaS: Leantime handles the infra; you focus on work

Many teams start with SaaS, then move to self-hosting as they scale or when compliance requires it. Either way, you’re not locked in.

Security, Compliance, and Control

Role-based permissions and per-project access controls
Two-factor authentication
LDAP and OIDC support for enterprise SSO
Transparent source code you can audit
Local or cloud storage options (including S3-compatible storage)

In regulated industries or privacy-conscious organizations, open source plus self-hosting can be a key advantage.

The Bottom Line

You shouldn’t need a certification to run projects well. Leantime helps teams connect strategy to execution without the overhead. It’s open source, approachable, and designed for the way real people work—especially those of us who appreciate clarity and focus.

If you’ve felt stuck between “too simple” and “too complex,” try Leantime. It’s both.

Explore more at leantime.io or dive into the docs at docs.leantime.io. Prefer to skip servers? Choose a managed plan and start today.

FAQ: Leantime, Answered

Q: Is Leantime free and open source? A: Yes. Leantime is open source and free to self-host. You can review the source on GitHub. Managed hosting and SaaS are also available.

Q: Can Leantime replace Jira, ClickUp, Monday, or Asana? A: For many teams, yes. Leantime offers the simplicity of Trello with the power of Jira, plus strategy tools like Canvases and Goals. It’s also self-hostable, which reduces vendor lock-in and can lower long-term costs.

Q: Is Leantime good for people with ADHD or dyslexia? A: Leantime is built with ADHD, dyslexia, and autism in mind. The “My Work” view, clear grouping by urgency, visual clarity, and focus-first design support neurodiverse teams. For background, see the W3C’s accessibility guidance and CDC on ADHD.

Q: Does Leantime have Kanban and Gantt? A: Yes. Leantime includes Kanban boards, Gantt (timeline), Table, List, and Calendar views. You can switch views based on the audience and decision at hand.

Q: How do I install Leantime with Docker? A: Use the official Docker image from Docker Hub. Point it to a MySQL/MariaDB database, set LEAN_APP_URL if you’re behind a reverse proxy, and mount the plugins directory if you plan to use plugins. Then run the web installer at your domain.

Q: What are the system requirements for self-hosting? A: PHP 8.2+, MySQL 8.0+ or MariaDB 10.6+, and Apache or Nginx. Common PHP extensions like mbstring, cURL, PDO, OpenSSL, and GD are required. See full details in the docs.

Q: Does Leantime support SSO? A: Yes. It supports LDAP and OpenID Connect (OIDC) for single sign-on. Check your identity provider’s OIDC/LDAP configurations for setup steps.

Q: Can I track time and create timesheets? A: Yes. Leantime includes time tracking and timesheets out of the box, plus reporting for teams and stakeholders.

Q: How does Leantime integrate with chat tools? A: It integrates with Slack, Mattermost, and Discord so your team can see updates where they already communicate. You can also extend Leantime via plugins and the API.

Q: Is there a mobile app? A: You can use Leantime in a mobile browser; it’s responsive. Native mobile apps may be available via the community or as the project evolves—check the GitHub repo and website for updates.

Q: How do updates work? A: For self-hosting, you can update by replacing files and running the update script at /update, or use the CLI. If you’re using Docker, pull the latest image and rebuild, ensuring your database is on a persistent volume. Always back up your DB and files before updating.

Q: Can I contribute or translate Leantime? A: Absolutely. Contributions are welcome on GitHub, and translations are managed via Crowdin. Check the docs for contribution guidelines.

Clear takeaway: Leantime gives you the clarity of a to-do app, the power of an enterprise PM tool, and the flexibility of open source—wrapped in a design that supports how real brains work. If you want a project system that helps everyone on the team contribute, Leantime is worth your next 20-minute test drive.

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