An honest comparison, with what could be verified on the projects' own pages on 25 Oct 2026 (sources and numbers in docs/interno/research.md). Where The Blueprint loses, it says so.
| The Blueprint | Backlog.md | Task Master | Vibe Kanban | Plane | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| In one sentence | a local-first roadmap your agent reads and updates over MCP, on a blueprint-style sheet | a Markdown task manager and kanban board for any Git repository, for humans and agents | a task system for AI-driven development, to use in Cursor, Windsurf and others | a kanban board to coordinate coding agents | an open source alternative to Jira and Linear |
| License | MIT | MIT | "Other" (read the LICENSE) | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Stars | 3 | ~7k | ~28k | ~28k | ~61k |
| Latest release | v0.4.0 | v1.55.3 (23 Oct 2026) | 0.43.1 (31 Mar 2026) | v0.1.44 (24 Apr 2026) | v1.4.3-rc2 (23 Oct 2026) |
| Where the data lives | a SQLite database on your computer | Markdown files in the repository | see the repository | see the repository | your own server or the cloud |
| Systems | Windows (window, tray, installer); the server runs on any system | npm, bun, brew, nix | npm | npx | Docker or cloud |
- The agent proposes, you apply. Everything the agent sends is a proposal in a numbered queue; nothing changes in your data before you apply it on the Plan screen.
- Completion needs evidence. A plan is only marked done with the command or test that was run and its result, which becomes a comment on the plan.
- A sheet, not just a list. Workspace → Blueprint → Project → Action → Plan and Checkpoint, with progress taken only from what is ticked.
- You see the agent working. Claude appears on the sheet, on the plan it is working on, with its subagents.
- Small and local. An executable of about 2.5 MB, no telemetry and no account.
- Maturity and community. The Blueprint is at v0.1 with 3 stars; all the others have years of use and a community.
- Platforms. The Blueprint is Windows in the window; Backlog.md, Task Master and Vibe Kanban install through npm on any system.
- Teams. Plane has users, roles, sprints and docs ready; The Blueprint's collaborative mode is still only a design (see the ROADMAP).
- Data in the repository. Backlog.md keeps tasks as Markdown in your own Git, which gives history and review by pull request; The Blueprint keeps them in a local database (and exports to JSON).
- You want tasks versioned next to the code, in Markdown: Backlog.md.
- You want to break a PRD into tasks inside your editor: Task Master.
- You want a board for several agents in parallel: Vibe Kanban (community-maintained since April 2026) or ORCA.
- You want to manage a whole team: Plane.
- You want to control what your agent plans, approve every change and demand proof of what was done, on a sheet that shows the whole project: The Blueprint.