Free PHP Project Management API to Create Project Management Apps

Open Source PHP Project Management Library to Embed Project Management Capabilities Directly into PHP Apps. It Supports PM Dashboard, Kanban Boards, Time Tracking & So on.

What is Leantime Library?

In the world of software development, time management and project planning tools are essential—but finding a system that’s both robust and flexible can be tricky. That’s where Leantime steps in. is an open-source project management system built specifically for innovators, startups, and software teams. But more than just a standalone tool, Leantime can be a foundational library and framework for developers who want to embed project management capabilities directly into their own applications. As a developer, you can use it in various important ways, including, as a complete out-of-the-box project management solution, as a framework to build upon and extend and as a component library to integrate specific features into your own applications. Unlike many open-source project management tools, Leantime is opinionated in the best way: it’s built with the specific needs of product teams in mind.

Leantime provides an easy to handle project management tools that combines design thinking, lean methodology, and agile practices into a single platform. Written primarily in PHP (with MySQL for the database), it provides everything a project team needs to go from idea to execution—including Idea boards, research boards, to-do/task lists, Kanban views, Gantt charts, timesheets, milestones, notes and documentation. Moreover, developers can get benefits from Modular Architecture, API Caching, better security, and clear documentation for custom components. Whether software developers building a custom project management solution, a productivity app, or need specific components like time tracking or task management, Leantime provides a solid foundation that can accelerate their development process while maintaining the flexibility to create a truly unique application.

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Getting Started with Leantime

The recommend way to install Leantime is via GitHub. Please use the following commands for a smooth installation.

Clone the Repository via GitHub


git clone https://github.com/Leantime/leantime.git
cd leantime

You can download the directly from GitHub page

Project Task Management via PHP

The open source Leantime project management library provides a comprehensive system for createing and managing tasks inside PHP applications. This includes the ability to create and organize tasks, track progress, manage dependencies, file attachment and so on. It provides a visual Kanban board with drag-and-drop functionality for managing tasks. The task management system in leantime is one of its most powerful features that developers can integrate into their applications. Here is an example that shows how to create a custom task controller using PHP API.

How to Create a Custom task Controller using PHP API?

// Example: Creating a custom task controller
class CustomTaskController extends \leantime\core\controller {
    private $taskService;

    public function init() {
        $this->taskService = new \leantime\domain\services\tasks();
    }

    public function getCustomTasks($projectId) {
        // Custom filtering logic
        $statusFilter = ["not_done", "in_progress"];
        return $this->taskService->getAll($projectId, $statusFilter);
    }
}

Time Tracking PHP Library

Accurate time tracking is crucial for understanding project costs and team efficiency. Leantime facilitates this by allowing manual time logging and reporting on tracked time. The time tracking component is particularly useful for developers building productivity apps. The library is very useful for billing, reporting, or measuring productivity. Here is a very useful example that shows how to use Time Entry Model using PHP library.

How to Use Time Entry Model inside PHP Apps?

$timeEntry = [
    'taskId' => $taskId,
    'userId' => $userId,
    'duration' => 3600, // in seconds
    'note' => "Worked on frontend UI"
];

TimeModel::logTime($timeEntry);

Better Reporting and Analytics

The open source Leantime library has included complete support for creating and managing various types of reports inside PHP applications. The Leantime's reporting capabilities provide valuable insights into project progress, team performance, and potential bottlenecks. While the library itself focuses on data management, it lays the foundation for building custom reports based on the stored information.