Nextcloud Deck

What Nextcloud Deck does

Deck is the kanban app of Nextcloud. Its own documentation compares it to Trello, and the model is similar: a board holds stacks (columns), and stacks hold cards that you drag from one stage to the next. Cards have a Markdown description, labels, a due date, assigned users who get a notification, file attachments that can be embedded in the description, and comments. Finished cards can be marked done so they no longer show as overdue, and old cards or boards can be archived rather than deleted. Changes are recorded in the activity stream.

Search understands filters, so a query can combine text with a tag, an assignee and a due-date range such as overdue or this week.

Working inside Nextcloud

Deck’s main advantage is that it is not a separate system. Boards are shared with Nextcloud users and groups, or with Circles if that app is installed, using per-board permissions. Attachments live in Nextcloud, and people sign in with the accounts they already use for files, calendars and chat. The README links to mobile apps for Android (F-Droid and Google Play) and iOS; both are maintained as separate projects by other developers. It also lists community tools for creating cards from email or a browser tab.

Importing from Trello

Trello boards can be imported with the occ deck:import command or through the API, from either a Trello JSON export or the Trello API. The documentation notes that a JSON import covers up to 1000 actions, so the API route is recommended for busier boards. Trello’s link attachments have no equivalent in Deck and are added as a table at the end of each card’s description.

Self-hosting Nextcloud Deck

You install Deck from the app store built into Nextcloud, or from the release archive. That means its requirements are those of your Nextcloud server: PHP, a database and the usual web server setup. The Nextcloud app store lists the versions that match each Nextcloud release. There is nothing extra to deploy, back up or update beyond Nextcloud itself. If you do not run Nextcloud yet, Deck alone is not a reason to start: the server is a much larger system to operate than a single kanban app.

Hosted version

The developers do not offer Deck as a separate hosted service. It is available on any Nextcloud instance where an administrator has enabled the app, including those run by hosting providers.

Limitations

The README is direct about performance: it says Deck is not yet suited to heavy use, because many boards with many cards and attachments produce a large number of database queries and slow page loads. It is a kanban tool only, with no Gantt view, sprints, time tracking or reporting. Without a Nextcloud server it cannot be used at all.

Who it suits

Deck suits households, small teams and organizations that already run Nextcloud and want simple shared boards next to their files, without adding another application. Teams that need a standalone Trello replacement with more features should look at WeKan or Kanboard.