Shortcut
A weekend of work, and real gaps remain.
Project tracking for software teams: stories, epics and iterations with a board and a burndown, built to sit close to a git workflow.
Build a tracker that reads git rather than asking people to update it. STACK - Astro with a Node adapter, SQLite, GitHub webhooks THE MODEL - Stories with a state, an estimate and an optional epic - State changes appended to a history table; every report reads that, not the current row GIT DOES THE UPDATING - A branch named with a story id moves it to in progress on first push - A pull request referencing it moves it to review; a merge moves it to done - Webhook handler idempotent by delivery id, so a redelivery changes nothing ITERATIONS - A named window with a start and an end - Burndown computed from the state history, never from a stored total THE BOARD - Columns from state, drag to move, which writes a history row like any other change Include the schema, the webhook handler and the burndown query.
What you lose
- Branch and pull-request integration that moves a story without anyone updating it
- Iteration reports and burndown charts a team already understands
- Cross-team epics and a roadmap view above the day-to-day board
If you would rather not build
- GitHub Projects, free and already integrated
The escape hatch
open source · no votes, no paid placement
Plane
$0Open-source project tracking with cycles, modules and a roadmap.
makeplane/planefree · open source
Vikunja
$0A self-hosted task tracker with lists, boards and a Gantt view.
go-vikunja/vikunjafree · open source
Why this verdict
our own opinion · changed only by a person
58/100
Verdict kinda at 58. The board is a weekend; the git integration is the good part and the reporting is where the second weekend goes.
History
tracked since 10 Aug 2026 · nothing is ever overwritten
Questions about Shortcut
answered from the record above
Is Shortcut free?
No — the plan we track is $8.50 a month. Team at $8.50 per user per month billed monthly, around $8 annually; a free tier covers small teams.
Can you replace Shortcut by building your own?
ALMOST. A weekend of work, and real gaps remain. Replacement score 58 out of 100, build time a weekend. Read what you lose before you decide.
How much does Shortcut cost?
$8.50 a month on Team — $102 a year. Recorded 10 Aug 2026.
What do you lose by replacing Shortcut?
Branch and pull-request integration that moves a story without anyone updating it; Iteration reports and burndown charts a team already understands; Cross-team epics and a roadmap view above the day-to-day board. If any of those carry weight for you, keep paying.
Is there an open-source alternative to Shortcut?
Yes: Plane, Vikunja. The prompt on this page is for when you want it your way instead.
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