Shortcut

shortcut.com

ALMOST

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.

Promptfree, for everyone, and the only version there is
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

$0

Open-source project tracking with cycles, modules and a roadmap.

makeplane/planefree · open source

Vikunja

$0

A 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

Interest · last 30 dayspeak 1/day
views0113 Jul18 Jul23 Jul28 Jul2 Aug7 Aug11 Aug
views prompt copies none yet votes none yet

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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