Workflow

The Workflow system in Kinesis API provides a comprehensive Trello-like project management solution built directly into the platform. It enables teams to organize work using Kanban-style boards with lists, cards, checklists, attachments, comments, and more — all managed through an intuitive drag-and-drop interface.

Overview

The Workflow system is organized around a hierarchy of components:

• Boards — Top-level workspaces (like Trello boards)
  • Lists — Columns within a board
    • Cards — Work items within a list
      • Checklists — Task lists attached to cards
        • Checklist Items — Individual tasks within a checklist
      • Attachments — Files and links attached to cards
      • Comments — Discussion threads on cards

Supporting components include:

• Members — Users assigned to a board with roles and capabilities
• Watches — Notification subscriptions on boards, lists, or cards
• Activities — Audit trail of all board actions
• Notifications — Real-time alerts for board events
• Labels — Color-coded tags for cards
• Custom Fields — User-defined fields with per-card values

Accessing Workflow

To access the Workflow interface:

1. Log in to your Kinesis API account
2. Navigate to /workflow in your browser or click “Workflow” in the navigation menu

Boards

Boards are the top-level organizational unit in the Workflow system. Each board represents a project, team workspace, or any collection of work you want to track.

Board Features

• Name & Description — Identifying information for the board
• Background — Custom background image (URL or uploaded) or solid color
• Visibility — PUBLIC (visible to all authenticated users) or PRIVATE (visible only to members)
• Archiving — Boards can be archived to hide them without deleting data
• Labels — Color-coded labels that can be applied to cards
• Custom Fields — User-defined fields (TEXT, NUMBER, DROPDOWN, CHECKBOX, DATE) with per-card values

Board Settings

The Settings dropdown on the board page provides access to:

• Edit Name / Description
• Edit Background Image / Color
• Edit Visibility
• Manage Labels
• Manage Custom Fields
• Archive / Unarchive Board
• Delete Board (ROOT or OWNER only, not available when archived)

Board API Endpoints

Lists

Lists are columns within a board that organize cards into categories (e.g., “To Do”, “In Progress”, “Done”).

List Features

• Name — The column header
• Custom Color — Optional background color for the list
• Collapsible — Lists can be collapsed to a narrow vertical bar to save space
• Archiving — Lists can be archived independently
• Drag-and-Drop — Lists can be reordered by dragging horizontally

List API Endpoints

Cards

Cards are the primary work units within lists. They represent tasks, features, bugs, or any item of work.

Card Features

• Title — Inline-editable card name
• Description — Rich text area for detailed information
• Cover Image — Optional image displayed at the top of the card
• Cover Color — Optional color strip or full-card background color
• Start Date / Due Date — DD/MM/YYYY date inputs with overdue highlighting
• Recurring — Schedule recurrence (DAILY, WEEKDAYS, WEEKLY, MONTHLY, YEARLY)
• Labels — Apply board-defined color-coded labels
• Custom Fields — Fill in board-defined custom field values
• Members — Assign board members to the card
• Completed — Toggle card completion status
• Archiving — Cards can be archived independently
• Drag-and-Drop — Cards can be reordered within a list or moved between lists

Card Detail Modal

Clicking a card opens a detailed modal with a two-column layout:

• Left column: Description, dates, recurring, custom fields, checklists, attachments, comments
• Right column: Members, labels, cover image/color, watch toggle, archive/delete actions, timestamps

Card API Endpoints

Checklists

Checklists allow you to break down card work into smaller, trackable tasks.

Checklist Features

• Multiple Checklists — Each card can have multiple checklists
• Progress Tracking — Visual progress bar showing completed/total items
• Drag-and-Drop — Checklists can be reordered by dragging
• Inline Title Editing — Rename checklists directly in the UI

Checklist Items

Each checklist contains items representing individual tasks:

• Content — Inline-editable task description
• Completion — Checkbox to mark items as done
• Due Date — Optional DD/MM/YYYY due date with overdue highlighting
• Assignee — Optional assignment to a board member
• Removal — Items can be removed individually

Checklist API Endpoints

Checklist Item API Endpoints

Attachments

Attachments allow you to associate files and links with cards.

Attachment Features

• File Upload — Upload any file type through the platform’s upload system
• URL Links — Add external links as attachments
• File Type Detection — Automatic categorization as IMAGE, VIDEO, DOCUMENT, WEB_LINK, or OTHER
• Display Name — Editable display name for each attachment
• File Size — Automatically tracked for uploaded files
• Preview — File type icons for visual identification

Attachment API Endpoints

Comments

Comments enable discussion and collaboration on cards.

Comment Features

• Rich Content — Multi-line text with whitespace preservation
• Inline Editing — Edit your own comments directly in the UI
• Emoji Reactions — React with LIKE (👍), LOVE (❤️), LAUGH (😂), SAD (😢), or ANGRY (😠)
• Reaction Summaries — See who reacted and with what emoji
• Multiple Reactions — Users can add multiple different reaction types to a single comment
• Author Attribution — Comments show the author’s avatar and name
• Edit History — Edited comments display an “(edited)” indicator

Comment API Endpoints

Members

Board members are users who have been granted access to a board with specific roles and capabilities.

Member Roles

Member Capabilities

For ADMIN and MEMBER roles, the following capabilities can be toggled individually:

Permission Matrix

The following table shows which actions each role can perform:

Note: For public boards, VIEW access is granted to any authenticated user, even non-members.

Member API Endpoints

Watches

Watches allow users to subscribe to notifications for specific targets.

Watch Targets

Watch API Endpoints

Activities

The Activity system provides a complete audit trail of all actions performed on a board.

Tracked Actions

Activities are recorded for all significant board operations including:

• Board creation, updates, archiving, and label/custom field changes
• List creation, updates, moves, archiving, and deletion
• Card creation, updates, moves, archiving, completion, and deletion
• Card label, member, custom field, and date changes
• Comment creation, updates, and deletion
• Checklist creation, updates, and deletion
• Checklist item creation, updates, completion toggling, and deletion
• Attachment creation and deletion
• Member additions, updates, and removals

Activity API Endpoints

Notifications

The Notification system delivers real-time alerts to users about board events they are watching.

Notification Types

Notification API Endpoints

Drag-and-Drop

The Workflow UI supports HTML5 drag-and-drop for three types of reordering:

1. List Reordering — Drag lists horizontally to change their column order
2. Card Movement — Drag cards within a list to reorder, or across lists to move them. Visual drop zones appear between cards during drag.
3. Checklist Reordering — Drag checklists vertically to change their order within a card

All drag operations update positions via the API and persist immediately.

Access Control

Workflow access follows these general rules:

Board-level access is controlled by the member system described above. Non-members can only view public boards.

Best Practices

1. Use Descriptive Card Titles: Clear titles make cards easier to find and understand at a glance
2. Leverage Labels: Use color-coded labels consistently across your board for quick visual categorization
3. Break Work into Checklists: Use checklists to decompose complex tasks into trackable subtasks
4. Set Due Dates: Keep work on track by assigning due dates to cards and checklist items
5. Assign Members: Make ownership clear by assigning members to cards
6. Archive Instead of Delete: Archive completed lists and cards to preserve history while keeping the board clean
7. Use Custom Fields: Define custom fields for structured data that applies to all cards (e.g., story points, priority scores)
8. Watch What Matters: Subscribe to watches on boards, lists, or cards you need to stay informed about