# Zeitlines

> Zeitlines is an open-source, self-hosted roadmap and Gantt timeline viewer with a built-in MCP server, so people and AI agents work on the same plan. Timelines come from plain JSON files or a live Postgres database.

Zeitlines renders items, groups, phases and dependency arrows as an interactive
timeline or a grouped list. People edit it in the browser and AI agents edit it
over MCP, on the same records: phases, dependencies, status and versions are
fields rather than conventions in a title, so an agent can query and change them.
Two independent extension seams: a source adapter decides where a timeline's data
comes from (a JSON file, or Postgres via postgres.js or Supabase), and a plugin
gives one kind of planning its own item fields and view. File-based timelines are
read-only and need no database; database-backed timelines are editable in the
browser and over MCP, with item-level optimistic locking, live updates and
presence. Self-hosted, no telemetry, MIT licensed, requires Node.js 22+.

## Start here

- [Zeitlines](https://zeitlines.dev): what it is, what it does, and the file format.
- [For agents](https://zeitlines.dev/agents): the MCP tool reference, how to connect Claude Code, and what an agent cannot do yet.
- [Self-hosting](https://zeitlines.dev/self-hosting): requirements, the file-only path, PostgreSQL, the two drivers, configuration and deployment.

## Use cases

- [Product roadmap](https://zeitlines.dev/use-cases/product-roadmap): Run a public or internal product roadmap on your own infrastructure: phases across the top, tracks as lanes, and a versioned pricing matrix that external pages can read straight from the API.
- [Gantt project plan](https://zeitlines.dev/use-cases/gantt-project-plan): A classic project plan with phases, dependencies and milestones, defined in one JSON file that lives in your repository. No sign-up, no database, no per-seat licence.
- [Timeline from Markdown notes](https://zeitlines.dev/use-cases/markdown-notes-roadmap): Point Zeitlines at a folder of Markdown files and it builds a timeline from the dates in their frontmatter. Your notes stay the source of truth; the timeline is a view of them.
- [Roadmap edited by Claude](https://zeitlines.dev/use-cases/claude-mcp-roadmap): Zeitlines ships an MCP server, so Claude Code can read a timeline, add items, move dates and maintain the pricing matrix. The changes are live the moment the tool call returns.

## Plugins

- [Plugin catalogue](https://zeitlines.dev/plugins): what a plugin is, the manifest, the capability model, the versioned host contract, and what a plugin cannot do yet.
- [product-roadmap](https://zeitlines.dev/plugins/product-roadmap) [Product and roadmaps, shipped]: Adds a versioned pricing matrix and pricing cards to a timeline, plus the Version, Tier and Features item fields derived from that model. The assembled pricing model is readable through a public, unauthenticated endpoint.
- [Building a plugin](https://zeitlines.dev/plugins/build-a-plugin): the playbook, from the is-this-a-plugin gate to publication.

## Source and documentation

- [Repository](https://github.com/zeitlines/zeitlines): the source, MIT-licensed.
- [Documentation](https://github.com/zeitlines/zeitlines/tree/main/docs): one chapter per subsystem.
- [OpenAPI document](https://github.com/zeitlines/zeitlines/blob/main/openapi.yaml): the HTTP API, generated from the source types.

## Optional

- [Hosted version](https://zeitlines.dev/hosted): none exists today; the page registers interest.
- [Imprint](https://zeitlines.dev/imprint)
- [Privacy](https://zeitlines.dev/privacy)