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Core concepts

This page will walk you through the core concepts in Plane, so you can get familiar with the basics and start navigating your workspace like a pro.

Workspaces​

Think of a workspace as the central hub for everything you do on Plane. It’s the top-level space where all your projects and work items live. Workspaces are typically set up for a team, department, or company, and everyone within a workspace can collaborate on projects and access shared resources. You can also think of each workspace as a different organization or client you're working with, keeping things separate and organized.

Inside a workspace, you have the freedom to create projects on your own or invite collaborators to join and share it as a team—it’s entirely up to you!

Learn more about Workspaces.

Projects​

Projects are the big, overarching containers for related tasks and work items. You might create a project for a product launch, major features, or even an ongoing initiative. Each project keeps everything in one place, making it easy to track progress and focus on specific goals. Inside a project, you’ll organize and manage work items, assign team members, set deadlines, and structure work into more manageable parts.

Learn more about Projects.

Work items​

Work items are the heart of task management in Plane. Each work item represents a specific task or item of work within a project, whether that’s a bug fix, a new feature, or a to-do. You can assign work items to team members, add due dates, prioritize them, and link related work items together to give context. Work items in Plane are highly customizable, making it easy to tailor them to the needs of your team.

Each work item is identified by a unique, project-specific number (e.g., VIH-19), making it easy to track and reference. At a minimum, every work item needs a title and a state, but you can customize it further with additional properties and relations as needed.

tip

You can create work items by clicking on the Add Work item button in the right-hand corner of your project, or by using C shortcut.

Learn more about Work items.

Cycles​

Cycles help you organize work into time-bound periods, like sprints or phases. They’re perfect for planning work over specific intervals, letting your team know what’s coming up and what needs to be wrapped up. Cycles can contain multiple work items from different projects, making it easy to see your team’s workload at a glance and keep an eye on deadlines.

tip

Only one Cycle can be ongoing at a time to follow the principles of Agile. However, you can have your upcoming work items or draft work items already created for the next cycles.

  • You can move existing work items into a new or ongoing cycle or create new work items directly within a cycle.
  • Bulk operations are supported--you can add or update multiple work items to cycles at once.
  • You can't update work items after a cycle is completed, however, the pending work items can be transferred to a new or upcoming cycle.

Learn more about Cycles.

Modules​

Modules act like folders for organizing and grouping related content within a project. You can think of them as categories or containers where you can store work items, track specific workflows, and keep things organized. Modules make it easy to navigate large projects and keep related work together, especially when handling multiple streams of work.

You can create as many modules as needed within your workspace, and each module can be customized with its own set of work items, milestones, and team members.

Learn more about Modules.

Pages​

Pages are where you can jot down notes, add documentation, or outline plans—think of them as an AI-powered notepad. They’re perfect for quickly capturing ideas, taking notes during meetings, or starting your day with an organized list. Pages help you keep all your project-related information in one place, and because they’re easily accessible, you can refer to them whenever needed.

Use Pages to record processes, share best practices, or simply keep team notes that everyone can refer to as needed.

Learn more about Pages.

With these core concepts under your belt, you’re ready to start exploring Plane and putting it to work for your team. Each feature is designed to help you and your team stay organized, collaborate effectively, and deliver your projects with ease.

Have questions? Ask the Plane Community.