Frequently asked questions
Quick answers about Ravel, free trial, workflows, and how it works with your existing tools.
Browse by category: product approach, getting started, workflows, integrations, and billing. Want deeper workflow walkthroughs? Features & guides.
Product & approach
How Ravel thinks about planning and execution.
What is Ravel?
Ravel is dependency-aware project planning for technical founders and eng leads on small teams. It shows blockers, parallel paths, and real progress, so a rough goal turns into work a 5-20 person team can run.
Is Ravel a project management tool?
Yes, for CTOs, technical founders, and eng leads who need an executable map, not another flat backlog. Status-column theater is the anti-pattern. Clearer blockers and honest progress are what matter.
How is Ravel different from Linear or Jira?
Ravel starts from intent, not tickets. Dependencies are the model, not the sort order on a flat backlog. You get a DAG you can execute, not just a faster issue list.
Why use a DAG instead of a linear backlog?
Real work runs in parallel with real blockers. A DAG shows the critical path, keeps blocked work blocked, and unlocks downstream work when upstream tasks finish. No weekly backlog cleanup needed.
What team size is Ravel built for?
Technical founders and engineering leads on teams of 5–20. If you ship in parallel across roles or departments, Ravel is built for you.
Getting started
From signup to your first project graph.
How do I start a free trial?
Click Start free trial on the homepage or any marketing CTA to create your account. You get full workspace access for 14 days. No credit card required.
Do I need project management experience?
No. Describe goals in natural language; Ravel proposes departments, tasks, and dependencies. You edit the graph before anyone starts building.
Can I invite my whole team?
Yes. The current plan includes unlimited team members in one workspace.
Features & workflow
Planning, execution, and progress on the graph.
How does AI project planning work?
Describe scope and constraints in chat. Ravel drafts departments, tasks, dependencies, and how each task should complete. You confirm the plan before execution starts.
What are departments in Ravel?
Departments group work by team at plan time: who owns what, who leads, and how teams align before anyone writes code or opens a ticket.
How do task dependencies unlock work?
When upstream tasks complete, dependent tasks become ready for their owners automatically. No manual status sweeps or "unblock the board" rituals.
How is task progress tracked?
By completion type: GitHub activity for code-backed tasks, upload or external link for assets, or manual confirmation. AI assesses progress and warns when work stalls.
Integrations
GitHub and non-code workflows.
Does Ravel integrate with GitHub?
Yes. Connect repositories and install the webhook on your repo. Commits and pull requests feed into task progress on connected projects.
What GitHub events does Ravel use?
Commits and pull requests on connected repositories. Ravel evaluates progress against the task scope, not as a generic activity feed.
What if my tasks aren't code-based?
File upload, external link, or manual confirmation. GitHub is optional, set per task when the work ships as code.
Account & billing
Plans, trial, and policies.
Do I need a credit card to start?
No. Start a free 14-day trial with just an account. No payment details required. See Pricing for what happens when the trial ends.
How much does Ravel cost?
One workspace plan covers core AI planning capabilities. See Pricing for the current price, free trial, and refund terms.
Where can I read refund and cancellation policy?
Pricing covers trial and refund terms. The full refund policy is on our Refund page.