[Private preview] Issue fields

[ebndev]

We are excited to introduce the private preview of issue fields, a new way for your teams to capture and manage structured data directly in GitHub issues. Issue fields make it easier to add, organize, and standardize important information across your repositories using custom fields such as priority, impact, effort, or any other category your team needs.

About issue fields

What are issue fields

Issue fields are customizable fields you can add to issues, enabling you to collect consistent metadata and details relevant to your workflow. Fields can be managed centrally at the organization level by organization admins, making it simple to apply the same structure across multiple repositories.

Why use issue fields

• Make issue tracking more organized by using standardized fields across repositories and projects
• Help your team quickly find and prioritize issues by field values
• Reduce manual work and data duplication when triaging or planning work
• Ensure important information like priority or dates is always visible and consistent

Project custom fields can still be used to track information relevant to a specific project.

Features included in the private preview ✅

The following features are available as part of the private preview:

Managing issue fields

By default, three issue fields will be added to your Organization to help you get started: Priority, Start date and Target date. These fields are fully customizable and can be configured in your organization's settings in the "Issue fields" section under "Planning".

Organization admins can add up to 25 issue fields to the organization as a way of standardizing issue metadata collection.

Admins can choose from several field types to meet the organization's needs:

• single-select fields let you choose one option from a predefined list for quick categorization and standardization;
• text fields capture free-form text with automatic URL detection and clickable links;
• number fields accept numeric input, including decimals, to track values and measurements;
• date fields provide a date picker for easy selection, with the ability to clear the field or edit directly from the issue sidebar.

Pinning issue fields to types

Admins can associate issue fields with specific issue types, so only the most relevant fields appear when viewing or creating issues of that type. For instance, priority and severity can be linked to bugs, while impact and effort can be linked to epics. When a type is selected, the relevant fields automatically show up.

Applying issue fields to issues

Issue fields are prominently displayed when you view or create issues, making it easy to capture key information for each issue. Their appearance is consistent with system fields such as assignees, labels, and type, so they blend seamlessly into the issues sidebar.

Only users with triage and above roles are able to modify issue fields on the issue.

Search

Issue fields are fully integrated into issue search within repositories. You can filter, sort, and find issues based on issue field values, enabling new and powerful use cases for your team. For example, you can identify high-priority issues that are overdue by combining searches for priority and target date fields.

You can also search for issues by effort estimates, impact scores, owner, or any other issue field your team uses. This makes it easy to monitor progress, prioritize work, track deadlines, and surface actionable insights across all your repositories.

Projects support

Issue fields are fully integrated with projects across your organization, providing a seamless experience for managing and analyzing work. All issue fields are available for use in any project, and you can choose which fields to add to each project view based on your team's needs. This flexibility allows you to group, filter, and search issues by issue field values, making it easier to prioritize, track progress, and uncover insights.

You can tailor each project to your workflow by selecting the most relevant issue fields. Keep in mind that projects support up to 50 fields in total, and issue fields will count toward this limit.

Timeline events

Issue field updates are shown in the timeline, so viewers can see exactly what metadata changed, when it changed, and who made the change.

API support

Issue fields come with full REST and GraphQL API support, allowing you to programmatically manage field settings and values. You can automate the creation and update of issue fields across multiple repositories, integrate issue field data with third-party tools, and build custom dashboards or reports to track your team's progress. The API enables bulk updates, advanced filtering, and synchronization with external systems such as project management platforms.

Please find the REST API documentation here:

• Issue field settings (REST API)
• Issue field values (REST API)

If you are interested in the GraphQL API, you can get the schema that includes issue fields queries and mutations by including the value “issue_fields” in the “GraphQL-Features” header while downloading the schema. You need to include the same header to send queries and mutations to the API.

Migrating to issue fields

If you are using labels or project custom fields to track information, you can migrate to using issue fields by:

• Bulk editing values in a project table by copying/pasting or dragging and dropping values. Check out the documentation and the video below.
• Leveraging the REST or GraphQL API

Expand to see video

Screen.Recording.2025-11-21.at.4.38.58.PM.mov

Features not included in the private preview ❌

There are several features that are not included in the private preview but might be added to the issue fields experience based on customer feedback and demand.

• Issue forms integration: It is not currently possible to embed issue fields directly into .yml issue forms
• Pull requests integration: Issue fields are limited to issues and cannot be applied to pull requests
• Mobile apps: Issue fields are not currently supported in GitHub iOS and Android applications.
• CLI support: Issue fields are not currently supported in CLI.

Feedback

We want to gather feedback, learn from your use cases, and continuously improve issue fields. Please share any feedback, issues, or suggestions you have. Your input helps us shape the future of issue fields and deliver features that best support your workflows.

[github-actions[bot]]

💬 Your Product Feedback Has Been Submitted 🎉

Thank you for taking the time to share your insights with us! Your feedback is invaluable as we build a better GitHub experience for all our users.

Here's what you can expect moving forward ⏩

• Your input will be carefully reviewed and cataloged by members of our product teams. 
  • Due to the high volume of submissions, we may not always be able to provide individual responses.
  • Rest assured, your feedback will help chart our course for product improvements.
• Other users may engage with your post, sharing their own perspectives or experiences. 
• GitHub staff may reach out for further clarification or insight. 
  • We may 'Answer' your discussion if there is a current solution, workaround, or roadmap/changelog post related to the feedback.

Where to look to see what's shipping 👀

• Read the Changelog for real-time updates on the latest GitHub features, enhancements, and calls for feedback.
• Explore our Product Roadmap, which details upcoming major releases and initiatives.

What you can do in the meantime 💻

• Upvote and comment on other user feedback Discussions that resonate with you.
• Add more information at any point! Useful details include: use cases, relevant labels, desired outcomes, and any accompanying screenshots.

As a member of the GitHub community, your participation is essential. While we can't promise that every suggestion will be implemented, we want to emphasize that your feedback is instrumental in guiding our decisions and priorities.

Thank you once again for your contribution to making GitHub even better! We're grateful for your ongoing support and collaboration in shaping the future of our platform. ⭐

[tellisnz]

hey team - how can we access this private preview? org:asvla