# How to use GitHub issues and projects | GitHub for Beginners Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c67GaAkf1BE Recap page: https://rapidrecap.app/video/c67GaAkf1BE Generated: 2026-03-02T18:02:43.59+00:00 --- ## Quick Overview GitHub Issues and Projects serve as powerful collaboration tools for tracking tasks, bugs, and ideas, allowing teams to visualize, prioritize, and plan work by linking individual issues to project boards, which can automatically update status based on predefined workflows like issue closure or merging pull requests. **Key Points:** - GitHub Issues track tasks, bugs, and ideas in a clearly shared space, forming the backbone of project communication and management. - GitHub Projects provide a visual dashboard (like the Kanban board shown) for planning, organizing, and tracking work by integrating directly with Issues. - Issues can be linked within comments (e.g., typing "Closes #34") to automatically close dependent tasks when a Pull Request is merged. - Projects offer various views like Backlog, Priority Board, Roadmap, and Team Items, allowing customization for different workflows. - Project settings allow customization of fields (Status, Priority, Size, Estimate, Dates) and management of repository access. - Workflows automate status updates; for example, an item's status automatically moves to "Done" when an associated issue is closed. - Insights tab provides charts like the Burn up chart to view project progress, spot trends, and identify bottlenecks. ![Screenshot at 00:16: The objectives slide outlines the video's goals: learning how to create an issue, sync issues to a GitHub project board, and use GitHub Projects to track work.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/c67GaAkf1BE/00-00-16.jpg) **Context:** This tutorial, part of the 'GitHub for Beginners' series, focuses on leveraging two key collaboration features within GitHub: Issues and Projects. Following a previous season's exploration of GitHub Copilot, this season returns to basics to explain how to effectively use Issues for task tracking and Projects for visualizing and managing workflows, demonstrating the seamless integration between these tools for efficient team collaboration. ## Detailed Analysis The video explains that GitHub Issues and Projects are essential tools for organized team collaboration. Issues capture tasks, bugs, and ideas in a clear space. Projects visualize this work on customizable boards (like Kanban, Priority Board, Roadmap) that can be populated by linking them to specific repositories. The tutorial demonstrates creating a new issue, assigning labels (like 'enhancement' or 'task'), and linking it to a milestone. Crucially, it shows how issues can reference each other; typing 'Closes #34' in a comment on a Pull Request automatically closes issue #34 when the PR is merged, maintaining synchronization. Furthermore, GitHub Projects feature built-in automation workflows that keep items updated across the board; for instance, the 'Item added to project' workflow sets the status to 'Backlog' upon addition, and the 'Item closed' workflow automatically sets the status to 'Done' when the linked issue is closed. Finally, the Insights tab allows users to view visual data like the Burn up chart to monitor project health and progress. ### Introduction and Objectives - The session focuses on exploring GitHub Issues and Projects as powerful collaboration tools - Objectives include creating an issue, syncing issues to a project board, and tracking work with Projects. ### Creating and Linking Issues - An issue titled 'Add dark mode toggle' (#34) is created with details on implementation, labeled as 'enhancement' and 'task', and linked to milestone 'v1.0' - Issues can be referenced in comments (e.g., 'Closes #33') to automatically link related work. ### Using GitHub Projects - Projects are accessed via the 'Projects' tab and created using templates like Kanban - The 'Bulk import items' option automatically populates the project board with existing issues from the repository. ### Project Board Customization and Views - The project board displays columns (Backlog, In progress, Done) that automatically update status based on issue changes - Various views are available, including Backlog, Priority Board, Team Items, Roadmap, and My Items. ### Automating Status Updates with Workflows - Built-in workflows automate project management - For example, the 'Item added to project' workflow sets the status to 'Backlog', and the 'Item closed' workflow sets the status to 'Done' when an item is closed. ### Project Insights - The 'Insights' tab allows users to view charts like the 'Burn up' chart to track progress, spot trends, and identify bottlenecks within the project lifecycle. ![Screenshot at 00:15: The screen displays the objectives for the tutorial, covering issue creation, syncing to project boards, and tracking work.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/c67GaAkf1BE/00-00-15.jpg) ![Screenshot at 01:44: A demonstration of creating a new issue titled 'Add dark mode toggle' \(#34\) and adding detailed description and metadata like labels and milestones.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/c67GaAkf1BE/00-01-44.jpg) ![Screenshot at 03:16: Navigation to the 'Projects' tab to begin setting up a new project board using a template.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/c67GaAkf1BE/00-03-16.jpg) ![Screenshot at 04:18: The Project settings screen showing options to manage access, customize fields \(like Status, Priority, Estimate\), and define the default repository for new issues.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/c67GaAkf1BE/00-04-18.jpg) ![Screenshot at 07:11: A Pull Request comment referencing issue #34 using 'Closes #34', which automatically closes the issue upon merging the PR.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/c67GaAkf1BE/00-07-11.jpg)