Views and Visualization

GitHub Projects lets you visualize project items in multiple ways, giving teams flexibility to plan, track, and manage work in the format that suits them best. Each view provides a different perspective while working on the same underlying data.

View Types:

• Table View – Displays items in rows and columns for spreadsheet-style editing, bulk updates, and detailed planning.
• Board View – Shows items as cards organized by a single-select field, ideal for Kanban-style workflows and visual progress tracking.
• Roadmap View – Displays items along a timeline using date or iteration fields, supporting long-term planning and release scheduling.

Key Capabilities across Views:

• Filter – Show only items that meet specific criteria for faster focus.
• Sort – Order items by one or more fields such as priority, status, or date.
• Group – Organize items by a selected field for better categorization.
• Save Views – Persist view configurations for reuse or sharing with different audiences.

Managing Project Items

• You can add existing issues and pull requests by searching across repositories and including them in your project, so all work is tracked in one central place.
• Specific issues or pull requests can be quickly included by pasting their URLs, eliminating the need to navigate manually.
• Draft items allow you to add new tasks or ideas that aren’t yet issues or pull requests in any repository, enabling early planning before work is committed.
• Multiple items can be added or edited at once, which helps streamline project setup and ongoing maintenance.

Automation

• Set field values on item creation – Automatically populate fields such as Status, Priority, or Assignee when a new item is added to a project, reducing manual work.
• Update fields based on changes – Trigger updates to other fields when a related field changes, for example, moving an item to “In Progress” when Status is updated.
• Mark items as Done automatically – Automatically mark project items as completed when linked pull requests are merged, ensuring progress stays in sync.
• Auto-add items based on filters – Automatically include issues or pull requests in a project when they meet specific criteria, such as having a certain label or coming from a specific repository.

Integration with GitHub

• Closing or reopening an issue automatically updates the linked project item, keeping project status in sync with repository work.
• Project membership is displayed in the sidebar of issues and pull requests, making it easy to see which items belong to which projects.
• Status changes in the project can optionally sync with repository labels to maintain consistency across workflows.
• GitHub Projects can be managed programmatically using the GitHub CLI or GraphQL API, enabling automation and integration with other tools.

Permissions and Collaboration

• Read access – Allows users to view project content without making changes.
• Write access – Allows users to edit project items, fields, and basic project details.
• Admin access – Grants full control, including managing project settings, automation, and templates.
• Collaboration features – Users can comment on project items, mention users or teams with @mentions, and organize items using drag-and-drop interaction for workflow management.

Best Practices

• Define a single Status field – Use a dedicated Status field to clearly represent workflow stages, ensuring consistency across all items and simplifying filtering, grouping, and reporting.
• Keep fields minimal and meaningful – Limit the number of fields to those that provide real value, avoiding clutter and making the project easier to navigate and maintain.
• Use draft items for early planning – Capture new ideas, tasks, or backlog items as draft items before they exist in a repository, allowing teams to prioritize and plan work before committing it formally.
• Create multiple views for different purposes – Set up separate views tailored for planning, execution, and reporting to provide relevant perspectives for different audiences without changing the underlying project data.

• Enable automation early – Configure automation rules from the start to reduce repetitive manual work, keep project items up-to-date, and ensure consistency in workflows across your team.