Overview

GitHub has launched Issue Fields into public preview, replacing unstructured label-based tracking systems with typed, organization-wide metadata. Previously, teams relied on conventions like priority/p0 or severity/high labels to track structured data in issues—an approach that lacked validation, consistency across repositories, and reporting capabilities.

What's Included

Organizations gain immediate access to four preconfigured fields that automatically pin to relevant issue types:

• Priority and Effort (visible on bug reports)
• Start date and Target date (visible on feature requests and bugs)

These fields enforce consistent metadata across every repository in the organization, with built-in search and filtering capabilities.

Customization and Integration

Organization admins can fully customize the system:

• Four field types: Single select, text, number, and date fields (up to 25 per organization)
• Type-specific pinning: Assign fields to bugs, features, tasks, custom types, or untyped issues
• Search and filtering: Query issues by field values across all repositories
• Projects integration: Use fields as columns in project views for grouping, filtering, and sorting (private projects only)
• Timeline tracking: Audit history shows who changed which field and when
• Full developer API: REST and GraphQL APIs support field management, plus field_added and field_removed webhooks for GitHub Actions automation

Getting Access

Issue Fields is rolling out to select organizations. Teams interested in the feature should request access by commenting in the community discussion with their organization name and use case.