Project Management
Planning tools on GitHub
Issues are the unit of work. Labels categorize (bug, enhancement), assignees own (up to ten people per issue), milestones group issues toward a due date, and task lists inside an issue body break work into checkboxes. Issue templates stored in .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/ standardize reports; issue forms add required fields.
Projects
GitHub Projects is a flexible planning layer over issues and pull requests, offering table, board, and roadmap layouts. Items carry custom fields (text, number, date, single select, iteration), and built-in workflows automate transitions - for example, marking an item Done when its issue closes, or auto-adding items that match a filter. A project can span multiple repositories.
Linking work to code
The key automation to memorize is the closing keyword: a pull request description containing closes #12, fixes #12, or resolves #12 closes issue 12 when the PR merges into the default branch. Merging into another branch does not close it. Manually writing "related to #12" links but never closes.
Insights and discussions
Repository Insights covers Pulse, Contributors, Traffic, Commits, and dependency information. Discussions host open-ended Q&A and announcements organized by category, and can be converted to or from issues depending on settings.
Worked example
A sprint board uses a single-select field called Status with values Todo, In Progress, and Done. Dragging a card updates the field, and a built-in workflow sets Status to Done when the linked issue closes - so the board reflects reality without manual upkeep.