GitHub Issues (Tracker)
Use GitHub Issues as a project issue tracker via the unified GitHub integration.
GitHub Issues can serve as a project's issue tracker in Rensei - workflows create, update, and close issues in response to events from other integrations (GitHub pushes, Linear webhooks, CI failures).
There is no separate "GitHub Issues" integration card. Issue tracking is a capability of the single GitHub integration: connect once via the GitHub App install, and both repository operations and issue tracking are available. This page covers the tracker layer - binding projects to repositories and the workflow nodes that operate on issues.
Two layers, two names
| Layer | Name | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Integration connection | github | The GitHub card in Settings → Integrations; one App-based connection per organization |
| Tracker binding | github_issues | A per-project binding type: a project tracks its issues in a GitHub repository (tracker path github_issues:<owner>/<repo>) |
The tracker provider, the github_issues.* workflow nodes, and tracker paths keep the github_issues name; the integration card is simply GitHub.
Current limitations
| Limitation | Detail |
|---|---|
| GitHub App required | The tracker works through the Rensei GitHub App installation - there is no token-based fallback |
| Feature-flagged | Your Rensei operator must enable the GitHub integration feature flag for your organization |
| Custom fields | GitHub Issue custom fields and Projects v2 fields are not yet exposed |
| Milestones | Issues can be assigned to milestones, but milestones cannot be created |
| Projects (classic/v2) | Repository-level project assignment is not yet supported |
What you can do
- Create and manage issues in GitHub repositories
- Open, close, and reopen issues from workflow steps
- Label, assign, and milestone issues
- Add and update comments on issues
- Bind a Rensei project to a GitHub repository as its issue tracker
- Trigger workflows on issue assignment and issue comments
Setup
Connect the GitHub integration
Follow Connect GitHub: your operator enables the feature flag, then you install the Rensei GitHub App from Settings → Integrations → GitHub, granting access to the repositories that hold your issues.
Bind a project to a repository
On the GitHub settings sub-page (Settings → Integrations → GitHub → Manage), expand an installation, find the repository, and use Bind to project. The binding registers the repository as the project's GitHub Issues tracker (tracker path github_issues:<owner>/<repo>) and routes the repo's webhook events into that project's workflows.
Once bound, generic issue nodes in the project's workflows (issue.create, issue.read, issue.update_status, issue.add_comment) automatically target GitHub Issues, and the native github_issues.* nodes appear in the node palette.
Workflow nodes
Two node families operate on GitHub Issues:
- Native nodes (
github_issues.*) - 13 action nodes covering the full issue lifecycle: create, get, update, close, reopen, label add/remove/replace, assignee add/remove, comment create/update, and milestone set. See the GitHub Issues node reference for input/output ports. - Generic tracker nodes (
issue.*) - tracker-agnostic nodes that route through the project's tracker binding, keeping workflow templates portable across trackers. See generic action nodes.
Two triggers fire on GitHub Issues events: github_issues.issue.assigned and github_issues.comment.created (trigger reference).
Example: file an issue when a PR merges
trigger:
type: github.pr.merged
steps:
- id: file_followup
type: issue.create
inputs:
title: "Follow-up for PR #{{ $trigger.data.number }}"
description: |
Merged: {{ $trigger.data.htmlUrl }}
Review the release notes and close this issue when published.
labels: ["follow-up"]Because issue.create routes through the project's tracker binding, the same workflow files a GitHub Issue, Linear issue, or Jira issue depending on how the project is configured.
Credentials and permissions
No separate credential is needed: issue operations authenticate with installation tokens minted from the same GitHub App installation as repository operations. Ensure the App's repository access (chosen at install, adjustable via Manage on GitHub) covers the repositories that hold your issues; the App's issue permissions (read and write) apply to that repository set.
Troubleshooting
"GitHub App not installed"
Go to Settings → Integrations → GitHub → Configure and click Install GitHub App. If you already installed the App, check that the installation covers the target repository and is connected to this workspace.
"Integration disabled"
Your Rensei operator has not enabled the GitHub integration flag for this organization. Contact your admin.
"Permission denied on issue update"
Verify the GitHub App's repository access covers the target repo. If you selected specific repositories during installation, update the installation on GitHub to include the new repo.
"Issues not appearing after create"
The issue.create node is synchronous - the issue is created before the workflow step completes. If the issue does not appear, check the step output for error details in Sessions → Inspector → Step log.
Next steps
- GitHub integration - App install, installations, repo bindings, webhook health
- GitHub Issues node reference - the 13 native action nodes
- Generic action nodes - tracker-agnostic
issue.*nodes - Workflow triggers - trigger workflows on GitHub and Linear events