Add Issues to Project

Add Issues to Project automates syncing issues from a repository to a GitHub Project (V2) board. It includes duplicate detection so issues are only added once.

Quick Start

  1. Generate a Personal Access Token (PAT) with repo, project, and read:org scopes.
  2. Save the PAT as a repository secret named ADD_ISSUES_TO_PROJECT_TOKEN.
  3. Copy the workflow below to .github/workflows/add-issues-to-project.yml.
name: Sync Issues to Project

on:
  workflow_dispatch:
  issues:
    types: [opened, reopened]

jobs:
  add-to-project:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: MiguelRodo/actions/add-issues-to-project@v2
        with:
          ADD_ISSUES_TO_PROJECT_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.ADD_ISSUES_TO_PROJECT_TOKEN }}
          # project_name: "My Custom Project Board"
          # is_project_owner_org: "true"

Inputs

Input Description Required Default
ADD_ISSUES_TO_PROJECT_TOKEN PAT with permissions to read the source repo and write to the target project. Yes —
project_name Name of the target GitHub Project. No Current repository name
project_owner Username or organization owning the target project. No Current repository owner
is_project_owner_org Set to "true" if the project owner is an organization. No "false"
source_repo_name Repository to pull issues from. No Current repository name
source_repo_owner Owner of the source repository. No Current GitHub user

How It Works

  1. Installs the GitHub CLI (gh) and the gh-projects extension.
  2. Authenticates with the provided ADD_ISSUES_TO_PROJECT_TOKEN.
  3. Validates the target project, organization/user, and source repository.
  4. Uses GraphQL to fetch the Project ID and all existing items.
  5. Cross-references the board’s existing issue IDs against the repository’s issue list.
  6. Appends only the missing issues via a GraphQL mutation.

Advanced Example

Sync issues from a repository into a centrally managed organization project board:

- uses: MiguelRodo/actions/add-issues-to-project@v2
  with:
    ADD_ISSUES_TO_PROJECT_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.ORG_PROJECT_PAT }}
    project_name: "Q1 Engineering Roadmap"
    project_owner: "MyAwesomeOrg"
    is_project_owner_org: "true"
    source_repo_name: "frontend-client"
    source_repo_owner: "MyAwesomeOrg"

Troubleshooting

  • Authentication fails: Ensure the PAT is active, unexpired, and has the project scope. Classic PATs are generally easier to configure for organization-wide boards than fine-grained tokens.
  • Project not found: Check the spelling of project_name. If the project belongs to an organization, you must set is_project_owner_org: "true".