Navigating the GitHub Projects v2 Default Repository Bug: Impacting Your Software Project Overview
The Persistent GitHub Projects v2 Default Repository Bug
Developers leveraging GitHub Projects v2 for a streamlined software project overview are encountering a frustrating and long-standing bug that impacts issue creation workflows. This issue, recently highlighted in a GitHub Community discussion, reveals that the 'Create new issue' modal consistently defaults to an incorrect repository, undermining configured project settings and potentially skewing your github stats.
The Problem: Default Repository Ignored
LiviaCristinaT initiated a discussion detailing unexpected behavior within GitHub Projects (v2) at the organization level. When creating a new issue from any project board, the issue creation modal inexplicably defaults to a specific repository, 'LPEUnity', regardless of the project's configured 'Default repository' setting (e.g., 'Geosol'). This occurs even when the project view displays items from various repositories, the user has admin permissions, and no recent configuration changes were made. This persistent issue has been ongoing for several months, severely impacting efficient issue management and a clear software project overview.
Expected vs. Actual Behavior
- Expected behavior: New issues created from a project should default to the repository configured in the project's 'Default repository' setting. This is a critical component of any effective software project overview.
- Actual behavior: The issue creation modal always defaults to the 'LPEUnity' repository, ignoring all project-level configurations.
The Root Cause: A Known, Long-Standing Bug
As confirmed by community member Gecko51, this is a known, long-standing bug in GitHub Projects v2. The issue creation modal does not respect the project's 'Default repository' setting. Instead, GitHub Projects v2 currently defaults to the oldest repository (by creation date) linked to the organization or project. This has been confirmed by multiple users across several discussions dating back to 2023. It's identified as a UI state/context-switching bug, where the modal ignores both the project-level default repository configuration and any view-level repository filters when deciding which repository to pre-select. This is not intended behavior and is not a configuration conflict on the user's end.
Impact on Your Software Project Overview and GitHub Stats
This bug significantly hinders efficient software project overview management and can lead to skewed github stats. Developers are forced to manually correct the repository for every new issue, introducing friction, increasing the chance of errors, and potentially misfiling issues. This manual overhead reduces productivity and can obscure the true state of work when reviewing project progress or generating reports based on repository-specific activity.
Workarounds (Until GitHub Fixes This)
While a permanent fix is awaited, the community has identified several workarounds:
- Manually Select: Always manually select the correct repository from the dropdown at the top of the 'Create new issue' modal. Tedious but reliable.
- Create Directly in Repo: Create issues directly from the target repository's issues page, then use the 'Add existing issue' feature in the project board to attach them.
- Archive Oldest Repo (Caution): If the defaulting repository (e.g., 'LPEUnity') is the oldest in your organization and no longer actively used, archiving it *may* force the modal to fall back to the next oldest. This is not guaranteed and should be approached with caution.
- Direct Issue Creation URL: Bookmark or use a direct URL for issue creation for your desired repository. For example:
https://github.com/YOUR_ORG/Geosol/issues/new
Recommended Action
Since this bug has persisted for months, it's crucial for affected users to take action. Gecko51 strongly recommends upvoting and commenting on the main tracking discussion on GitHub and submitting a bug report via GitHub Support, referencing the relevant discussion thread. The more users who report it, the higher the priority for the GitHub team to address this product bug, ensuring accurate github stats and a reliable software project overview for everyone.