Default repository in GitHub Project?

[Gary-H9]

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👋 Hello,

I'd like to be able to create Issues in a default repo when I'm using GitHub Projects, I'm not sure if it is possible. Is it?

Specifically if I click + Add Item I always have to select my repository but with a default option I wouldn't need to do this.

Ideally, I think it would be good to be able to set a default repository for a project in the Settings page for a Project.
https://github.com/users/<username>/projects/<project_number>/settings

If not is this something that can be done now, could it be considered as a feature request? It's a very minor thing but I think it would improve the user experience for people who are using a GitHub Project to manage work in one repository.

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• I have read the above statement and can confirm my post is relevant to the GitHub feature areas Issues and/or Projects.

[sohaibaumer]

Currently, GitHub Projects does not have a default repository setting for creating issues. You need to select the repository each time when adding an item to a project board. However, you can consider submitting a feature request to GitHub Support or the GitHub Community forums to suggest adding this feature. It can enhance the user experience for managing work in a single repository.

[queenofcorgis]

Hi @Gary-H9 - I've tagged this as product feedback so our team can review, thank you for submitting this request 🚀

[usirg]

any hope for this feature? there is definitely demand

[oddballpete]

Following up here; the Department of Veteran Affairs (US Govt) is in the process of adopting Github projects, and this is posing an issue. We would like to define the project an issue belongs to on creation. Could we request an update / escalation for this please.

[dallenbaldwin]

Having a default Repository setting would be super nice for smaller, simpler teams.

When a default repository is set, I would love to see quick links to different pages in the repository like Pull Requests, Code, Actions, etc.

[Th3S4mur41]

Weirdly enough it seems to currently use the earliest repository (creation date) as default.
In one of my orgs, this happens to be an archived repository where issue creation doesn't even work.
When you click on the create issue button, nothing happens.

So, the current state is not only inconvenient, but also buggy.

[pzgz]

@Th3S4mur41 is correct, the problem is not only lack of ability to set default repo for a project, it do have a default repo selected whenever creating an issue, even the repo was already archived. It means, everytime I create an issue, have to popup the repo dropdown list and then select the only one which is not archieved. In my case, I have three projects in my organization and only one is active, but it just default to the one which shouldn't be there.

[luca-domenichini]

This is super annoying!

Also adding that if you archive the "earliest" repo, create issue dialog still wants to create issues on that repo.

Deleting the "earliest" repo is the current, well..., workaround.

[kfidrin]

@queenofcorgis any updates? This issue is super annoying

[jnankin]

can we get this in please

[imsgx]

+1

[astanciu]

The current way to enter issues just has too much friction, too many clicks. I don't need to select a repo and template every time.

[karimelmel]

In itself a reason to not use GitHub Projects

[CollinTerSteegeVBP]

Please add this feature, it would make our lives much easier

[delai]

We’ve also been troubled by this issue for a long time, but recently we finally found a simple workaround:

Rename your default repo (for example, from A to B), then create a new repo called A. After that, in your local code repository (which was originally pointing to A), run:

git push -u origin main

Hope this helps.

[Shubham-cyber-prog]

Currently , GitHub Projects (beta or classic ) don't support setting a "default repository " directly . Projects can include issues or PRs from multiple repositories which makes flexible across orgs or teams

if your projects mostly tracks issues from a single repository , use filters like ;

Features Request Idea : It would be really helpful if GitHub allowed setting a "default repo" for a project so new issues could automatically link to it , especially for mono-repo teams

Unitil then , saved filters and views can help simulate this behavior
Hope this helps others

[historictors]

thanks for information

[Rajsingh89]

good information brother

[vanshrajv]

good information brother

[anik8das]

+1! this is much needed. Is making my life miserable in an early stage company with projects across different repos
Filters do simplify the view but default repository is the main point of friction

[bfops]

GitHub recently rolled out changes to bypass the repo selection screen entirely. While this addresses the complaints of people who wanted to minimize clicks, it has created a new pain point - namely, that the GitHub-selected unchangeable default repo is often not the right one.

This is particularly painful when the default repo is public, but there are private repos in the project. In the short time since this change, I have seen this lead to numerous instances where public issues have been created with sensitive content.

GitHub project management honestly continues to disappoint. It's buggy, slow, and randomly missing important functionality.

[ruffsl]

Also, if no default repo is configured for the project, it would be handy if the repo dropdown at least remembered your most recent selection(s), so when frequently creating multiple tickets, each contributor could at least benefit from some personal UX caching.

There's already user specific tracking of recently viewed projects, so adding tracking for recently selected repos mapped for each project doesn't seem much of a stretch from a UX pattern. I'd just like the actively selected repo from the initial state of the dropdown during ticket creation to be the most recently selected option - per user, or overridden to be the default repo via project's setting.

[pzgz]

IMHO, remember most recent selection might be way more difficult compare to default repo or ignore archived repo, just getting this judgement based on their attitude... I don't think they care at all.

[luca-domenichini]

as of 2025-11-10, I see this:

Anyone knows when was this added? This perfectly solves my problems!