What is GitHub Labels?

Last Updated : 21 Jun, 2024

GitHub Labels are designed to help developers manage and organize issues and pull requests within their repositories. Labels act as tags that can be applied to issues and pull requests, providing a way to categorize, prioritize, and filter them based on various criteria. This article will explore what GitHub Labels are, their benefits, and how to effectively use them in your projects.

What are the GitHub Labels?

GitHub Labels are tags that you can assign to issues and pull requests to provide additional context. These labels are customizable and can be colour-coded for better visual distinction. By default, GitHub provides several pre-defined labels, such as "bug," "enhancement," and "question," but you can create custom labels to suit the specific needs of your project.

How to Create GitHub Labels for Your Project?

Step 1: Navigate to the main page of the GitHub repository.

Step 2: Go to the issue tab.

Step 3: Go to Labels.

Step 4: Now all the prebuilt labels are enabled for your project.

Step 5: You can Create your own labels by clicking the New label button.

Step 6: You can use label description to describe your label workflow.

Step 7: You can Colour your label by selecting the colors tab.

Once you're done with the label click on create a label.

Apply Labels to Project Issues

Step 1: Navigate to the repository main page and then got to the issue tab.

Step 2: Select the specific issue you want to add a label to it.

Step 3: Go to the issue and left corner select to apply a label to the issue.

Step 4: After selecting the label for the issue it will be attached to the issue.

We selected the enhancement label and apply to the issue and now it's visible to the issue.

Deleting Label

After creating a label maybe it needs to be deleted and you can delete the label from issue > label.

Benefits of Using GitHub Labels

Improved Organization Labels help you categorize issues and pull requests, making it easier to manage and navigate through them. For example, you can use labels to distinguish between different types of issues, such as bugs, feature requests, and documentation updates.
Enhanced Prioritization By applying labels like "high priority" or "low priority," you can quickly identify the most critical issues that need immediate attention. This helps in efficient resource allocation and project planning.
Streamlined Collaboration Labels provides better communication and collaboration among team members. By clearly indicating the nature of an issue or pull request through labels, team members can quickly understand the context and take appropriate actions.
Effective Filtering and Searching Labels enable you to filter and search issues and pull requests based on specific criteria. This is particularly useful in large projects with numerous issues and pull requests, allowing you to focus on a subset that matches your interest or expertise.