GitHub Projects Starter Kit

Set up a shared backlog for you, your team, and your coding agents.

This kit combines GitHub issue forms, a small Projects workflow, example tickets, and copyable agent prompts. Use it with GitHub directly, or with your preferred GitHub client. No Gitsu account, paid tool, or automation service is required.

Start here

1. Add the issue forms. For a new code repository, choose Use this template. For an existing repository, copy the three .yml forms from .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/ into the same directory in your repository. Review any existing forms before replacing them. Put the files on your default branch to make them available in the issue chooser.
2. Create your project. Follow the project setup guide to configure three fields and three views.
3. Write one real issue. Open Issues → New issue in your repository and choose a form. Use the example backlog for reference.
4. Make it ready. Check the scope and acceptance criteria, then follow the agent workflow or implement it yourself.

A repository template copies files. It does not create a GitHub Project, set fields or views, or create the example issues. Configure the project separately; the examples are fictional Markdown documents for reference.

What is included

Resource	Use it to
Bug report	Describe a reproducible problem and the expected result
Feature request	Explain who needs a change and why
Implementation task	Agree on scope, acceptance criteria, and verification
Project setup	Configure statuses, priorities, sizes, and saved views
Example backlog	Learn from six tickets at different stages of readiness
Agent workflow	Take one issue from clarification through human review
Weekly maintenance	Keep the backlog and active work useful
Agent prompts	Triage, prepare, implement, and summarize work

The workflow

Backlog → Ready → In progress → In review → Done

An incoming request starts in Backlog. Move it to Ready when the outcome, scope, and verification are clear. Keep In review for work awaiting a human review or required checks. Done means the agreed work has landed and its acceptance criteria have been verified. See the status definitions.

Start without iteration fields, estimates in hours, or automatic agent runs. Add structure when it answers a question your team actually asks.

Use it with Gitsu

Gitsu is a GitHub-native issue tracker from Coduo Studio. Its free Web App can manage the same GitHub Projects; paid plans add the Mac app, AI features, and the MCP server. The optional walkthrough explains how the kit fits into Gitsu.

The issue forms and workflow work independently of Gitsu.

Adapt and contribute

Rename fields and trim form questions to fit your team. Keep prompts aligned with your repository's actual instructions and verification commands. Contributions that improve clarity or fix GitHub behavior are welcome.

Created by Coduo Studio, makers of Gitsu. Released under the MIT License.