A git-native issue tracker

Issues that move
with your code

Never out of sync. No database, no server, no accounts — just Markdown files in your repo, version-controlled alongside your code.

go install github.com/steviee/git-issues@latest
0003-auth-refactor.md
status: in-progress
priority: critical
0002-session-timeout.md
status: open
priority: high
---
id: 1
title: "Fix login bug"
status: open
priority: critical
labels: [bug, auth]
---
Description and notes go here as free-form Markdown.
zsh — git-issues demo
Version Control

Always in sync
with your code

Your issues live in .issues/, right next to src/. When you git checkout a branch, your issues come with it. When you git bisect to find a bug, the issue state at that commit is exactly what you see.

Branch-aware

Issues follow branches. A feature branch has its own issues.

Bisect-friendly

git bisect shows the issue state at every commit in history.

History is truth

git log .issues/ shows exactly when and why things changed.

git log --oneline
a1b2c3d Fix auth bug
src/auth.go
.issues/0001-fix-login-bug.md
e4f5g6h Add dark mode toggle
src/ui/dark-mode.ts
.issues/0002-add-dark-mode.md
git show a1b2c3d:.issues/0001-fix-login-bug.md
---
id: 1
title: "Fix login bug"
status: closed
closed: 2026-03-04
---
Fixed in src/auth.go. Password validation now rejects empty strings.
.issues/0001-fix-login-bug.md
---
id: 1
title: "Fix login bug"
priority: medium
labels: [bug, auth]
---
Login schlägt bei leeren Passwörtern fehl.
~ vim .issues/0001-fix-login-bug.md — 3s ago
Plain Text

Plans change.
Your issues too.

No rigid forms. No API rate limits. No "can't edit because the server is down." Issues are Markdown. Edit them in Vim, VS Code, or directly in the GitHub UI.

Plain text

YAML + Markdown. Every editor, every agent, every human can read it.

No lock-in

Want to leave? Delete issues, keep the .md files. Done.

Offline first

No network needed. Edit issues on a plane, in a tunnel, anywhere.

Features

Everything you need.
Nothing you don't.

Zero Infrastructure

One Go binary. No Docker, no server, no database. Install, run `issues init`, done.

AI-Native Workflow

`issues next`, `claim`, `done`. `.agent.md` gives agents full context. JSON output for automation.

Bidirectional Relations

`blocks`, `depends-on`, `related-to`, `duplicates`. Both sides sync automatically.

Auto-Staged

Every change is automatically `git add`-ed. Your issue state travels with the commit.

Kanban Board

Interactive TUI with Bubble Tea. `issues board` opens a full Kanban board in your terminal.

Human & Machine

`--format table` for humans, `--format json` for scripts, `--format ids` for pipes.

AI Agents

Built for AI Agents

The issues next → claim → done workflow replaces manual task management for coding agents.

1
issues next

Find the next unblocked, highest-priority issue

2
issues claim <id>

Mark as in-progress

3
Do the work

The agent implements

4
issues done <id>

Close the issue, auto-staged for commit

.issues/.agent.md
# git-issues agent context
## Schema
Each issue is a Markdown file with YAML frontmatter.
## Agent-Optimized Commands
issues next # next actionable issue
issues claim # mark in-progress
issues done # close and stage
## Recommended Workflow
1. issues next → get next issue
2. issues claim → mark started
3. Do the work
4. issues done → close
Commands

Everything you need