How to Track Feature Requests and Feedback on GitHub

Go to your repository on github.com. Click the "Issues" tab, then click "Labels" next to the search bar. Click the green "New label" button. Create these labels: "feedback" (color: #C2E0C6, light green) for general user feedback, "enhancement" (color: #A2EEEF, light blue) for feature requests, "needs-discussion" (color: #D4C5F9, purple) for items that need team input, and "user-reported" (color: #FEF2C0, yellow) for items that came from actual users. For each label, enter the name, pick a color, add a short description, and click "Create label."

Go to the repository's Code tab. Click "Add file" and select "Create new file." In the filename field, type ".github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/feature-request.md" — GitHub creates the folders automatically. Paste the feature request template from the complete code section below. Scroll down, type a commit message like "Add feature request template," and click "Commit changes." Now when anyone clicks New issue, they see this template as an option alongside any bug report template you already have.

Click the "Issues" tab and then "New issue." Select the feature request template. Fill in each section: describe the feature, explain the problem it solves, describe who would use it, and suggest how it might work. On the right sidebar, click "Labels" and add "enhancement" and optionally "user-reported" if the request came from a user. Assign it to the product owner or leave it unassigned for triage. Click "Submit new issue." The feedback is now trackable, searchable, and linked to your project.

For conversations that are not specific tasks — like brainstorming, product direction, or general questions — GitHub Discussions is a better fit than Issues. Go to your repository, click "Settings" in the top tab bar. Scroll down to the "Features" section. Check the box next to "Discussions" and click "Set up discussions." GitHub creates a Discussions tab in your repository with default categories like Ideas, Q&A, and General. You can customize these categories to match your needs, such as adding "Feature Ideas" and "User Feedback."

Sometimes a Discussion evolves into a concrete feature request. When this happens, open the Discussion, click the three-dot menu in the top-right corner of the post, and select "Create issue from discussion." GitHub pre-fills the issue with the Discussion content. Add the appropriate labels (enhancement, high-priority, etc.), assign someone, and submit. The original Discussion now shows a link to the issue, keeping the conversation history connected to the task.

Go to the Issues tab and use the filter bar to view feedback. Type "label:enhancement" in the search bar to see only feature requests. Combine filters: "label:enhancement label:user-reported" shows features requested by real users. Sort by newest, oldest, or most commented using the Sort dropdown. For a visual overview, add these issues to a GitHub Project board where you can drag them between columns like "Backlog," "Considering," and "Planned" to show your team the status of each request.