# GitHub integration

> Turn tickets into GitHub issues, link existing ones, and let AI flag duplicate reports, with real-time status sync and automatic ticket transitions.

Source: https://joely.io/documentation/integrations/github
Last updated: 2026-10-06

The GitHub integration turns bug reports into trackable GitHub issues without leaving the ticket, and keeps both sides in sync.

## Connecting GitHub

The integration uses the **Joely GitHub App**: you install it on the repositories you choose, with least-privilege scoped permissions, no personal access token involved. You then select which repositories are available for issue linking, and can re-fetch the list at any time.

- Configuration requires the Configure GitHub integration permission; disconnecting requires Disconnect GitHub.
- A project can connect **several GitHub accounts** (personal and organizations) on eligible plans.

## Creating an issue from a ticket

Staff with the Manage GitHub issues on tickets permission can create a GitHub issue directly from a ticket:

- **AI drafts the issue**: title and description are generated from the ticket conversation, so the issue reads like a clean bug report instead of a chat log.
- You pick the target repository among the ones you enabled.
- **One issue per ticket**: a ticket is linked to at most one GitHub issue. To switch, unlink first.

### From a specific message

When one message holds the bug report (a stack trace, steps to reproduce), right-click it (long-press on mobile) and choose **Create GitHub issue**:

- The entry shows on customer messages, staff replies, internal notes and sent AI replies, as long as GitHub is connected with at least one enabled repository and the ticket is not linked to an issue yet. It is never shown on the customer portal.
- The form opens pre-filled: the title is the message's first line, the description quotes the message. It says who wrote it (the customer, a staff member or the AI assistant) but **never their name**, and lists attachments **by file name only**: attachment links require signing in to Joely, so they would not open for people reading the issue.
- **Generate** drafts the issue around that message, using the rest of the conversation as context.
- Creating an issue from an **internal note** shows a warning first: everyone who can read the repository will see its content.

## Linking an existing issue

If the bug is already tracked, link the ticket to the existing GitHub issue instead of creating a duplicate. Unlinking is always possible (same permission).

## Duplicate detection

On eligible plans, AI compares new tickets against your **open GitHub issues** and flags probable duplicates, so a known bug reported by ten customers becomes one issue with ten linked conversations, not ten issues.

## Status sync

The link is live in both directions: changes to a linked GitHub issue (such as closing it) are reflected on the ticket in real time via webhooks. Support always knows whether the fix shipped without checking GitHub.

## Automatic status transitions

When **auto-update status from GitHub** is enabled in the GitHub integration settings (off by default, per project), Joely advances linked tickets through their lifecycle as you work, following GitHub's recommended flow:

- **Issue closed as completed → Awaiting release.** When a linked issue is closed *as completed*, typically because a pull request with `Closes #123` was merged, every ticket linked to it moves to `Awaiting release`. Issues closed *as not planned* are ignored.
- **Release published → Resolved.** When you publish a release on the repository, every `Awaiting release` ticket whose linked issue lives in that repository moves to `Resolved`, which triggers the customer's satisfaction survey and Discord notification.

A few rules worth knowing:

- **It only ever moves tickets forward.** A ticket already `Resolved` or `Closed` is never pulled back to `Awaiting release` by a later issue event.
- **It depends on the standard GitHub workflow.** If an issue is left open, closed without the *completed* reason, or never linked with `Closes #N`, nothing happens; the signal simply never fires. You can always change the status manually.
- **It is project-scoped.** The toggle requires the Configure GitHub integration permission and applies to that project only.
- **Enabling is checked.** Turning the toggle on verifies that the connected GitHub App installation is actually subscribed to the Issues and Release events and holds the Contents permission. If it isn't, enabling is blocked with a prompt to re-approve the App, so the automation never silently does nothing.

## Package-to-repository linking

You can map each Tebex package to the GitHub repository that contains its code. When a ticket is linked to a package, issue creation pre-targets the right repository. AI can suggest the best matching repository for each package, with batch auto-linking above a confidence threshold.