Quick start
This guide takes you from nothing to a working board where tasks follow their pull requests. You’ll need a GitHub account and access to a repository you can open pull requests on.
1. Create your account
Section titled “1. Create your account”- Go to ghplanner.com/signup.
- Choose Continue with GitHub, or enter your full name and email address and select Create account.
- If you signed up with email, check your inbox for an 8-character code (it looks like
ABCD-1234), type it in and select Verify email.
More detail: Creating an account and signing in.
2. Connect GitHub
Section titled “2. Connect GitHub”The first time you open the planner, GH Planner asks you to connect GitHub. Select Connect GitHub and approve access on GitHub. You’ll come straight back to your board.
More detail: Connecting GitHub and GitLab.
3. Meet your board
Section titled “3. Meet your board”GH Planner creates a board for you, already set up with seven columns:
Backlog → In Progress → PR Request → Approved → Address Issues → Closed → Merged
PR Request is a pull request column. The four after it are PR status columns that tasks move into automatically. You don’t need to configure anything to get started.
4. Point the board at your repository
Section titled “4. Point the board at your repository”- Open Board Settings from the menu at the top of the planner.
- Under GitHub Repository, pick the repository this board tracks.
- Save.
Choosing a repository lets you pick pull requests from a list instead of pasting links, and turns on Auto-Create Tasks From PRs.
5. Create a task
Section titled “5. Create a task”- Select + on the Backlog column (or Add Task in the toolbar).
- Give the task a title, and optionally a description, assignees and labels.
- Save. The card appears in Backlog.
Drag the card to In Progress when you start work.
6. Link a pull request
Section titled “6. Link a pull request”When your code is ready for review:
- Open the task and choose Edit.
- Under Add Pull Request Link, select the PR from the list, enter its number, or paste its URL (for example
https://github.com/owner/repo/pull/123). - Save, then drag the task into PR Request.
No pull request yet? Choose Open a new pull request prefilled with this task and GH Planner will create one for you. See Opening pull requests.
7. Watch it move
Section titled “7. Watch it move”Ask a teammate to review the PR. When they approve it, the task moves to Approved. If they request changes, it moves to Address Issues. When the PR is merged, it lands in Merged.
Reviewers can also do all of this from the task page in GH Planner. See Reviewing pull requests.
8. Invite your team
Section titled “8. Invite your team”Open Members, select Copy Link and send it to your team. Anyone who opens the link and signs in joins the board. See Members and invites.
Next steps
Section titled “Next steps”- Customise your columns to fit how your team works.
- Learn everything a task can hold.
- Decide who can see the board with visibility settings.
- Turn on merge verification to protect your main branch.
