Migration guide
Migrate from GitHub Issues to Planoda
GitHub Issues lives right next to your code, but it thins out fast for planning, cycles, and cross-repo roadmaps. This guide moves your issues into Planoda while keeping the tight GitHub link your engineers rely on.
Updated
Should you move?
GitHub Issues' great virtue is proximity to code, and for a single repo with light planning it's hard to beat. The strain shows the moment you need to plan: no real cycles, no estimates, no cross-repo roadmap, and 'status' is a label convention you maintain by hand. Move when planning matters more than co-location — and keep the code link intact by preserving identifiers and reconnecting the GitHub integration.
Migration in short
- Migrating from GitHub Issues to Planoda is a 7-step path: export, map, import, verify, then cut over.
- Start by exporting from GitHub Issues — Export from GitHub, then map every field to its Planoda equivalent.
- 9 GitHub Issues concepts map onto Planoda fields (issues, workflow states, cycles, estimates, labels, and more), previewed before anything is written.
- Run both tools in parallel for a short overlap, reconcile the counts, then make Planoda the system of record — no work is left behind.
Step by step
How to move from GitHub Issues
Export from GitHub
Export issues per repository with the GitHub REST or GraphQL API (or a CSV export action), pulling titles, bodies, labels, assignees, milestones, and comments. The API is the most complete path for issues plus their full comment threads.
Map labels, milestones, and assignees
GitHub labels map to Planoda labels (and a status label set can map to workflow states), milestones map to cycles or projects, and assignees match by email or GitHub handle to Planoda members.
Preserve the code link
Keep issue identifiers readable so existing PR and commit references stay meaningful, and connect the Planoda GitHub integration so new PRs link to migrated issues automatically.
Import into Planoda
Drop your cleaned export into the CSV importer, or push records through the public REST API for large or incremental loads. The importer previews the mapping and flags any rows that need attention before anything is written.
Verify the imported data
Spot-check a sample of issues against the source: titles, assignees, states, priorities, comments, and links. Run a count reconciliation so the totals match before you trust the new workspace.
Run both tools in parallel
Keep the old tool read-only for a short overlap window while your team learns the new workflows. Route all new work into Planoda so nothing is created in two places.
Cut over and archive the source
Once the team is comfortable and open work is in sync, freeze the source tool, export a final backup, and make Planoda the system of record. Update bookmarks, integrations, and team docs.
Field mapping
What maps to what
How GitHub Issues concepts map onto Planoda.
| GitHub Issues | Planoda |
|---|---|
| Repository | Team / Project |
| Issue | Issue |
| Task list item | Sub-issue |
| Label (status) | Workflow state |
| Label (other) | Label |
| Milestone | Cycle / Project |
| Assignee | Assignee |
| Comment | Comment |
| Linked PR | Linked PR (via GitHub integration) |
Pro tips
Make the move smoother
Use the GitHub API rather than a CSV when you want complete comment threads and cross-references.
Standardize a status-label convention before export so those labels map cleanly to workflow states.
Connect the Planoda GitHub integration immediately after import to restore PR linking.
Common pitfalls
What to avoid
The mistakes that actually trip teams up moving off GitHub Issues.
Exporting via CSV when you care about discussion: comment threads and cross-references need the GitHub API to come across in full — a flat CSV carries the issue but leaves the conversation behind.
Leaving status as scattered labels: pick a status-label convention before export so those labels map cleanly to workflow states instead of becoming ordinary tags.
Forgetting to reconnect the GitHub integration after import: PR linking is the whole reason you valued GitHub Issues, so restore it immediately so new PRs surface on migrated issues.
FAQ
Migrating from GitHub Issues — FAQ
A note from the founder
“I'm building Planoda in the open and putting my name on it. No borrowed logos, no invented stats — just the work, shipped and auditable. If it doesn't earn your trust, tell me.”
Dmitrii Selikhov is the founder of Planoda and a lead full-stack engineer with 15+ years building developer tools and leading teams as a technical lead, software architect, and CTO.
Make the switch
Leave GitHub Issues behind this weekend.
Bring your GitHub Issues export — we'll match every workflow, field by field.