GitHub Projects roadmap view: setup and limits

To get a roadmap in GitHub Projects, open a view's View menu and choose Roadmap under Layout, then pick a start and a target date or iteration field. The roadmap is one of three layouts a view can use, next to table and board. It puts issues, pull requests and draft issues on a timeline using those fields. This guide sets one up from an empty view, then covers what the roadmap can't do. It works without any other tool.

How do I turn a view into a roadmap?

Change the layout of a view from its View menu.

1. Open the project and create a view with + New view, or pick an existing view.
2. Click View next to the view's search bar.
3. Under "Layout", click Roadmap.

GitHub tries to use the date and iteration fields your project already has. Each view keeps its own layout, so a table called "Backlog" and a roadmap called "Quarter plan" can sit side by side over the same items.

Which date fields or iteration fields does a roadmap view use?

Each bar runs from a start field to a target field, and you choose both.

1. In the top right of the roadmap, click Date fields.
2. Select a field for "Start date" and one for "Target date". Each can be a date field or an iteration field.
3. If the project has neither, click New field, type a name and click Save, then select it.

To add a date field outside the roadmap, click + in a table view's last field header, choose New field, select Date and save. Date fields have no default value, so items stay off the timeline until someone sets their dates.

Dragging a bar changes the item's fields: its start and target dates, or its iteration when the view uses an iteration field. A roadmap view is a scheduling tool as well as a picture.

How do I change the zoom?

Click the zoom control in the top right of the roadmap and choose Month, Quarter or Year. Month shows the most detail, and Year gives the widest overview.

What are markers, and how do I show milestones?

Markers are vertical lines on the timeline for key dates. Click Markers in the top right of the roadmap and choose which ones to show:

• Iterations from your iteration field.
• Milestones associated with the items in the project.
• Dates of the items in the project.

Milestone markers answer "which work lands before the release date?" at a glance. Combine them with a filter such as milestone:"QA release" to see only the work in one release. The filter syntax guide lists every qualifier a roadmap view accepts.

How do I group, slice and sort a roadmap?

Use the View menu, the same way as in a table.

• Group by splits the timeline into one group per value of a field, such as one per team or per milestone. You cannot group by title, labels, reviewers or linked pull requests.
• Slice by adds a side panel listing a field's values. Clicking a value narrows the roadmap to it, on top of the view's filter. You cannot slice by title, reviewers or linked pull requests.
• Sort orders items within each group, with an optional secondary sort.
• Field sum adds the total of a number field, such as an estimate, to each group's header once the view is grouped.

A useful quarter plan is a roadmap grouped by team, zoomed to Quarter, with milestone markers on and a field sum of your estimate field in each lane header.

What can't the GitHub roadmap do?

It covers one project, draws bars, and stops there. The limits worth knowing before you plan around it:

• One project at a time. A roadmap is a layout of one view in one project. Aggregating several projects into one organisation timeline is the most-upvoted ask in GitHub's community discussions (#157993) and has not shipped.
• No dependency lines. Sub-issues and blocked-by links live on the issues, but the roadmap draws neither. Gantt-style dependency views are a separate long-running request (#6803).
• Items without dates are invisible. There is no default date, so an unscheduled item has no bar until someone sets its fields.
• Some fields can't group or slice. Labels, reviewers and linked pull requests can't group a roadmap. Title, reviewers and linked pull requests can't slice it.

Try Gitsu's roadmap on the same project if you want blocked-by arrows, sub-issue progress and grouping by parent issue alongside keyboard controls and nested filters. The next section describes its shipped behavior. For requirements beyond one project, compare dedicated planning tools separately. Zenhub's pricing page, checked on 7 October 2026, lists Free and paid plans and includes real-time roadmaps and sprint reports in its comparison. Verify dependency and multi-project behavior before choosing any tool for those jobs.

Does Gitsu have a roadmap view?

Yes. Gitsu has a Roadmap layout next to its list and board, one project at a time. Press G R, or pick Roadmap from the layout switcher. It reads the same start and target date or iteration fields GitHub's roadmap uses, but it keeps its own layout settings: it does not copy the roadmap views you set up on github.com, and it does not change them.

Per its code, Gitsu's roadmap does this:

• Zoom from day to year. Day, Week, Month, Quarter and Year, with Today, Previous period, Next period and Go to date.
• Drag to reschedule. On date fields, drag a bar to move it or drag its edge to change one date, and click an empty track to set dates for an unscheduled item. Bars drawn from an iteration field do not drag; set the iteration on the item instead.
• Markers. Today, milestones, iterations and custom markers. Custom markers are kept with the project's saved views, so a linked .gitsu.json shares them.
• Dependency arrows and progress. Arrows follow the item's blocked-by links, and a bar can show what share of its sub-issues is done. GitHub's roadmap draws neither.
• Grouping by parent issue. Sub-issues sit under their parent, and the same filter, sort and grouping carry over from the list.
• Saved views. A saved Gitsu view keeps the Roadmap layout.

It still shows one project at a time, like GitHub's. Dated work outside the roadmap has the rest of Gitsu's tools:

• Date filters. Date fields accept >, <, ranges and @today with an offset, so date:@today..@today+14d lists what is due in the next two weeks. Gitsu's offsets need a unit (d, w, m or y).
• Date and iteration sorting. Sorting by a date field orders items by date, and sorting by an iteration orders them by the iteration's start date.
• Boards by iteration or milestone. Choose Columns and pick an iteration or milestone field to get one lane per sprint or release. Iteration lanes run in start-date order and milestone lanes in title order. Lanes appear only for values that at least one card holds.
• A way back to GitHub. The project settings drawer has Open project settings on GitHub, and an item's detail view has Open on GitHub.

The iterations guide covers sprint planning in both tools, and the getting-started guide connects your first project to Gitsu.