# GitHub Projects across multiple repos Author: Sahil Dave Canonical: https://gitsu.app/guides/multi-repo-github-project-board Published: 2026-10-24 Updated: 2026-10-24 Last checked: 2026-10-24 > **TL;DR** To manage issues from many GitHub repositories on one board, create a GitHub Projects v2 project and add issues from each repository; a project can hold items from any organization, up to 50,000 including the archive. Gitsu is a client for that same project: open it, narrow it with repo:OWNER/REPO or the Repository filter, and bulk edit rows from different repositories in one selection. It loads up to 2,000 items per project, so check the loading notice on a large board. One board can hold issues from many GitHub repositories, because a GitHub Project belongs to a user or an organization rather than to a repository. You add issues from each repository, filter by repo when you want one slice, and keep the single board for the cross-repo view. Gitsu is a client for the same project: it opens the board you already have and adds a dense list, nested filters and bulk edits. This guide teaches the setup in GitHub's own interface first, then shows what Gitsu adds for a board that spans repositories and where it stops. ## Can one GitHub Project hold issues from multiple repositories? Yes. GitHub's documentation says you can add issues and pull requests to a project from any organization, and a project holds a maximum of 50,000 items across its active views and archive. So the single-board answer needs no workaround. Create the project at the organization level if the repositories share an owner, or at your user level if they are yours. The repositories keep their own issue numbers, labels and milestones; the project adds its own fields on top, such as Status and Priority, which apply across all of them. That split matters later. Project fields are shared by every item on the board. Labels, milestones and issue state belong to the repository an issue lives in. Keep the two apart in your head and most multi-repo surprises disappear. ## How do I add issues from several repos to one board? Add them by hand, in bulk from a repository's issue list, or automatically with a workflow. 1. To add one issue, paste its URL into the bottom row of the table and press Return. 2. To search for one, type `#` in the bottom row, pick the repository the issue lives in, then pick the issue. 3. To add several from one repository, click **Add item** at the bottom of the project, choose **Add item from repository**, select the issues or pull requests and click **Add selected items**. 4. You can also open a repository's **Issues** tab, select the rows and use **Projects** above the list to add them. To stop adding by hand, use the **Auto-add to project** workflow. Its filter names one repository and criteria such as `is:issue is:open` or `label:bug`. You can duplicate the workflow so each copy targets a different repository. GitHub caps how many you get by plan: 1 on Free, 5 on Pro and Team, 20 on Enterprise. A board that spans twelve repositories on a Team plan therefore cannot auto-add from every one; the rest are added by hand or in bulk. An auto-add workflow adds items when they are created or updated and match the filter. Existing matching items are not added when you turn it on, so run a bulk add once for the backlog. The [board automation guide](/guides/github-project-board-automation) covers the other built-in workflows. ## How do I see just one repository on a shared board? Filter by repository. In GitHub, type `repo:OWNER/REPO` in the filter bar; the qualifier shows items from that repository. You can combine it, for example `no:label no:assignee repo:octocat/game` for an untriaged queue of one repository. GitHub also lets you group the table by field values, with a short list of exceptions: title, labels, reviewers and linked pull requests. For a per-repository view, save one view per repository with the `repo:` filter. Gitsu reads the same data. Type `repo:OWNER/REPO` in its filter bar, or open the Repository filter, which lists the repositories present in the loaded rows with a count for each. The [filter syntax guide](/guides/github-projects-filter-syntax) lists the qualifiers and how nested AND/OR groups combine them. One limit: Gitsu's list groups by Status, Priority, Assignees, Labels, Milestone, State or Parent issue. It does not group by repository. If you want repository swim lanes, filter one repository at a time in Gitsu, or group in GitHub's table. ## How do I bulk edit issues that live in different repositories? Select the rows and change a project field; for labels and milestones, remember they belong to a repository. A project field such as Status or Priority is a property of the project card, so one value applies to rows from any repository. Select the rows, choose the value, done. Labels are different. Two repositories that each define a `bug` label define two different labels. Writing the wrong repository's label id fails upstream. Gitsu's source handles this explicitly. Its label and milestone pickers read a catalogue that is a union across the project's repositories, with each option tagged by the repository that declared it. Before it writes, it narrows the options to the issue's own repository. A filter that only reads names collapses same-named labels into one choice, so `bug` appears once in the filter menu even when five repositories have it. A draft item has no repository at all, so it can take a project field but no label or milestone. The [bulk edit guide](/guides/github-projects-bulk-edit) covers how Gitsu reports rows that refuse a change. ## Which repository does a new issue go into? The one you choose. Gitsu's new-issue dialog has a repository picker, populated from the repositories on the project that you can write to, and it can open on a repository you were already viewing. Changing the repository clears the milestone, labels and assignees you had picked, since those belong to the repository you left. On github.com, the **Create new issue** dialog starts with a repository dropdown for the same reason. ## What are the limits of managing many repos on one board? Three limits are worth knowing before you commit to one giant board. - **Gitsu loads up to 2,000 items per project** and shows one project at a time. It says so when it stops at the cap. GitHub's ceiling is 50,000, so a very large board needs github.com for the full set. - **Auto-add workflows are capped by plan**, as above. Past that count you add by hand or in bulk. - **No grouping by repository in Gitsu's list**, as above. If you cannot decide between one board and one per repository, a practical rule: one board per team or per release, spanning every repository that team touches. Use a filter or saved view for the repository slice. Splitting by repository recreates the problem you set out to solve. ![Gitsu project header with the project switcher and quick filters](/app.webp) ## How do I manage a multi-repo board in Gitsu? Open the project in Gitsu, filter to the repository or repositories you care about, and work the list with the keyboard and bulk toolbar. 1. Open the project from the Project Switcher. 2. Wait for the loading notice to finish before reading the row count as the full board. 3. Type `repo:OWNER/REPO`, or open the Repository filter and pick one or more repositories. 4. Select the rows and set Status or Priority once for all of them. 5. Press `C` to open the new-issue dialog, pick the repository and file the issue. The web board is free; the macOS app, agents and MCP need a paid Seat. See [pricing](/pricing) for the current amounts. Your teammates can stay on github.com, since both clients edit the same project. The [GitHub Projects comparison](/compare/github-projects) lists where the native interface still does more. ## How we checked How Gitsu handles a project that spans repositories, read from its source: labels and milestones are per repository so a write narrows to the issue's own repository, the Repository filter is built from the loaded rows, and the list cannot group by repository. Public references: - https://docs.github.com/en/issues/planning-and-tracking-with-projects/managing-items-in-your-project/adding-items-to-your-project - https://docs.github.com/en/issues/planning-and-tracking-with-projects/automating-your-project/adding-items-automatically - https://docs.github.com/en/issues/planning-and-tracking-with-projects/customizing-views-in-your-project/filtering-projects - https://docs.github.com/en/issues/planning-and-tracking-with-projects/customizing-views-in-your-project/customizing-the-table-layout ## Frequently asked questions ### Can one GitHub Project hold issues from multiple repositories? Yes. GitHub says you can add issues and pull requests to a project from any organization, up to 50,000 items counting the archive. The project belongs to a user or an organization, not to a repository. ### How do I see only one repository on a shared board? Filter with repo:OWNER/REPO in GitHub, or in Gitsu type the same qualifier or pick the Repository filter, which lists each repository in the loaded rows with its item count. ### Does Gitsu show every issue on a very large multi-repo board? Not always. Gitsu loads up to 2,000 items per project and reports when it stops at that limit, so a board near GitHub's 50,000-item ceiling needs github.com for the full set. ### Can I add a label to issues from different repositories at once? Yes, but a label belongs to one repository. Two repositories that both have a "bug" label have two different labels, and Gitsu writes the label id that belongs to each issue's own repository. ### Can Gitsu group a board by repository? No. Gitsu groups a list by Status, Priority, Assignees, Labels, Milestone, State or Parent issue, not by Repository. Filter by repository instead, or group in GitHub's table. ## Related resources - [GitHub project board automation: workflows & Actions](https://gitsu.app/guides/github-project-board-automation) - [GitHub Projects bulk edit: status and labels](https://gitsu.app/guides/github-projects-bulk-edit) - [GitHub Projects filter syntax: tested examples](https://gitsu.app/guides/github-projects-filter-syntax) - [GitHub Projects client: Gitsu vs GitHub's own UI](https://gitsu.app/compare/github-projects) - [Gitsu features for daily GitHub board work](https://gitsu.app/features/current-capabilities)