GitHub Issues

Groupthink has three GitHub features. GitHub Issues files meeting action items as GitHub issues (free, uses the Groupthink GitHub App). GitHub repo sync commits your meetings and captures to a repo you own as Markdown files (Pro, uses your GitHub connection or a personal access token). GitHub activity signal reads your GitHub activity to keep relationships current. This page is about GitHub Issues.

Overview

Connect Groupthink to GitHub and you can turn meeting action items into real GitHub issues without leaving the app. After a meeting, Groupthink pulls out the action items. When you route one to the GitHub issue destination, Groupthink files an issue in the repository you picked, with the action item text as the title. Each issue links back to its meeting when the meeting has an agenda.

Connecting GitHub happens in two parts. First you add the GitHub connection from the Connections tab and install the Groupthink GitHub App. After that, you set which repository new issues should go to.

This page is about filing action items as GitHub issues. If you want Groupthink to commit your meetings and captures to a repo you own as Markdown files, that is a separate Pro feature with its own connection. See GitHub repo sync.

This page covers the outbound direction, where Groupthink files issues in GitHub for you. There is also an inbound direction on the same connection: Groupthink can read who you build with on GitHub and file that collaboration onto their relationship records. It is off by default and has its own switch. See Use GitHub Activity as Relationship Signal.

How it works

Every confirmed action item starts out unrouted. You decide where each one goes using the Route control on the action item, which you will find in a meeting recap and in your action items view. The destinations are Watch, GitHub issue, Linear, Private, and Drop.

Below those, under Hand to your assistant, the menu has one more choice: ChatGPT. Clicking it opens chatgpt.com in a new browser tab with a prompt built from the action item. The prompt holds the item's text, plus the person, the project, the meeting or the date it was captured, and the due date when the item has them. It asks for a draft for you to review. That text goes to ChatGPT, which is a service outside Groupthink. The action item itself does not change. It stays unrouted in your list, so you can still route it or check it off.

An item your connected AI assistant took on shows Your assistant instead of a route. That is not a choice in the menu; see Items handed to your assistant.

Softly phrased commitments arrive as Suggested cards rather than confirmed items, and a suggestion has no Route control until you accept it. Accept it first and it joins the list above with the full set of controls. See Action Items for the difference between the two.

When you choose GitHub issue, Groupthink creates an issue in your configured repository in the background. While it does, the action item reads Creating…. Once the issue exists, the action item's label names the issue, such as acme/backend #123, and clicking it opens the issue in GitHub. The same Route control sends items to Linear if you connect Linear instead; there the label is the Linear issue key, such as ENG-42.

Heads up: GitHub App installation is required

The GitHub connection uses a GitHub App, not just a personal login. To complete the connection you need to install the Groupthink GitHub App on the GitHub account whose repositories you want to use, and grant it access to those repositories. That can be your personal account or an organization. Installing a GitHub App on an organization generally requires that you are an owner of that organization, or that an owner approves the installation.

This is not a separate paid add-on. Routing action items to GitHub is not gated behind a subscription.

Getting Started

Step 1: Connect GitHub

1. Click your name at the bottom of the left sidebar to open the user menu, then click User settings.
2. Open the Connections tab.
3. In the Action item sync section, find the GitHub Issues row and click Connect. You go straight to GitHub.
4. Sign in to GitHub if you are not already signed in, then authorize Groupthink and install the GitHub App on the account you want (your personal account or an organization), choosing which repositories it can access.
5. After you approve, GitHub returns you to the Connections tab, where the GitHub connection now shows as Connected.

Step 2: Choose the repository for new issues

Issues are filed in the repository you configure on the connection. Until you set one, the GitHub issue choice in the Route menu does not route the item. It shows a prompt to connect, and clicking it opens User settings > Connections.

1. In User settings > Connections, find the GitHub connection in the Action item sync section and click Manage.
2. In the Issue sync repository field, enter the repository in owner/repo form, for example acme/backend.
3. Save the connection.

Routing an action item to GitHub

1. Open a meeting recap, or open your action items view, and find the action item you want to send to GitHub.
2. Click Route on that action item.
3. Choose GitHub issue from the menu.

Groupthink creates the issue in your configured repository. The action item reads Creating… until it is done. Then its label changes to the repository and issue number, for example acme/backend #123, and the whole label is the link to the issue in GitHub. If Groupthink could not create the issue, the item reads Failed, gives the reason in a sentence, and offers Retry. See If the issue isn't created. If you change your mind, you can clear the routing on the action item to send it back to needs-triage.

An action item routed to GitHub before Groupthink started showing Failed and Retry keeps the older look, a link next to the GitHub issue label, until you route it again.

If the issue isn't created

When an issue can't be created, the action item reads Failed and says why. Fix the cause, then click Retry to try again. The reasons are:

• GitHub isn't connected. Connect it under User settings > Connections.
• No repository is chosen for new issues. Set the Issue sync repository on your GitHub connection.
• Groupthink couldn't tell who sent the item. Route it to GitHub again.
• The connection was turned down. Reconnect GitHub under User settings > Connections.
• The repository can't be reached. Check that the repository on your GitHub connection still exists and that the Groupthink GitHub App can access it.
• Something else went wrong, such as a GitHub outage. Retry in a few minutes.

Linear works the same way, with the Linear team in place of the repository.

What the GitHub issue looks like

The issue Groupthink creates uses the action item text as its title. The issue has the action item, who owes it, and a link back to the meeting. The GitHub issue includes the due date when there is one. It does not include what was said in the meeting. You can edit the issue, add assignees and labels, and work it like any other GitHub issue.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the GitHub integration a paid feature?

No. Unlike Slack notifications, routing action items to GitHub is not behind a subscription. You do need to connect GitHub and install the Groupthink GitHub App first.

I routed an item to GitHub but no issue appeared. What should I check?

Two settings are required. First, confirm GitHub shows as Connected under User settings > Connections. Second, click Manage on that connection and confirm the Issue sync repository field is set to a real owner/repo value that the GitHub App can access. The issue is created in the background, so it can take a moment to appear. If the connection or repository is missing, the GitHub issue choice in the Route menu opens User settings > Connections instead of routing the item.

Where do I set which repository issues go to?

On the GitHub connection itself. Open User settings > Connections, click Manage on the GitHub connection, and set the Issue sync repository field to owner/repo. This is not set per meeting; all GitHub-routed action items go to that repository.

Can I send action items to Linear instead?

Yes. The same Route control offers a Linear destination. In User settings > Connections, find the Linear row in the Action item sync section and click Connect. Unlike GitHub, this opens a Groupthink connect page first rather than going straight to Linear. Once Linear shows as Connected, click Manage on it and set the Issue sync team field.

Why does the GitHub connection ask to install an app?

Groupthink files issues through a GitHub App so it only has access to the repositories you grant. Installing the app on your GitHub account (your personal account or an organization) is what gives Groupthink permission to create issues there. Installing on an organization usually requires owner permission or owner approval.

Getting Help

Questions about connecting GitHub or syncing action items to issues? Email support@groupthink.com