TL;DR
The Ghostty repository does not allow users to open Issues directly; contributors are asked to start a GitHub Discussion. Maintainers will convert Discussions into Issues only when a clear, actionable, and reproducible problem is identified.
What happened
On the Ghostty project, maintainers have restricted direct creation of Issues by outside contributors and posted a policy explaining the workflow. The repository directs users to open a GitHub Discussion first rather than using the issue tracker for initial reports or feature ideas. According to the maintainers, Discussions serve to surface misunderstandings, environment-specific problems, and underspecified feature requests; when a thread reaches a point where a concrete, reproducible task is identified, a maintainer will move it into the issue tracker. The guidance is said to reflect several years of maintainer experience and cites a high proportion of initial reports that turn out not to be bugs. The repository issue describing this practice was labeled documentation, pinned, and its comments were locked and limited to collaborators. The project points users to its CONTRIBUTING.md for more details.
Why it matters
- Helps maintainers keep the issue tracker focused on tasks that are ready to work on
- Reduces time spent triaging reports that are misunderstandings or environment/configuration issues
- Encourages clearer, better-specified requests before they become tracked issues
- Directs community discussion to a place intended for back-and-forth (GitHub Discussions) rather than the issue list
Key facts
- The repository does not permit users to create Issues directly; Discussions are required first.
- Maintainers will convert a Discussion into an Issue when it clearly identifies a problem that can be confirmed or reproduced.
- The policy is based on years of experience maintaining open source projects.
- Maintainers estimate that roughly 80–90% of what users report as bugs are misunderstandings, environment issues, or configuration errors.
- A large share of remaining reports are feature requests rather than actual bugs, and many requests are underspecified.
- The guidance aims to ensure issues in the tracker are actionable and ready for contributors to work on.
- The issue announcing this policy was labeled documentation, pinned in the repo, and its discussion was locked and limited to collaborators.
- The project refers users to its CONTRIBUTING.md for further procedural details.
What to watch next
- Monitor GitHub Discussions in the Ghostty repository for threads that may be converted into Issues.
- Review the repository's CONTRIBUTING.md for the specific steps and expectations for filing Discussions and Issues.
- Whether the project changes this policy in the future is not confirmed in the source.
Quick glossary
- GitHub Discussions: A GitHub space for threaded, community-oriented conversation where users can ask questions and propose ideas before formal tracking.
- Issue tracker: A repository feature used to record actionable bugs, tasks, or feature work that contributors and maintainers can assign and resolve.
- Maintainer: A person or team responsible for reviewing contributions, triaging reports, and deciding what gets into the project's issue tracker.
- Feature request: A proposal to add new functionality or change existing behavior, often requiring specification before work can begin.
Reader FAQ
Can I open an Issue directly in Ghostty?
No — the repository asks users to start with a GitHub Discussion rather than opening an Issue directly.
What should I do if I think I've found a bug?
Open a Discussion describing the problem; if a maintainer can confirm and reproduce it, they will convert the Discussion into an Issue.
Why does the project require Discussions first?
Maintainers say this workflow reduces time spent on reports that are misunderstandings or environment/configuration problems and helps surface well-specified, actionable items.
Where can I find more details on the process?
See the project's CONTRIBUTING.md for additional information.
ghostty-org / ghostty Public Notifications Fork 1.4k Star 40.5k Code Issues 135 Pull requests 59 Discussions Actions Why users cannot create Issues directly #3558 New issue Open Meta Description mitchellh opened…
Sources
- Why users cannot create Issues directly (Ghostty)
- Project Sustainability, Helping Contributors and Upstreams …
- Ghostty is now non-profit
- Issues · ghostty-org/ghostty
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