GitHub Project without a repository shows only drafts

[Zerotask]

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I'd like to use a GitHub Project solely for project management. If I create an item inside a column, it's flagged as Draft. As far as I know, this Draft status will be removed, if I convert it to an issue, which means it has to be connected to a repository.
Is there any option to have the "Draft" removed without being connected to a repository?

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• I have read the above statement and can confirm my post is relevant to the GitHub feature areas Issues and/or Projects.

[queenofcorgis]

Hey @Zerotask - thanks for being so active in the community, we appreciate all the feedback you've left and hope you keep it coming ✨ There is not an option to have the "Draft" removed without it being connected to a repository. A workaround would be to create an empty repository that is only used for those Issues which may not be what you're looking for.

[krishnaff]

Adding an extra dummy repo just to get rid of this draft label is lame.
Draft confuses people to no end. Why can't tasks remain as tasks and be a part of the issue lifecycle ?

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[andycochran]

I'm seeing folx with similar confusion on a project. It seems this is a problem with the semantics of the UI content string. The word "draft" implies a lot about the state of the item's content, yet does not clearly communicate what's meant — which I assume is "item not yet converted to an Issue in a connected repository." Adding to the confusion is the implication that all draft Project items will eventually be converted to Issues.

A couple UI solutions come to mind:

• For Projects without connected repos, "draft" has no function. Perhaps "draft" only displays when a Project has connected repos. Then folx would be able to use Projects without a repo or the confusing semantics. This is likely not an intended use of Projects.
• Change the UI string "draft" to something more accurate — e.g. "Not an Issue" or "Unconnected" or "Unconverted" or… make it configurable in the project settings?

[andycochran]

The main concern with not converting a draft item to an Issue in a repo is conversation. You cannot comment/reply without an Issue, as that's where conversation is stored.

[AlexisLust]

I guess for people that don't work with a mono repo, it will keep being a problem. For my development team an issue can span multiple repositories, but still have to be added to as an issue to a repository to not be a draft. To create an issue for each repository is not a good idea for us.

[mjovanc]

Agree!

[blaberry]

I think this hints at a behind-the-scenes larger scoped question; why would issues need to be connected to a repository in the first place? The implementation detail that you can close an issue once a PR in some repo is finished should not hold any sway over whether an issue has to be in a repo, right? That's just a piece of automation that doesn't always happen and that doesn't need to have this issue<->repo mapping to work? Indeed, having issues not live inside of a repo would fix

1. Draft issues not being able to be converted without having a repo attached for project management
2. Issues not being able to track PRs in multiple repos
3. Not being able to set milestones without first creating a repo (have milestones either be a freestanding item or make milestones part of the "projects" abstraction!)
   Just my 2c :)

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