GitHub Ships Query-Based Project Import and Hierarchy View Upgrades

Terrill Dicki Feb 19, 2026 20:22

GitHub Projects now supports search query imports and enhanced hierarchy view features including inline sub-issue creation and drag-and-drop reordering.

GitHub rolled out two significant updates to its Projects feature on February 19, expanding how developers can populate and organize their project boards.

The headline addition lets users import items using search queries when creating new projects. Previously, you could only pull items directly from a repository. Now the full filter syntax from the Issues page works here—including AND/OR keywords and nested queries. Want to start a sprint with all open bugs labeled 'critical' across three repos? One query handles it.

This builds on GitHub's steady expansion of Projects functionality. A December 2023 update improved the project creation experience with template searching, while earlier that year the platform added cross-organization item searches using syntax like #org-name/repo-. The query import feature essentially brings that flexibility to the project initialization stage.

Hierarchy View Gets Real

The hierarchy view, which entered public preview in January 2026, received several practical upgrades based on user feedback:

• Sub-issues can now be created and added inline without leaving the project view
• Drag-and-drop support for reordering and reparenting sub-issues
• Sub-issue ordering stays synchronized between the Issues page and Projects

That last point matters more than it sounds. Nothing kills workflow faster than making changes in one view only to find them missing in another.

What's Coming Next

GitHub's roadmap for hierarchy view addresses some obvious gaps. The team plans to eliminate duplicate issues that appear both as standalone items and within a hierarchy—a common annoyance for anyone managing complex projects. They're also working on preserving expand/collapse states between sessions and adding sub-issue filtering so you can show only open items, for instance.

These updates continue GitHub's push to make Projects a serious alternative to dedicated project management tools. The platform has shipped consistent improvements since the October 2024 Universe conference previews, focusing on reducing friction for teams already living in GitHub's ecosystem.

Feedback and feature requests can be submitted through the GitHub Community discussion thread.

• github
• developer tools
• project management
• software development
• productivity