🚀 Repository admins can now restrict issue creation to collaborators only

[moraesc]

In February, we released the ability to restrict pull request creation to collaborators only. Today, we're bringing the same control to issues.

Repository admins and maintainers can now limit who can open issues in their repository. With the new Restrict issue creation to collaborators only setting, only people with write access can create issues, giving you more control over your issue workflow and helping reduce unwanted noise.

What this means

When this setting is enabled, anyone without write access will no longer be able to create issues from anywhere in the repository experience, including:

• Issues tab
• Comments
• Discussions
• Projects
• Copilot

How to enable it

1. Go to your repository Settings.
2. Under Features, make sure the Issues checkbox is enabled.
3. Under Issues, select Restrict issue creation to collaborators only.

Part of a broader effort

This is part of our ongoing work to give maintainers more tools for managing contribution volume and protecting their time:

Recent releases in this space:

• February 2026 - Restrict pull request creation to collaborators only
• June 2026 - Pull request limits — cap how many open PRs a non-collaborator can have at once

We'd love to hear how you're using this! Let us know in the comments below. 👇

[KeshavCracks]

This is a fantastic update for open-source maintainers overwhelmed by low-effort or spam issues. Paired with the recent open PR caps, it provides a powerful defense against repository noise while protecting valuable maintainer time. It would be amazing to see a future iteration where this restriction could be scheduled automatically for temporary maintenance windows!

[air3ijai]

It could be useful to add an option at User/Org level, to set default values for new repositories, for both options

• Issues
• Pull requests

[gbakeman]

Similar feature request in #198113, but requesting more granularity.

[abasmaitum-maker]

198113