Improved search for GitHub Issues in public preview
Source: GitHub Changelog
What’s new
Search for issues using natural language like “authentication failing on mobile” or “funny timeline behavior”, and GitHub returns conceptually similar results, even if the issue titles or descriptions use completely different wording. The more descriptive your query, the better your results.
Our prerelease testing has found that this is a significant improvement for users. Overall, results are 39% better with semantic search compared to traditional search.
How it works
Semantic search activates when you describe what you’re looking for in natural language. To make best use of this, results are now automatically ordered by “Best match” to surface the most relevant issues first.
For searches that need exact matching (e.g., queries with quotation marks) GitHub uses the traditional, lexical search engine to give you the precision you need.
During public preview, you can opt out using the feature preview dialog.
How to try it
- Go to any repository’s Issues tab.
- Enter a natural‑language query in the search box.
We’d love to hear what you think. Share your experience in our community discussion post.
Additional improvements to issues and projects
- Fixed a bug causing slow performance when searching for labels on Edge and Safari.
- Resolved a Safari‑based scrolling bug impacting GitHub Issues for smoother scroll behavior.
- Milestone ordering now works consistently for both open and closed issues.