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Issues are the fundamental unit of work in Vibe Kanban. They represent a bug, feature, or piece of work to be done — and they become the prompt your coding agent receives when you create a workspace. This guide walks you through the full issue lifecycle.

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1. Create your first issue

You can create an issue from the + button on any column header, or from the New Issue button in the filter bar.
Kanban board showing the New Issue button in the header and the plus button on a column
Use the Team and Personal tabs to switch between all project issues and only those assigned to you.
Filter bar showing the Team and Personal tabs
Give your issue a clear, specific title that describes the outcome you want. The issue panel opens on the right where you can fill in the details.
New issue panel with title field and description editor

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2. Write an effective description

The description is where you provide context for your coding agent. Use the rich text editor to format your instructions with bold, italic, lists, and inline code. You can also use markdown shortcuts for headings (#) and links ([text](url)).
Issue description editor with formatted text including headings and code blocks
A good description makes the difference between an agent that delivers exactly what you need and one that goes off track.
ElementWeak exampleStrong example
Title”Fix bug""Fix login timeout on slow connections”
Description”It’s broken""Users on 3G see a timeout after 5 s. Expected: graceful retry with exponential backoff.”
Your issue description becomes the prompt your coding agent receives. The more specific you are, the better the result.

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3. Set priority, assignee, and tags

Use priority to signal urgency, assign the issue to a team member, and add tags to categorise your work.
Issue panel showing the priority dropdown and tags selector
PriorityWhen to use
UrgentProduction is down or users are blocked
HighImportant work that should be picked up next
MediumStandard work in the current sprint
LowNice-to-have improvements or future ideas
Tags are project-specific. You can manage them from the tag selector when editing an issue.

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4. Manage issues on the kanban board

Drag and drop issues between columns to change their status, or within a column to reorder them.
Kanban board showing issues being dragged between columns
ColumnWhat it means
To doWork that hasn’t started yet
In progressAn agent or person is actively working on this
In reviewWork is done and waiting for your review
DoneCompleted and verified
The Backlog and Cancelled columns are hidden by default — switch to the All tab to see them.
All tab selected showing Backlog and Cancelled statuses alongside the default columns
To reorder issues within a column, make sure sorting is set to Manual. Other sort modes (Priority, Created, Updated) override manual ordering.

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5. Break work down with sub-issues

Large features are easier to manage when you break them into smaller, agent-sized tasks. Sub-issues let you create parent/child relationships between issues. To add a sub-issue, open the parent issue and scroll to the Sub-Issues section. You have two options: click the + button to create a new sub-issue, or click the link button to connect an existing issue as a child.
Sub-issues section showing child issues with mixed statuses
Key rules for sub-issues:
  • Each sub-issue has its own independent status — completing all children does not auto-complete the parent
  • Sub-issues show a Parent link so you can navigate back to the parent issue

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6. Connect issues to workspaces

A workspace is where your coding agent does the actual work. Open an issue and scroll to the Workspaces section. You have two options: click the + button to create a new workspace, or click the link button to connect an existing one.
Issue panel showing the Workspaces section with Create and link buttons
You can connect multiple workspaces to a single issue — useful for running agents in parallel on different parts of the same feature.

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Troubleshooting

  • Check your active filters — click Clear All to reset them
  • The issue might be in Backlog or Cancelled — switch to the All tab to see hidden statuses
Sort mode must be set to Manual. If sorting is set to Priority, Created, or another mode, drag-to-reorder is disabled. Change the sort option in the board header.
Changes auto-save after a brief delay. Check your internet connection if changes aren’t persisting, and try refreshing the page.

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Next steps

Filtering & Sorting

Find issues quickly with search, filters, and sorting

Kanban Board

Learn more about the board layout and collaboration

Workspaces

Understand how workspaces connect to issues