Spec: a pull request moves its ticket

Updated September 24, 2026

Nobody should have to drag a card to say what GitHub already knows. When a pull request names a ticket, the ticket follows the pull request, and its history says the github integration moved it.

How a pull request finds its ticket

A ticket key anywhere in the branch name, the title or the body attaches the pull request to that ticket.

tko-42-trim-handles as a branch, or Fixes TKO-42 in the body, both attach to TKO-42.
One pull request can name several tickets; each gets the card.
A key in backticks or a code block is a mention, not a link: `ANT-7` attaches nothing.

What each state does

Pull request	Ticket
Opened as a draft	In progress
Opened, or marked ready	In review
Merged, with `Fixes KEY`	Done
Merged, key only mentioned	Stays where it is
Closed without merging	Only the card changes

Note: A move never goes backwards over a person. If you moved the ticket after the pull request last did, an older event from GitHub leaves it where you put it.

What the card shows

Repository, number, title, author and state, kept live by the webhook. A merged pull request draws a different glyph, not the same one in another colour, so the state reads without colour.

Out of scope

Writing back to GitHub: no comments, no labels, no closing issues.
Two-way sync with GitHub Issues. Open issues import once, each keeping a link back.