How to create new label from the UI

[tidyui]

🏷️ Discussion Type

Question

Body

How on earth do you create a new repository Label in the new web UI? The "Labels" button has moved from the top of the issues list to the left side menu, but clicking there only shows me the existing labels without a button to create a new one?

[tidyui]

If managed to find a "workaround". If you search for a label name that doesn't exist, the UI shows you the "There are no labels in this repository" message together with the "New label" button. Not pretty, but it was a workaround

[RizgarOzan]

The search trick doesn't always work. In #208954 someone got the "New label" button for the first missing label but not for the next one. Until the button is back, you can create labels from the CLI:

gh label create "needs-triage" --color FBCA04 --description "Not looked at yet" -R OWNER/REPO

or through the REST API (color is required, hex without the #):

gh api repos/OWNER/REPO/labels -f name="needs-triage" -f color=FBCA04

You need write access to the repo; triage can only apply existing labels.

Docs: https://cli.github.com/manual/gh_label_create · https://docs.github.com/en/rest/issues/labels#create-a-label

[kurupdevs]

One more route that doesn't need the CLI: the labels management page still exists, you just have to reach it directly. Open https://github.com/OWNER/REPO/labels (swap in your owner and repo). The "New label" button is on that page, and you can edit or delete existing labels there too.

If the button isn't there for you, check your permission level on the repository. Creating labels requires write access; with read or triage you can only apply existing labels, and the button simply won't render. That also explains why the button appears inconsistently in the new UI — it's only shown to people who actually have permission to create labels, not to every viewer.

So: if you have write access and go to /labels directly, you should be able to create labels without the search trick or gh.

[Ashlxxy]

Open the repository’s label-management page directly:
https://github.com/OWNER/REPOSITORY/labels
The New label button should appear beside the search field. Creating labels requires write access. If the button appears only after an empty search, that is a UI regression, not intended behavior; your workaround is valid. GitHub documentation

[CRC32EX]

The button came back today in my environment.

[tidyui]

The same thing for me. Closing this as resolved.