To get started, head over to the “Project Settings > Integrations” page for the project you want to connect with GitHub.

The integration page found in your project settings.
1 From the integration pages you can find your token and subdomain to link your project with GitHub.
The service hooks page can be found in your repository settings.
2 Here you can add the token and subdomain you found on the integrations page

Next, go to your GitHub repository and visit the “Settings > Service Hooks” page for your repository. Scroll down and choose Sifter. (You’ll likely have to manually scroll back to the top for the next step after choosing Sifter.) From there you add your subdomain and token to the relevant fields and save your changes.

A Sifter account that is not linked with GitHub.
3 What your Sifter profile page will look like before being linked with GitHub.

Now your project is connected to your GitHub repository, but we’re not done yet. Each user, including you, will have to make sure your Sifter user profile is linked with your GitHub profile. You can do this by going to your Sifter profile page, and choosing “Link My GitHub Account” from the side bar. You’ll be redirected to GitHub and asked to authorize Sifter to access your account. Remember, each individual user will need to complete this process before they’ll be able to update issues via GitHub commits.

Once your profiles are linked, you’re all set. Just add a message like “Resolves #5”, “Fixes #5” (equivalent to resolving) or “Closes #5”, and we’ll automatically update the issue once you push your commits. You can even just mention an issue number if you want to comment but don’t want to update the issue’s status. Sifter’s also pretty flexible and will gladly accept alternate forms of the status commands like “Resolve”, “Resolved”, “Close”, “Closed”, “Fix”, “Fixed”.

Closing an issue from a commit.
4 Closing an issue from a GitHub commit is as easy as that.
Comment with a link back to the commit.
5 Comments will link back to the commit that closed the issue.

Last but not least, when you update an issue through GitHub we’ll add a reference link from within Sifter back to the code that fixed the issue. This lets you quickly dive into GitHub to see the related code.

Of course, if you have any problems, questions, or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out. And, if GitHub isn’t your thing, don’t forget that we also integrate nicely with Beanstalk.

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