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lessons/patterns/use-fixes-n-keyword-for-automatic-issue-closing-in-prs

Leo Miranda edited this page 2026-01-29 01:49:24 +00:00

Table of Contents

• Context
• Problem
• 1. Auto-close only works on DEFAULT branch merges
• 2. Wrong keyword format
• Solution
• Prevention
• Related

Context

• Created PR #291 with "Fixes #287" and PR #292 with "Partial fix for #290"
• Both PRs merged to development branch
• Neither issue was auto-closed by Gitea

Problem

Two root causes identified:

1. Auto-close only works on DEFAULT branch merges

Gitea only auto-closes issues when PRs are merged to the default branch (usually main).

• Repository default branch: main
• PRs were merged to: development
• Result: Even with correct "Fixes #287" keyword, no auto-close

2. Wrong keyword format

Gitea only recognizes specific keywords:

• Fixes #N
• Closes #N
• Resolves #N

Using "Partial fix for #290" does NOT trigger auto-close.

Solution

For this repository's workflow (feature → development → main):

Option A: Manually close issues after merging to development Option B: Include "Fixes #N" in the development→main PR body Option C: Change repository default branch to development (not recommended)

For keyword format:

• Always use Fixes #N format (not "Partial fix", "Related to", etc.)
• If partial fix, either:
  • Use Fixes #N anyway and create follow-up issues for remaining work
  • Manually close the issue after merge

Prevention

When creating PRs:

1. Use Fixes #N format for issue linking
2. Remember: auto-close only triggers on merges to DEFAULT branch
3. For development branch merges, plan to manually close issues
4. Or include the fix reference in your development→main PR

Related

• Issue: #287, fix(projman): Version advisor not triggering during releases (#290)
• PR: #291, feat(projman): add SessionStart version sync check (#292)

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Tags: gitea, pr, issue-linking, workflow, auto-close, default-branch