How to re-open an issue in GitHub?

Question

I have reported an issue to a project. Now the owner changed its state to closed. How can I change it to open again?
I read somewhere that I need rights for push and pull operations. Is that true?

Nidus

Answer 1

Github has very simple rights/privileges (and even simpler management for them).

If you are not a collaborator of a repo, then (in regards to issues)

• you can open issues
• you can comment on all existing issues (open or closed)
• you can close your own issues
• you can re-open your own issues if you closed them yourself
• you cannot close or re-open issues opened by someone else
• you cannot re-open your own issues if a repo collaborator closed them

The situation you report falls in the last case, so you cannot reopen it. You can ask in the issue thread if a repo collaborator can reopen it, or you can open a new issue and reference the old one (by mentioning its number preceded by a hash sign, e.g. #123).

Calvillo

Thanks - very helpful! A gitihub link on this would help in case it changes some day. Are there any good recommendations for typical github projects on how to proceed? E.g. I guess that commenting on the closed issue won't typically be noticed as much, depending on exactly what tools people use to track them. Are there circumstances in which commenting on the issue after it is closed won't be noticed even by the person who closed it? E.g. is it common for contributors to unsubscribe from notifications as part of closing a bug, or is the default to continue to receive notifications? – Rules

If you look too the right, there is a list of participants. If none of those does watch the issue (receiving emails about comments), then you have to raise a new issue to get their attention. There is no way you can be sure that they are watching the topic. – Pyrex

What's the rationale for not allowing the person who opened an issue to reopen it? cf: github.com/isaacs/github/issues/583 seems to be a common need to avoid the current workaround (which is to open a duplicate issue, resulting in more noise) – Fireweed

@timotheecour, @ Nevik. True. Creating a new issue just to reopen an old issue is just plain noise. Where's the feature request so we can upvote it? – Rembrandt

@you cannot re-open your own issues if a repo collaborator closed them What the hell, how we re-open issue which is still exist but collaborator closed. – Bibi

@MrNams, I share your frustration, but think about it: it's how it should be. Would you really want people re-opening issues on your repo that you specifically closed because as far as you are concerned it is done and good enough and you aren't going to touch it anymore? I wouldn't. It is as it should be. – Hacking

I find with the new GitHub Android app, there is a reopen button at the bottom, that I didn't find in a browser. E.g., when I look at github.com/gravitystorm/openstreetmap-carto/issues/4163 . – Nonna

There are so many times when someone says and thinks something is fixed when it isn't. The original author of the issue should be able to reopen the issue if it wasn't fixed satisfactorily. – Bathyscaphe

Answer 2

It appears that they prefer that users NOT create duplicate issues. From the GitHub issue template on 9/1/2020 (from the existing bug's page click 'New Issue', 'Get Started'):

Before filing, PLEASE check if the issue already exists (either open or closed) by using the search bar on the issues page. If it does, comment there. Even if it's closed, we can reopen it based on your comment.

Dismount

In my experience, comments on closed issues don’t get responses. Do people get notifications about comments on closed issues? – Somnambulation

@Somnambulation I don't know. It does seem to me that in general people are busy, and may be somewhere between tired of arguing and certain that their position is the only correct choice; if they closed an issue then one might have to provide significant persuasion to get them to reopen it. – Dismount

@Somnambulation I get notifications for comments on closed issues where I am either subscribed to the specific issue or the repository. – Frederickson

Answer 3

Here is how the button will look like:

click on "reopen the issue"

Outlet

I turned this into an answer as you probably meant it to look like. However, I suspect that more will be need. Please edit and try for How to Answer. – Pantsuit