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Manage issue progress using States

Managing issues effectively is at the heart of every project, and Plane provides a robust system for organizing them into states that represent the stages of an issue's lifecycle. As issues transition through these states—from backlog to completion—they reflect the progression of work in your project, forming a clear and efficient workflow for your team.

State groups​

Issue states

Plane organizes issue states into five primary groups, each serving a distinct purpose in your project’s workflow:

  • Backlog
    Use this group for issues that aren’t ready to be prioritized yet. They might need more discussions or preparation before moving forward. By default, Plane creates a state called Backlog in this group.

  • Unstarted
    This group represents issues that are planned but not yet in progress. They’re essentially your team’s to-do list. The default state in this group is Todo.

  • Started
    Issues in this group are actively being worked on. They represent ongoing tasks and are crucial for tracking current progress. Plane creates a default state called In Progress here.

  • Completed
    These states are for issues that your team has successfully finished. By default, Plane includes a Done state in this group.

  • Cancelled: Use this group for issues that are no longer relevant or actionable. Plane provides a default state called Cancelled for this purpose.

Customize states​

You can customize each state group to match your project's workflow by adding, editing, or removing states.

Navigate to the States tab under Project > Settings.

Modify states

Add state​

  1. Click the "+" button next to the group where you want the new state.
  2. Rearrange states within the group to reflect your preferred workflow.

You can also designate a state as the default for the project. New issues without an assigned state will automatically fall into this default state.

Edit state​

  1. Hover over the state you want to edit.
  2. Click the pencil icon and change the name and description.
  3. Click Update to save changes.

Delete state​

Before removing a state, ensure no issues are currently assigned to it. Once it's clear, you can delete the state by clicking the x icon on the state.