Users can now choose whether merging linked pull requests automatically closes the issue

Linking a pull request to an issue makes it easy for collaborators to see that work for the issue is underway. Today, when a linked pull request is merged, the associated issue is automatically closed.

But for many teams, merging a PR doesn’t mean the work is done. There might be QA, validation, or follow-up steps before an issue is truly resolved. With this new repository setting, you can choose whether merging a pull request should automatically close its linked issues.

Repository admins and maintainers can manage this setting under Repository settings → General → Issues. It’s enabled by default to preserve existing behavior.

For questions and feedback, join the discussion in GitHub Community.