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Settings and Options

You reach almost all Git-Zen settings with the Settings button on the Git-Zen menu bar.

The Settings button on the Git-Zen menu bar

Click Settings, make your changes, then click Save Changes. To leave without saving, click Cancel.

Git-Zen stores one set of settings for each Zendesk account. If you install Git-Zen for more than one platform, for example GitHub and Linear, the apps share these settings.

The settings screen has these parts, from top to bottom:

Two settings live on other screens:

  • Tag/Label Sync has its own button on the menu bar.
  • Webhooks and the OAuth user have their own button on the menu bar.

Full version only.

Turn on Add hyperlink to add a link back to the Zendesk ticket in each issue or work item that Git-Zen creates or links.

The Zendesk hyperlink in a linked issue

In Azure DevOps, the link goes into the “Links” section of the work item. In Jira, Git-Zen adds a line such as (related to Zendesk ticket #12345) to the description. On Linear, Git-Zen adds a line to the description: (created from Zendesk ticket #12345) on a new issue, or (related to Zendesk ticket #12345) on a linked issue. The ticket number is a link to the ticket.

Full version only.

  • Use large size: Git-Zen uses a “medium” size in the sidebar by default. This lets you see other Zendesk apps at the same time. Turn this on to show Git-Zen larger.
  • Use dark mode: Shows Git-Zen in a dark color theme.
The app size setting

Full version only.

You control which parts of Git-Zen your agents can use. For example, you can stop agents from creating new issues and let them link only to existing issues. Or you can hide the list of commits.

Choose which lists appear on the main Git-Zen screen: Commits, Affected files (GitHub and GitLab), and Issues (or Work items). Under Display linked issue, choose which details show under each linked item, such as labels, milestone, project, priority, assignee, target date, and due date. The details you can choose depend on your platform. On Azure DevOps, Target Date has its own check box. It no longer follows the Created Date check box.

The enable sections setting

These settings control what your agents can do.

The enable features setting
  • Comment directly to issues: Shows or hides the comment button next to each linked issue.
  • Allow existing issue label editing: Shows or hides the edit button next to the labels of each linked issue. Available on GitHub, Jira, and Linear. Off by default.
  • Link existing issues: Shows or hides the Link Issue button on the menu bar. Even with this off, you can still link an item with a Git-Zen reference tag.
  • Create new issues: Shows or hides the Create Issue button on the menu bar.

Under Options for new issues:

  • Custom default title and Custom default description: See below.
  • Allow attachments: Lets agents add attachments from the Zendesk ticket to a new issue. Not available on Linear.
  • Include all attachments by default: Selects all ticket attachments when an agent creates a new issue.
  • Embed inline images in issue body: Puts images from the ticket into the issue description, instead of listing them as attachments. This works only when you do not use a custom default description or a custom body format.
  • Include ticket header by default: Checks Include Zendesk Ticket Header on the create form. See Creating and linking issues.
  • Allow creation of new labels (or tags): If an agent enters a label that does not exist, Git-Zen creates it. If you turn this off, agents must choose from existing labels. On Jira and Linear, this setting has no effect. Agents can type a new label, but Git-Zen leaves it off the new issue. Git-Zen does not create Jira or Linear labels.
  • Copy ticket tags by default: Adds all tags from the Zendesk ticket to the labels or tags of the new issue.
  • Allow template selection: If your platform has issue templates, agents can choose one. This option does not show for Jira.

Some options differ by platform.

  • Default repository: Sets the repository that new issues use by default. Choose (last used) to use the agent’s last repository.
  • New issue fields: Controls whether agents see the labels, assignee, milestone, and project fields on the create form, and whether they must fill them in.
  • Project (in New issue fields): When it is visible, agents can add new issues to a GitHub project. If Git-Zen asks you to reconnect GitHub, do so to grant the project permission.

Click edit next to Custom default title or Custom default description to set a default title, a default description, or both for new issues. Git-Zen uses these values instead of the ticket subject and the latest ticket comment. The description supports Markdown. A custom issue body format overrides the custom default description.

The custom default title and description editor

Click the “ticket placeholders” link to see the placeholders you can use:

Placeholder Value
{{ticket.id}} Ticket ID
{{ticket.subject}} Ticket subject
{{ticket.description}} Ticket description
{{ticket.priority}} Ticket priority
{{ticket.requester.name}} Requester’s full name
{{ticket.requester.email}} Requester’s email address
{{ticket.organization.name}} Organization name
{{ticket.assignee.name}} Assignee name, or NOT ASSIGNED
{{ticket.comments}} Full ticket comments
{{cf_field.label}} A ticket custom field
{{of_field.title}} An organization field

For a custom field, Git-Zen uses the field label in lowercase, with dots in place of spaces. For example, a field labeled “Customer Tier” becomes {{cf_customer.tier}}. The placeholder list shows the exact names for your account. Git-Zen removes any placeholder that has no value.

Full version only.

Allowed Status for Creation limits issue creation to tickets with certain statuses. For example, choose open and pending. On a ticket with another status, the Create Issue button is not available. Leave the field empty to allow every status.

At the bottom of the settings screen:

  • Export Config downloads your Git-Zen settings as a JSON file.
  • Export Tag Mappings downloads your tag/label mappings as a JSON file.

Git-Zen cannot import these files. Use them as a backup, or to copy settings by hand to another Zendesk account.

Full version only.

Your agents may not know what each field on the create form means. Tooltips let you explain these fields: Project, Parent, and on Azure DevOps also Work item type, Area Path, Iteration, Related work items, and custom fields. A field shows a tooltip only if it is on the create form for your platform. On Jira, only Project has a tooltip.

Users with the Git-Zen Administrator level see an “edit” icon next to each field that supports a tooltip.

Edit icons next to fields on the Create New Work Item screen
  1. Click the “edit” icon next to the field.
  2. Enter a description of up to 80 characters.
  3. Click Save.
The tooltip editor

To change a tooltip, edit it the same way. To remove a tooltip, delete all of its text.

Every agent who can create new issues sees a blue “information” icon next to the field.

The information icon next to a field

When the agent hovers over the icon, the tooltip appears.

A tooltip shown on hover