Allow people to submit issues without any account

[levkris]

Select Topic Area

Product Feedback

Feature Area

Issues

Body

It would be awesome if you could make issues without the use of an account, for example you can make an issue, write a username that you would want to use, and it makes a local account on your device with just a cookie, you cannot do anything else except for making an issue in any repository that allows it, and replying and editing your own issue, this will make it easier for people to report bugs and request ideas when they don't really understand the use of GitHub or if they don't want to make an account.

The idea:

• You can make a local account on your device stored with cookies
• This requires no password but you just need to set a username that has not been used before
• You can only make issues on repositories that allow this, so you cannot make your own repositories, projects, etc
• You are still able to receive notifications about any reactions on your issue
• You are not able to reply on any issues that are not made by you

Guidelines

• I have read the above statement and can confirm my post is relevant to the GitHub feature areas Issues and/or Projects.

[github-actions[bot]]

💬 Your Product Feedback Has Been Submitted 🎉

Thank you for taking the time to share your insights with us! Your feedback is invaluable as we build a better GitHub experience for all our users.

Here's what you can expect moving forward ⏩

• Your input will be carefully reviewed and cataloged by members of our product teams. 
  • Due to the high volume of submissions, we may not always be able to provide individual responses.
  • Rest assured, your feedback will help chart our course for product improvements.
• Other users may engage with your post, sharing their own perspectives or experiences. 
• GitHub staff may reach out for further clarification or insight. 
  • We may 'Answer' your discussion if there is a current solution, workaround, or roadmap/changelog post related to the feedback.

Where to look to see what's shipping 👀

• Read the Changelog for real-time updates on the latest GitHub features, enhancements, and calls for feedback.
• Explore our Product Roadmap, which details upcoming major releases and initiatives.

What you can do in the meantime 💻

• Upvote and comment on other user feedback Discussions that resonate with you.
• Add more information at any point! Useful details include: use cases, relevant labels, desired outcomes, and any accompanying screenshots.

As a member of the GitHub community, your participation is essential. While we can't promise that every suggestion will be implemented, we want to emphasize that your feedback is instrumental in guiding our decisions and priorities.

Thank you once again for your contribution to making GitHub even better! We're grateful for your ongoing support and collaboration in shaping the future of our platform. ⭐

[GR0UD]

This is a really thoughtful suggestion, lowering the barrier for non-technical users to report bugs would be huge for open-source projects.

Unfortunately there are hard security/spam reasons why GitHub probably won’t implement cookie-based “guest” accounts any time soon (abuse potential is massive).

Workarounds that already exist today:

• Many repos enable public issues + issue templates (no login required to read, but posting still needs an account).
• Project maintainers can add a simple Google Form / GitHub Discussions “guest post” flow that forwards to issues.
• Tools like IssueBot or forms-to-github let people submit via a web form without ever touching GitHub.

Would you be open to a feature request for “Allow unauthenticated issue creation with CAPTCHA + rate-limit per IP/repo” instead?
That might be more feasible. Great idea though!

[levkris]

I think the “Allow unauthenticated issue creation with CAPTCHA + rate-limit per IP/repo” is a really great idea! I was in a rush writing this discussion lmao, so I didn't consider any security measures, but now that I think about it, it is indeed smart to also think about the security.