How to sync GitHub issues and Jira tasks in one list (and automatically convert emails into tasks)

If you manage software development, you likely live between GitHub, Jira, and your inbox. Each tool has its own workflow: GitHub issues for bugs and improvements, Jira tasks for sprints and roadmaps, and emails that end up as scattered reminders. The problem isn’t using multiple apps—it’s that each one demands its own context. Switching between them fragments your focus, and what should be a unified to-do list becomes a puzzle of open tabs. The solution isn’t to abandon these tools but to sync GitHub issues and Jira tasks in one list, alongside important emails, so you can see everything in one place without losing control.

Why unify GitHub, Jira, and emails in a single dashboard

Imagine this: you open your task manager and see in one view the pending pull requests in GitHub, the issues assigned to you in Jira with their due dates, and that client email you turned into a task with one click. Not as loose links, but as real tasks with context: priority, deadline, assignees, and attached notes. This is what changes when you stop relying on scattered notifications and move to a centralized system.

The hidden costs of managing tasks in silos

When each tool lives in its own bubble, things like this happen:

• You lose time switching contexts: Every time you go from GitHub to Jira or open your inbox to find an email, your brain takes 10 to 15 minutes to refocus on what you were doing (productivity studies call this the 'task-switching cost'). Multiply that by the dozens of times you do it each day.
• You miss deadlines: A Jira issue might have a due date, but if you don’t see it alongside your other tasks, it’s easy to overlook. The same goes for a GitHub pull request that’s been waiting for your review for days.
• You duplicate work: You jot down in a notebook or spreadsheet what you need to do in each tool, but then you have to open each app to execute it. It’s like keeping two agendas: one you check and another you update.
• Email becomes a black hole: Important emails get archived or marked as 'unread,' but without a clear system to turn them into actionable items. Forwarding them to your task manager manually is tedious and, therefore, unreliable.

The typical alternative—using a generic app like Notion or Trello—often fails because it’s not designed to sync GitHub issues and Jira tasks natively. Either it forces you to copy and paste manually, or the integrations are superficial (just links, without real data like priority or due dates). Foco Plus solves this with its Connections, which automatically bring tasks from these tools into your dashboard, keeping all the original fields and allowing you to interact with them as if they were in their source app.

Step-by-step: How to set up Foco Plus Connections for GitHub, Jira, and emails

1. Connect GitHub and Jira to Foco

Before you start, make sure you have the Foco Plus plan (20 €/month), as Connections and email capture are exclusive to this plan. Once inside the app:

• Go to Settings > Connections and select GitHub or Jira. Foco will ask you to log in with your tool’s account (using OAuth, so you won’t have to share passwords).
• Choose a 'destination workspace': Here, you decide where you want tasks from each connection to appear. You can assign a fixed workspace (for example, 'Frontend Development' for GitHub and 'Sprints' for Jira) or let Foco’s AI decide automatically based on each task’s content. If you choose the latter, Foco will analyze the title, description, and metadata to assign it to the most relevant workspace.
• Enable 'Complete also in the source': This option is key. When you mark a task as done in Foco, the app will automatically close the issue in GitHub or the task in Jira (or add a comment, depending on the tool’s configuration). This way, you avoid having to update two places.

2. Set up email capture to turn emails into tasks

Every Foco Plus user has a unique forwarding address in the format u-xxxx@in.heyfoco.com (the 'u-xxxx' part is personal and shown in Settings > Email Capture). To use it:

• Forward the email to your Foco address: It doesn’t matter if it’s a new email or one from your inbox. Foco will automatically extract the subject as the task title, the body as an attached note, and detect dates, times, and priorities if you mention them in the text (for example, 'Review this by Friday at 3:00 PM').
• Assign a destination workspace: Just like with GitHub and Jira, you can choose a fixed workspace for emails (for example, 'Clients' or 'Support') or let the AI decide. If the email mentions a specific project, Foco will assign it to the corresponding workspace.
• Edit the task if needed: Foco creates the task with the extracted data, but you can adjust the due date, priority, or add tags before saving it. The original email remains attached as a note, so you won’t lose context.

3. Organize tasks in Foco’s dashboard

Once Connections are set up, you’ll see all your tasks in Panorama mode, where each one appears with the color of its workspace (for example, blue for GitHub, green for Jira, and red for urgent emails). To focus on a single workflow:

• Use Focus mode: Click on a workspace name (for example, 'Backend Development') to filter and see only GitHub tasks related to that project. This is useful when you want to avoid distractions from other workspaces.
• Group by due date or scheduled date: In List view, you can sort tasks by 'Due date' to see which Jira issues are due this week, or by 'Scheduled date' to plan when to work on each GitHub pull request.
• Prioritize with colors: Assign priority labels (urgent, important) to tasks coming from GitHub or Jira. This way, even if they’re mixed with other workspaces, you’ll know which ones need immediate attention.

What you can (and can’t) do with synced tasks

Foco’s Connections aren’t just a mirror of GitHub or Jira—they’re a management layer that lets you interact with tasks without leaving the app. Here’s what you can do:

• Mark as done: When you complete a task in Foco, it automatically closes in GitHub or Jira (if you enabled the 'Complete also in the source' option).
• Edit fields: You can change the due date, priority, or add notes to a GitHub or Jira task from Foco. These changes don’t sync back to the original tool (to avoid conflicts), but they let you adapt the task to your workflow.
• Assign to others: If you collaborate with a team, you can invite other users to a workspace in Foco and assign them tasks that came from GitHub or Jira. They’ll see them in their dashboard, but they won’t be able to edit them in the original tool unless they have permissions there.
• Filter and search: Use the search bar to find all tasks from a specific GitHub repository or Jira project, or filter by tags like 'bug' or 'feature'.

And here’s what you can’t do (due to technical or design limitations):

• Create new issues or tasks in GitHub/Jira from Foco: Connections are read-only in this sense. To add a new task, you must do it in the original tool.
• Sync changes bidirectionally: If you edit a task in GitHub or Jira, the changes will reflect in Foco at the next sync (every few minutes), but not the other way around. This prevents conflicts when multiple people work on the same task.
• See full comments or history: Foco brings the title, description, priority, and basic metadata, but not the comments or change history of an issue. For that, you need to open the task in GitHub or Jira.

Comparison: Foco vs. alternatives for syncing GitHub and Jira tasks

If you’ve tried to unify your workflows before, you’ve likely tested some of these options. Here’s why Foco wins for those managing multiple workspaces:

1. Generic task apps (Todoist, Trello, ClickUp)

These tools are flexible, but their integrations with GitHub and Jira are often superficial. For example:

• Only links: Many apps create a card with a link to the GitHub issue or Jira task, but they don’t bring the actual data (priority, due date, assignees). You have to open the original tool to see the context.
• No automatic sync: If you close a task in GitHub, it won’t be marked as done in the generic app unless you do it manually. With Foco, this happens automatically if you enable the 'Complete also in the source' option.
• No smart email capture: Turning an email into a task usually requires copying and pasting the content, whereas Foco does it automatically when you forward it to your personal address.

2. Spreadsheets or shared documents

Some teams use Google Sheets or Notion to track issues and tasks, but this has clear limitations:

• Manual maintenance: Every time an issue is created or updated in GitHub or Jira, someone must update the spreadsheet. This is error-prone and time-consuming.
• Lack of context: A spreadsheet can’t attach the original email, meeting audio, or voice notes like Foco does. You lose valuable information.
• No reminders or dates: Even if you add columns for due dates, there are no automatic notifications or calendar views like in Foco.

3. Development-focused tools (Linear, Shortcut)

These tools are designed for developers and often include native integrations with GitHub and Jira. However, they fall short in key areas for those managing multiple workspaces:

• No email capture: Linear and Shortcut don’t offer a way to turn emails into tasks automatically. You’d still need a separate system for that.
• Limited workspace flexibility: These tools are optimized for a single team or project. If you juggle client work, personal tasks, and multiple repositories, their structure can feel restrictive. Foco lets you create separate workspaces for each context (e.g., 'Client A', 'Open Source', 'Personal') and switch between them seamlessly.
• No AI-powered organization: Foco’s AI can automatically assign tasks to the right workspace based on content, whereas in Linear or Shortcut, you’d have to do this manually.

Foco isn’t trying to replace GitHub, Jira, or your email client. Instead, it acts as a centralized command center where you can see, prioritize, and act on tasks from all these tools without the mental load of switching between them. For developers, freelancers, or small teams juggling multiple projects, this is the difference between feeling overwhelmed and staying in control.

Unifying GitHub, Jira, and emails in one dashboard isn’t about eliminating tools—it’s about eliminating the friction between them. Productivity isn’t about doing more things; it’s about wasting less time switching contexts.