#22890·desktop

Add UI support for creating and managing annotated Git tags

Author: buznyuszCreated Sep 17, 2026Updated Sep 17, 2026
Labelsenhancement

GitHub Desktop currently supports viewing and creating lightweight tags, but lacks native UI support for annotated tags — tags that include metadata like tagger information, tagging date, and a full message.

Annotated tags are important for:

  • Release management: Marking official releases with detailed changelogs
  • Audit trails: Recording who created a tag and when
  • Integration workflows: Many CI/CD systems and release tools expect annotated tags for semantic versioning

Current Behavior

Users must use the command line to create annotated tags: git tag -a v1.0.0 -m "Release version 1.0.0"

GitHub Desktop only provides options for lightweight tags through the UI.

Proposed solution

Add a dialog/option in GitHub Desktop that allows users to:

  1. Create annotated tags with a message
  2. Specify the tagger name (or auto-populate from Git config)
  3. View tag details (tagger, date, message) in the tag list
  4. Option to toggle between lightweight and annotated when creating a tag

Why This Matters

  • Consistency: Aligns with Git best practices and professional release workflows
  • Accessibility: Reduces friction for developers who want proper release tagging without CLI
  • Discoverability: Tag messages visible in the UI help teams understand release context

Use Cases

  • Creating release tags with detailed changelog information
  • Maintaining proper Git history for compliance/audit purposes
  • Enabling automated release workflows that depend on annotated tag metadata

Additional context

No response