[UX] How to configure or disable "Favorite" labels?

[ivanperez-keera]

🏷️ Discussion Type

Question

💬 Feature/Topic Area

Other

Body

I just saw some labels appear closer to the top of my list of labels when I try to apply a label to a ticket under a new subsection "Favorite".

This is annoying: I now have to do an O(n) search to find a label and it requires more attention so that I don't skip it, when before I could scroll to the approximate area where the label always is and find it more quickly.

I could already control the order by giving labels names that make them appear in the (alphabetical) order I want.

Is it possible to disable this feature, or to customize which labels are considered "favorite"?

[dorukcodes]

Welcome to the GitHub Community 👋

From what I can see, this behavior is part of recent updates to the label picker UI. The “Favorite” section appears to be automatically generated based on frequently used labels, and there’s currently no setting to disable or customize it.

I checked both the official docs and discussions, but there doesn’t seem to be any option exposed to users for controlling this:

https://docs.github.com/en/issues/using-labels-and-milestones-to-track-work/managing-labels
https://github.com/orgs/community/discussions

So for now, it looks like this is handled internally by GitHub, and the only workaround is using search or adjusting label names.

[ivanperez-keera]

The problem is: I don't think adjusting label names helps at all. I've adjusted label names. I still see a "Favorite" section that I have to scroll past, unless the thing I'm looking for this there, then I don't have to scroll past it.

Searching is now harder. It takes more inputs, it takes more time, it takes more thinking. This is bad UX.

[Gecko51]

The Favorite section isn't configurable and can't be disabled through settings right now, you're right about that.

There's a workaround though that keeps your muscle memory intact: just type. The label picker has a search input that's always focused when it opens, as soon as you start typing the label name, the Favorite grouping collapses and you get a flat filtered list. Two or three characters is usually enough.

So the workflow becomes: click Labels, type "bu", pick "bug". No scrolling past Favorite at all.

Doesn't fix the underlying UX regression you raised (the grouping really does hurt when you already had the alphabetical layout dialed in), but it sidesteps it entirely once type-to-filter becomes habit.

If you want the behavior actually made optional, the github-roadmap repo tends to get more product-team visibility than discussion threads for stuff like this. Worth filing there as a feature request with the same reasoning you put here, the O(n) search and attention cost is a legit complaint.

[asaddevx]

Hi @ivanperez-keera 👋

The new "Favorite" section in the label picker disrupts the predictable alphabetical scrolling that many of us relied on for years. Having to scroll past (or mentally filter) auto-generated favorites every time adds unnecessary friction — it's a clear regression in daily workflow.

Current Reality

Unfortunately, there is no built-in setting to disable or customize the Favorite section. It's automatically generated from your most-used labels.

Better Workarounds

1. Use the search box aggressively (best quick fix)
   When the label picker opens, it auto-focuses the search field. Type just 2–3 characters of the label (e.g., "bug", "docs", "help"). This instantly collapses the Favorites section and shows a clean filtered list.

2. Keyboard-friendly habit
   Open label picker → immediately start typing → hit Enter on the desired label. With practice, this becomes faster than scrolling.

3. Long-term label strategy
   Keep your most important labels with short, distinctive prefixes (e.g., priority-high, status-blocked). This makes search even more effective.

Recommended Next Step

The cleanest solution would be making the Favorites section optional. I suggest opening a feature request here:
https://github.com/github/roadmap/issues

Sample title:
[Labels] Option to disable or hide "Favorite" section in label picker

In the body, mention the loss of alphabetical predictability and the extra cognitive load.

Many users (including heavy issue triagers) would benefit from this toggle.

If GitHub adds this option in the future, it would be a welcome UX improvement.

Let me know if the search trick helps in your daily flow or if you'd like help drafting the roadmap issue!