fix(issues): deprecate Issue.Ref branch selector UI (#307)

Remove the branch/tag selector from the issue sidebar and new issue
form. The Issue.Ref field was added 8 years ago and provides minimal
value — it only saves a branch name and optionally restricts which
branch's commits can auto-close the issue.

Removed:
- Branch selector template (branch_selector_field.tmpl)
- Sidebar and new-form includes
- Ref badge from issue lists
- POST /{index}/ref web route and UpdateIssueRef handler
- GetRefEndNamesAndURLs calls from list renderers
- JS handler for branch selector dropdown

Preserved:
- DB column (Issue.Ref) — still used by commit-close logic
- API response still includes ref for backward compatibility

Closes #307

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -5,6 +5,13 @@ without substantial changes to our git log; to see the highlights of what has
 been added to each release, please refer to the [blog](https://blog.gitea.com).
 ## [v1.26.1-moko.05.15.00] - 2026-05-31
 
+* BREAKING CHANGES
+  * Deprecated Issue.Ref branch selector UI (#307)
+    * Removed branch/tag selector from issue sidebar and new issue form
+    * Removed ref badge from issue lists
+    * Removed POST /ref web route and UpdateIssueRef handler
+    * DB column and commit-close logic preserved for backward compatibility
+    * API create/edit still accept `ref` field (no-op) for backward compat
 * FEATURES
   * feat(ui): add generic combo-multiselect component (#361)
     * Reusable dropdown with search, checkable items, and selected-items display

routers/web/repo/issue.go

@@ -306,29 +306,7 @@ func UpdateIssueTitle(ctx *context.Context) {
 	})
 }
 
-// UpdateIssueRef change issue's ref (branch)
-func UpdateIssueRef(ctx *context.Context) {
-	issue := GetActionIssue(ctx)
-	if ctx.Written() {
-		return
-	}
 
-	if !ctx.IsSigned || (!issue.IsPoster(ctx.Doer.ID) && !ctx.Repo.Permission.CanWriteIssuesOrPulls(issue.IsPull)) || issue.IsPull {
-		ctx.HTTPError(http.StatusForbidden)
-		return
-	}
-
-	ref := ctx.FormTrim("ref")
-
-	if err := issue_service.ChangeIssueRef(ctx, issue, ctx.Doer, ref); err != nil {
-		ctx.ServerError("ChangeRef", err)
-		return
-	}
-
-	ctx.JSON(http.StatusOK, map[string]any{
-		"ref": ref,
-	})
-}
 
 // UpdateIssueContent change issue's content
 func UpdateIssueContent(ctx *context.Context) {

routers/web/repo/issue_list.go

@@ -672,8 +672,6 @@ func prepareIssueFilterAndList(ctx *context.Context, milestoneID int64, projectI
 	}
 	ctx.Data["Assignees"] = shared_user.MakeSelfOnTop(ctx.Doer, assigneeUsers)
 
-	ctx.Data["IssueRefEndNames"], ctx.Data["IssueRefURLs"] = issue_service.GetRefEndNamesAndURLs(issues, ctx.Repo.RepoLink)
-
 	ctx.Data["ApprovalCounts"] = func(issueID int64, typ string) int64 {
 		counts, ok := approvalCounts[issueID]
 		if !ok || len(counts) == 0 {

routers/web/repo/issue_new.go

@@ -85,12 +85,6 @@ func setTemplateIfExists(ctx *context.Context, ctxDataKey string, possibleFiles
 		}
 		metaData.AssigneesData.SelectedAssigneeIDs = strings.Join(selectedAssigneeIDStrings, ",")
 
-		if template.Ref != "" && !strings.HasPrefix(template.Ref, "refs/") { // Assume that the ref intended is always a branch - for tags users should use refs/tags/<ref>
-			template.Ref = git.BranchPrefix + template.Ref
-		}
-
-		ctx.Data["Reference"] = template.Ref
-		ctx.Data["RefEndName"] = git.RefName(template.Ref).ShortName()
 		return true, templateErrs
 	}
 	return false, templateErrs

routers/web/repo/issue_view.go

@@ -397,14 +397,12 @@ func ViewIssue(ctx *context.Context) {
 		}
 	}
 
-	ctx.Data["Reference"] = issue.Ref
 	ctx.Data["SignInLink"] = middleware.RedirectLinkUserLogin(ctx.Req)
 	ctx.Data["IsIssuePoster"] = ctx.IsSigned && issue.IsPoster(ctx.Doer.ID)
 	ctx.Data["HasIssuesOrPullsWritePermission"] = ctx.Repo.Permission.CanWriteIssuesOrPulls(issue.IsPull)
 	ctx.Data["HasProjectsWritePermission"] = ctx.Repo.Permission.CanWrite(unit.TypeProjects)
 	ctx.Data["IsRepoAdmin"] = ctx.IsSigned && (ctx.Repo.Permission.IsAdmin() || ctx.Doer.IsAdmin)
 	ctx.Data["LockReasons"] = setting.Repository.Issue.LockReasons
-	ctx.Data["RefEndName"] = git.RefName(issue.Ref).ShortName()
 
 	tags, err := repo_model.GetTagNamesByRepoID(ctx, ctx.Repo.Repository.ID)
 	if err != nil {

routers/web/user/home.go

@@ -587,8 +587,6 @@ func buildIssueOverview(ctx *context.Context, unitType unit.Type) {
 
 	ctx.Data["IsShowClosed"] = isShowClosed
 
-	ctx.Data["IssueRefEndNames"], ctx.Data["IssueRefURLs"] = issue_service.GetRefEndNamesAndURLs(issues, ctx.FormString("RepoLink"))
-
 	if err := issues.LoadAttributes(ctx); err != nil {
 		ctx.ServerError("issues.LoadAttributes", err)
 		return

routers/web/user/notification.go

@@ -255,7 +255,6 @@ func NotificationSubscriptions(ctx *context.Context) {
 	ctx.Data["CommitLastStatus"] = lastStatus
 	ctx.Data["CommitStatuses"] = commitStatuses
 	ctx.Data["Issues"] = issues
-	ctx.Data["IssueRefEndNames"], ctx.Data["IssueRefURLs"] = issue_service.GetRefEndNamesAndURLs(issues, "")
 
 	approvalCounts, err := issues.GetApprovalCounts(ctx)
 	if err != nil {

routers/web/web.go

@@ -1352,7 +1352,6 @@ func registerWebRoutes(m *web.Router, webAuth *AuthMiddleware) {
 				m.Post("/content", repo.UpdateIssueContent)
 				m.Post("/deadline", repo.UpdateIssueDeadline)
 				m.Post("/watch", repo.IssueWatch)
-				m.Post("/ref", repo.UpdateIssueRef)
 				m.Post("/pin", reqRepoAdmin, repo.IssuePinOrUnpin)
 				m.Post("/viewed-files", repo.UpdateViewedFiles)
 				m.Group("/dependency", func() {

templates/repo/issue/branch_selector_field.tmpl

@@ -1,63 +1 @@
-{{/* TODO: RemoveIssueRef: the Issue.Ref will be removed in 1.24 or 1.25 if no end user really needs it or there could be better alternative then.
-PR: https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea/pull/32744
-
-The Issue.Ref was added by Add possibility to record branch or tag information in an issue (#780)
-After 8 years, this "branch selector" does nothing more than saving the branch/tag name into database and displays it,
-or sometimes auto-close a ref-matched issue by a commit message when CloseIssuesViaCommitInAnyBranch=false.
-
-There are still users using it:
-* @didim99: it is a really useful feature to specify a branch in which issue found.
-
-Still needs to figure out:
-* Could the "recording branch/tag name" be replaced by other approaches?
-	* Write the branch name in the issue title/body then it will still be displayed, eg: `[bug] (fix/ui-broken-bug) there is a bug ....`
-* Is "GitHub-like development sidebar (`#31899`)" good enough (or better) for your usage?
-*/}}
-{{if and (not .Issue.IsPull) (not .PageIsComparePull)}}
-<input id="ref_selector" name="ref" type="hidden" value="{{.Reference}}">
-<div class="ui dropdown select-branch branch-selector-dropdown ellipsis-text-items {{if not .HasIssuesOrPullsWritePermission}}disabled{{end}}"
-	data-no-results="{{ctx.Locale.Tr "no_results_found"}}"
-	{{if and .Issue (or .IsIssueWriter .HasIssuesOrPullsWritePermission)}}data-url-update-issueref="{{$.RepoLink}}/issues/{{.Issue.Index}}/ref"{{end}}
->
-	<div class="ui button branch-dropdown-button">
-		<span class="text-branch-name gt-ellipsis">{{if .Reference}}{{$.RefEndName}}{{else}}{{ctx.Locale.Tr "repo.issues.no_ref"}}{{end}}</span>
-		{{if .HasIssuesOrPullsWritePermission}}{{svg "octicon-triangle-down" 14 "dropdown icon"}}{{end}}
-	</div>
-	<div class="menu">
-		<div class="ui icon search input">
-			<i class="icon">{{svg "octicon-filter" 16}}</i>
-			<input name="search" placeholder="{{ctx.Locale.Tr "repo.filter_branch_and_tag"}}...">
-		</div>
-		<div class="branch-tag-tab">
-			<a class="branch-tag-item reference column muted active" href="#" data-target="#branch-list">
-				{{svg "octicon-git-branch" 16 "tw-mr-1"}} {{ctx.Locale.Tr "repo.branches"}}
-			</a>
-			<a class="branch-tag-item reference column muted" href="#" data-target="#tag-list">
-				{{svg "octicon-tag" 16 "tw-mr-1"}} {{ctx.Locale.Tr "repo.tags"}}
-			</a>
-		</div>
-		<div class="branch-tag-divider"></div>
-		<div id="branch-list" class="scrolling menu reference-list-menu">
-			{{if or .Reference (not .Issue)}}
-				<div class="item tw-text-xs" data-id="" data-name="{{ctx.Locale.Tr "repo.issues.no_ref"}}" data-id-selector="#ref_selector"><strong><a href="#">{{ctx.Locale.Tr "repo.clear_ref"}}</a></strong></div>
-			{{end}}
-			{{range .Branches}}
-				<div class="item" data-id="refs/heads/{{.}}" data-name="{{.}}" data-id-selector="#ref_selector" title="{{.}}">{{.}}</div>
-			{{else}}
-				<div class="item disabled">{{ctx.Locale.Tr "no_results_found"}}</div>
-			{{end}}
-		</div>
-		<div id="tag-list" class="scrolling menu reference-list-menu tw-hidden">
-			{{if or .Reference (not .Issue)}}
-				<div class="item tw-text-xs" data-id="" data-name="{{ctx.Locale.Tr "repo.issues.no_ref"}}" data-id-selector="#ref_selector"><strong><a href="#">{{ctx.Locale.Tr "repo.clear_ref"}}</a></strong></div>
-			{{end}}
-			{{range .Tags}}
-				<div class="item" data-id="refs/tags/{{.}}" data-name="tags/{{.}}" data-id-selector="#ref_selector">{{.}}</div>
-			{{else}}
-				<div class="item disabled">{{ctx.Locale.Tr "no_results_found"}}</div>
-			{{end}}
-		</div>
-	</div>
-</div>
-<div class="divider"></div>
-{{end}}
+{{/* Issue.Ref branch selector removed — the field is deprecated. The DB column is kept for commit-close logic. */}}

templates/repo/issue/new_form.tmpl

@@ -47,8 +47,6 @@
 	</div>
 
 	<div class="issue-content-right ui segment" data-global-init="initRepoIssueSidebar">
-		{{template "repo/issue/branch_selector_field" $}}{{/* TODO: RemoveIssueRef: template "repo/issue/branch_selector_field" $*/}}
-
 		{{if .PageIsComparePull}}
 			{{template "repo/issue/sidebar/reviewer_list" $.IssuePageMetaData}}
 			<div class="divider"></div>

templates/repo/issue/view_content/sidebar.tmpl

@@ -1,6 +1,4 @@
 <div class="issue-content-right ui segment" data-global-init="initRepoIssueSidebar">
-	{{template "repo/issue/branch_selector_field" $}}{{/* TODO: RemoveIssueRef: template "repo/issue/branch_selector_field" $*/}}
-
 	{{if .Issue.IsPull}}
 		{{template "repo/issue/sidebar/reviewer_list" $.IssuePageMetaData}}
 		{{template "repo/issue/sidebar/wip_switch" $}}

templates/shared/issuelist.tmpl

@@ -82,13 +82,7 @@
 							<span class="gt-ellipsis">{{$project.Title}}</span>
 						</a>
 					{{end}}
-					{{if .Ref}}{{/* TODO: RemoveIssueRef: see "repo/issue/branch_selector_field.tmpl" */}}
-						<a class="ref flex-text-inline tw-max-w-[300px]" {{if $.RepoLink}}href="{{index $.IssueRefURLs .ID}}"{{else}}href="{{.Repo.Link}}{{index $.IssueRefURLs .ID}}"{{end}}>
-							{{svg "octicon-git-branch" 14}}
-							<span class="gt-ellipsis">{{index $.IssueRefEndNames .ID}}</span>
-						</a>
-					{{end}}
-					{{$tasks := .GetTasks}}
+						{{$tasks := .GetTasks}}
 					{{if gt $tasks 0}}
 						{{$tasksDone := .GetTasksDone}}
 						<span class="checklist flex-text-inline">

web_src/js/features/repo-issue-sidebar.ts

@@ -9,33 +9,6 @@ import {showTemporaryTooltip} from '../modules/tippy.ts';
 
 const {appSubUrl} = window.config;
 
-function initRepoIssueBranchSelector(elSidebar: HTMLElement) {
-  // TODO: RemoveIssueRef: see "repo/issue/branch_selector_field.tmpl"
-  const elSelectBranch = elSidebar.querySelector('.ui.dropdown.select-branch.branch-selector-dropdown');
-  if (!elSelectBranch) return;
-  const urlUpdateIssueRef = elSelectBranch.getAttribute('data-url-update-issueref');
-  const elBranchMenu = elSelectBranch.querySelector('.reference-list-menu')!;
-  queryElems(elBranchMenu, '.item:not(.no-select)', (el) => el.addEventListener('click', async function (e) {
-    e.preventDefault();
-    const selectedValue = this.getAttribute('data-id')!; // eg: "refs/heads/my-branch"
-    const selectedText = this.getAttribute('data-name'); // eg: "my-branch"
-    if (urlUpdateIssueRef) {
-      // for existing issue, send request to update issue ref, and reload page
-      try {
-        await POST(urlUpdateIssueRef, {data: new URLSearchParams({ref: selectedValue})});
-        window.location.reload();
-      } catch (error) {
-        console.error(error);
-      }
-    } else {
-      // for new issue, only update UI&form, do not send request/reload
-      const selectedHiddenSelector = this.getAttribute('data-id-selector')!;
-      document.querySelector<HTMLInputElement>(selectedHiddenSelector)!.value = selectedValue;
-      elSelectBranch.querySelector('.text-branch-name')!.textContent = selectedText;
-    }
-  }));
-}
-
 function initRepoIssueDue(elSidebar: HTMLElement) {
   const form = elSidebar.querySelector<HTMLFormElement>('.issue-due-form');
   if (!form) return;
@@ -109,7 +82,6 @@ export function initRepoPullRequestAllowMaintainerEdit(elSidebar: HTMLElement) {
 
 export function initRepoIssueSidebar() {
   registerGlobalInitFunc('initRepoIssueSidebar', (elSidebar) => {
-    initRepoIssueBranchSelector(elSidebar);
     initRepoIssueDue(elSidebar);
     initRepoIssueSidebarDependency(elSidebar);
     initRepoPullRequestAllowMaintainerEdit(elSidebar);