Smart Pipelines
Automate metadata updates, WIP limits, and issue management within your workspace.
What Smart Pipelines do
Smart Pipelines automate metadata updates within your workspace when issues move between pipelines. Configure rules that automatically add or remove labels, assign team members, or add issues to sprints based on pipeline movement — reducing manual updates and maintaining consistent board organization.
This is different from Workflows, which move issues between different workspaces. Smart Pipelines work within a single workspace to automate metadata management without requiring issues to leave your team's board.
Accessing pipeline automation
Click the three-dot menu icon next to any pipeline name on your Work Tracker, then select Settings & automation. The settings panel has 3 tabs: Details for pipeline name and description, Limits for WIP limits, and Automations for metadata rules.
Creating automation rules
Click Create new automation in the Automations tab. Each rule has 2 components.
Trigger — whether the rule activates when issues enter or leave the pipeline.
Action — what happens when the trigger activates: Add Label, Remove Label, Add Assignee, Remove Assignee, or Add to current active sprint.
You can create multiple rules for a single pipeline. For example, configure In Progress to both add the current sprint and apply an in-development label when issues enter.
Common automation patterns
Sprint management
Configure your active development pipeline to automatically add issues to the current sprint when work begins. This keeps sprint tracking current without manual assignment.
Status labeling
Apply and remove labels that reflect workflow state. Add in-review when issues enter Review/QA, then remove it when they leave.
Team assignment
Automatically assign specialists when work reaches their stage. Add QA team members when issues enter testing pipelines.
Label cleanup
Remove planning-phase labels when development begins. Configure In Progress to remove labels like needs-estimation when issues leave backlog stages.
WIP limits
Work-in-Progress limits help teams maintain sustainable workflow by setting soft caps on how many issues can occupy specific pipelines simultaneously. When a pipeline exceeds its limit, Zenhub displays the count in red to encourage completing existing work before starting new items.
Configure WIP limits in the Limits tab by entering the maximum number of issues for that pipeline. WIP limits are soft warnings, not hard blocks — teams can still move issues into full pipelines, but the visual warning prompts discussion about why work is accumulating.
Troubleshooting
Automation not triggering
Verify that pipeline settings are saved correctly and that you're moving issues into or out of the trigger pipeline. Automation activates on pipeline movement, not on manual metadata changes to stationary issues.
Incorrect sprint assignments
Check that your current sprint is properly configured and active. Automatic sprint assignment only works when Zenhub can identify which sprint is currently in progress.
Can't find automation settings
Click the three-dot menu icon next to the pipeline name (not the name itself), then select Settings & automation from the dropdown.
FAQ
Q: Can I automatically remove issues from sprints when they move to specific pipelines?
A: Currently, pipeline automation can add sprint assignments but cannot automatically remove them. You'll need to manually remove sprint assignments when needed.
Q: Can I have different automation rules for different issue types in the same pipeline?
A: Pipeline automation applies to all issues that enter or leave the pipeline regardless of issue type. To create type-specific automation, use separate pipelines for different work types.
Q: Do WIP limits prevent me from moving issues into full pipelines?
A: No. WIP limits are soft warnings, not hard blocks. You can still move issues into pipelines that exceed limits, but the visual warning prompts team discussion.
Q: Can Smart Pipelines work together with Workflows?
A: Yes. Smart Pipelines handle metadata automation within your workspace, while Workflows move issues between workspaces. They complement each other for comprehensive automation.
Q: Can I see which automation rules triggered for a specific issue?
A: Automation changes appear in the issue's activity history showing when labels were added or removed, but they don't specifically indicate that automation triggered the change versus a manual update.