How do I set up my Zenhub account and organization?

How Zenhub Organizes Your Work

Before setting up your account, understanding Zenhub's structure helps you make better configuration decisions. Everything follows a clear hierarchy: Organization → Workspaces → Issue Sources → Issues.

Your Organization serves as the top-level container for billing, user access, and administrative settings. Within your organization, you create Workspaces that act as team-specific command centers where groups organize their work. Each workspace connects to Issue Sources including Zenhub repositories (created automatically) and GitHub repositories (connected optionally). Finally, Issues represent the actual work items your team manages.

GitHub connections depend on your plan: Standard plans connect to one GitHub organization, while Enterprise plans support up to 10 GitHub organizations.

Creating Your Zenhub Account

You have three signup options:

Work email and password for standard account creation
Google Workspace if your company uses Gmail for business
GitHub for immediate development integration

Visit app.zenhub.com/signup and select your preferred method. Email signups require verification before accessing Zenhub.

Understanding Organization Assignment

Zenhub automatically sets up your organization based on your email domain. Company email domains may show existing organizations you can join, helping teams avoid duplicate setups. Common email providers like Gmail trigger automatic organization creation, named after your email address (customizable later).

Setting Up Your First Workspace

New organizations go through a three-step workspace creation process:

Step 1: Choose Your Workspace Name Select something descriptive for your team or project. This workspace will be your team's daily collaboration hub.

Step 2: Select a Workflow Template Choose from several pre-configured options:

Scrum (1-week or 2-week) for sprint-based development
Kanban for continuous flow workflows
Scrumban for hybrid approaches
IT Service Desk for support workflows
Design for creative project management

Templates provide starting pipeline structures that you can customize later.

Step 3: Set Your Trial Goals Select what you want to accomplish during your 14-day trial, such as breaking projects into tasks, testing reporting features, or working with non-GitHub teammates. This helps Zenhub provide relevant guidance.

Understanding Your Trial Experience

New organizations receive 14-day trials with full feature access. You'll see a Trial Home page with setup guidance and a sidebar banner showing remaining trial days. Complete setup steps like GitHub connection, data import, and team invitations at your own pace.

Connecting to GitHub

GitHub integration is optional but valuable for development teams. When connected, you see GitHub issues in your workspace, track pull requests alongside project work, and access reporting features with development data.

Connect through Trial Home or account settings by authorizing GitHub permissions. When you add existing repositories, Zenhub automatically organizes issues:

Issues older than 90 days → Icebox
Recently updated issues → Product Backlog
Issues with open milestones → Sprint Backlog
Active pull requests → In Progress

Inviting Your Team

Use "Invite team members" in your left sidebar to send email invitations, copy shareable links, or configure domain settings for automatic team discovery. Adding your company's email domains to the allowed list lets colleagues request organization access during signup, streamlining onboarding for larger teams.

Configuring Issue Types and Hierarchy

Zenhub supports a five-level hierarchy:

Objective → Project → Epic → Bug/Task/Enhancement/Story → Sub-task

This structure helps break down large initiatives while maintaining clear relationships between strategic goals and daily work.

Create up to 25 custom issue types with adjustable names, descriptions, colors, and hierarchy levels. Issue type synchronization with GitHub requires organization owner permissions. Without these permissions, assign issue types to actual GitHub issues to trigger automatic synchronization.

Configure level defaults so sub-issues automatically use appropriate issue types for the next hierarchy level down, ensuring consistent work breakdown structure.

Accessing Organization Settings

Find organization settings through "Account Management" in your profile menu or at app.zenhub.com/settings. Key functions include updating organization names, managing allowed domains, adding or removing members, and configuring issue types.

Zenhub pricing operates per organization, with each organization representing separate billing. You're charged for all licenses regardless of assignment to users, so regular license reviews help optimize costs.

Next Steps

With your organization and workspace configured, focus on customization for daily use:

Adjust pipeline names to match your workflow terminology
Establish team conventions for issue creation and estimation
Explore automation options to reduce manual work
Connect additional repositories as needed
Invite more team members as your organization grows

Your Zenhub foundation is ready to support effective project management and team collaboration.

FAQ

Q: Can I change my organization setup after initial configuration?
A: Yes, most settings can be modified including organization name, allowed domains, issue types, and workspace templates. Some changes like billing transitions may require contacting support.

Q: What if I accidentally created a separate organization instead of joining my team's?
A: Contact support@zenhub.com for organization consolidation assistance. While there's no automated merge, support can help get you to the correct organization.

Q: Do I need GitHub organization owner permissions to use Zenhub effectively?
A: While owner access provides the best integration, you can use Zenhub effectively without it. Features like issue type sync have workarounds, and core project management works independently of GitHub permissions.