Labels organize Stories and Epics so you can easily find them using our search, the individual Label Page, or our filter system across Shortcut.
When to Use Labels
A few examples of how to think about Label use:
- Platform/device (iOS, Web, API)
- Business area (Customer Success, Infrastructure, Research)
- Work characteristic (Technical debt, Spike, Refactor)
- Quality focus (Accessibility, Performance, Security)
Questioning using Custom Fields vs. Labels?
- Custom Fields help you establish a more structured process in your Workspace. Labels are great because anyone in your Organization can create them, but they should be used as a lightweight, unstructured way to organize your work.
Creating and Managing Labels
Create Labels from the Labels page (Settings > Labels > Create Label) or inline while creating/editing a Story or Epic.
When creating a Label:
- Name: Required, searchable across your Workspace
- Color: Yellow by default, customizable per Label; appears as a colored pill on Story cards and Epic lists
- Description: Optional but recommended; visible on the Label page and when hovering over the Label pill
Labels can be edited, archived, or deleted from the Labels page. Archiving a Label hides it from creation dropdowns and new assignments but keeps it on existing Stories and Epics (displayed in grey italics). Deleting a Label removes it entirely. Archive rather than delete if you may need to reference historical work.
Tip: Consistent naming conventions (e.g., all platform Labels start with “Platform:”) make filtering and bulk operations faster.
The Label Page
Navigate to a specific Label to see all Stories and Epics tagged with it, organized into two sections:
Epics section shows:
- Epic name and description
- Story count within the Epic
- Epic owners and state (Unstarted, Started, Done)
- Progress bar (Stories completed / total)
- Due date
Stories section displays all Stories directly tagged with the Label in a table, with columns for Story type, title, current state, owners, estimate, and due date. A Story count breakdown by type appears above the table.
The filter bar lets you narrow Stories by Team, Owner, Workflow States, Story Type, and Fields without leaving the Label page.
Reporting and Exporting
The Label page surfaces progress: the Epics section shows completion rates, and you can sort Stories by state or due date to see what’s coming due or blocked.
The ARC chart (Added, Remaining, Completed) visualizes the trajectory of unfinished work under a Label over time. For more details on the ARC Chart on the Label Page, visit our ARC Chart article.
To export Stories with a Label: open the Label page, click Export as CSV in the Stories section, and Shortcut emails you a CSV download link.
Important: The export only includes Stories that have the Label directly assigned. If a Story is in an Epic that has the Label, but the Story does not have it, that Story will not be exported.
To export Epic work, use the Epic page or filter for Epics instead.
Linking Labels to Docs
Link a Shortcut document (or any external URL) to a Label to surface context: team handbook entries, architecture decisions, design files, or brand guidelines relevant to work tagged with that Label.
From a Label page: click Link Doc to Label, search and select the document, then save. The link appears at the top of the Label page. Linked Docs help orient team members about the Label’s purpose and standards.