A feature request template is a short form that asks for the same five things every time: a title, the problem, who has it, what they do today, and what would help. Use a short customer-facing version on your feedback board, a longer product spec version for the team, and a GitHub issue version if requests come in through your repo. All three are below, and our free feature request template tool fills them in and exports Markdown.

Why use a template

Without one, requests arrive as "please add dark mode" with no context. You then spend a reply asking who wants it and why. A template asks those questions up front, so:

  • every request can be compared with the others,
  • duplicates are easier to spot, because the problem is written down, not only the solution,
  • the person who triages it does not need to chase the requester.

The five fields that matter

Field Why it matters Example
Title Makes the request findable and easy to vote on Export reports as CSV
Problem The part you can actually judge; solutions vary, problems repeat I copy numbers into a spreadsheet by hand every Monday
Who has it Tells you which segment or plan is asking Finance admins on the Growth plan
Current workaround Shows how painful it is today Screenshots plus manual retyping, about an hour a week
Proposed solution A starting idea, not a spec A CSV button on each report

Template 1: customer-facing

Use this on a public feedback board or a request form. Keep it to four questions, in plain language, or people will not finish it.

# [Short title: what should be possible?]
 
## Problem
What are you trying to do, and what gets in the way?
 
## Who has this problem
Your role, team or how you use the product.
 
## Current workaround
What do you do today instead?
 
## Proposed solution
If you have an idea, describe it in a sentence or two.

Template 2: product spec

Use this inside the product team once a request has enough votes to discuss. It adds evidence and one success metric, which is what you need to prioritize it.

# [Title]
 
## Problem
The user problem, in their words. Link the original request.
 
## Who has this problem
Segment, plan, and roughly how many accounts.
 
## Evidence
- Votes on the board:
- Accounts asking:
- Deal value attached (if any):
- Related support tickets:
 
## Current workaround
What users do today and what it costs them.
 
## Proposed solution
One approach. Note open questions.
 
## How we will know it worked
One measurable outcome, e.g. "weekly CSV exports > 0 for 30% of finance admins".
 
## Links
Board post, tickets, designs.

Template 3: GitHub issue

Save this as .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/feature_request.md in your repository. GitHub reads the front matter at the top to name the template and add a label.

---
name: Feature request
about: Suggest an idea for this project
title: ""
labels: enhancement
---
 
## Is your feature request related to a problem?
A clear description of the problem. Ex. I'm always frustrated when [...]
 
## Proposed solution
What you want to happen.
 
## Alternatives considered
Other solutions or workarounds you have tried.
 
## Additional context
Screenshots, links or anything else.

How to fill one in well

  1. Lead with the problem, not the feature. "I can't share a report with my accountant" tells you more than "add PDF export".
  2. Name who is asking. A request from one free-trial user and one from ten paying accounts are different requests.
  3. Write the workaround down. If people already spend an hour a week on a workaround, the request is urgent even with few votes.
  4. Keep one request per template. Two ideas in one post split the votes and make it hard to close.
  5. Link the source. A ticket, a call note or the board post, so someone can ask a follow-up question later.

Where templates stop working

A template fixes the quality of one request. It does not count votes, merge duplicates or tell the requester when you ship. For that you need one shared list. In FeatureOS, customers post on a hosted board or through the in-app feedback widget, you can add submission templates and (on Growth and above) custom fields to the form, similar posts are suggested while they type, and every voter is notified when the post moves to planned or shipped. The next step, turning that list into a plan, is covered in how to go from feedback to roadmap.

Related reading: what is a feature request, feature request software, the art of saying no to feature requests, and tracking feature requests in Slack.