# Labels

> Tag tasks with cross-cutting categories, and rename them to your own vocabulary with the Label Customizer.

> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://helpdesk.orangescrum.com/llms.txt).

Source: https://helpdesk.orangescrum.com/guide/community/usage/labels

---
Labels are free-form tags on tasks. Unlike status and priority — where a task
has exactly one value — a task can carry several labels at once.

They are the Community Edition's only extensibility point for categorising work,
since custom fields and custom statuses are commercial features.

## Using labels

Add them from the task page. Filter by them in the task list and on the Kanban
board.

Labels that earn their place:

- **State that isn't status**: `blocked`, `needs-review`, `waiting-on-customer` — real states that are not Open or Closed.

- **Origin**: `customer-reported`, `tech-debt`, `regression`.

- **Area**: `frontend`, `api`, `infra` — useful when a project spans several surfaces.

- **Effort**: `quick-win`, `spike` — where a full estimate is overkill.

## Label Customizer

The `LabelCustomizer` plugin — one of the few feature plugins that ships with
this edition — lets an admin rename labels to match how your team actually
talks. If you say "ticket" rather than "task", or "epic" rather than
"milestone", you can change the wording without touching code.

> **Note**
>
> Renaming changes the display text. It does not add new label types or change
> behaviour.

## Keeping labels useful

Label sets rot faster than anything else in a tracker. A few rules keep them
worth having:

**Keep the list short**

    Ten labels people use beats fifty they ignore. If you cannot remember the
    list, it is too long.

**Agree what each one means**

    `blocked` should have one definition, not one per person. Write it down.

**Don't duplicate status or priority**

    An `urgent` label alongside an urgent priority guarantees they disagree.

**Prune regularly**

    Retire labels nobody has applied in months.

> **Deleting a label removes it everywhere**
>
> It is stripped from every task that carried it, and there is no undo. Check
> what is using a label before removing it.

## Labels versus milestones

| Use a label | Use a milestone |
| --- | --- |
| Cross-cutting, many per task | Delivery point, one per task |
| `frontend`, `blocked` | "v2.1 release", "Client demo" |
| No dates | Has a date |

- [Next: users and roles](https://helpdesk.orangescrum.com/guide/community/usage/users-and-roles): Inviting people and what each role can do.