Quickstart for new users

Get oriented in Redmine — log in, navigate the interface, join a project, create your first issue, and log time.

This guide walks you through your first steps in Redmine as a new user. It assumes your administrator has already set up and configured the instance and has created your account.

This guide is for regular users, not administrators. If you need to install or configure Redmine, see the Administration section.

1. Log in

   Navigate to your Redmine instance in a browser. On the login page, enter the username and password your administrator provided, then click Login.

   If your organization uses LDAP or an external authentication source, use your normal network credentials — the login form looks the same regardless of where authentication is handled.

   After logging in, go to My account (top-right corner) to change your password, set your preferred language, and configure your time zone. Redmine uses your time zone when displaying dates and times throughout the interface.

2. Understand the top-level navigation

   Once logged in, you will see a navigation bar across the top of every page. The key areas are:

   • Home — the Redmine home page with a summary of your activity and latest news
   • My page — your personal dashboard, showing issues assigned to you, issues you watch, and recent activity
   • Projects — a list of all projects you have access to
   • Help — links to documentation
   • Your username (top right) — access to My account, My page, and Sign out

   The left sidebar changes depending on which project or section you are in. Within a project, the sidebar shows links to that project’s enabled modules: Issues, Wiki, Forums, Time tracking, Repository, and so on.

3. Join or access a project

   Click Projects in the top navigation to see the list of projects available to you. Public projects are visible to everyone; private projects only appear if you are a member.

   Click a project name to open it. The project overview page shows a brief description, the latest activity, and any news.

   If you cannot see a project you expect to be part of, ask your administrator to add you as a member and assign you a role. Your role controls which actions you can take within the project.

4. Explore the issue list

   From inside a project, click Issues in the left sidebar (or in the project navigation tabs) to open the issue list.

   The issue list shows all issues in the project that are visible to you. You can:

   • Filter issues by status, tracker, assignee, priority, category, version, or any custom field using the filter bar at the top
   • Sort by clicking any column header
   • Group results by tracker, status, priority, or other fields using the Options menu
   • Save a custom query by clicking Save after applying filters, so you can return to the same view later

   Click any issue subject to open the issue detail page.

5. Create your first issue

   From the issue list, click New issue (or the + button, depending on your theme) to open the issue creation form.

   Fill in the required fields:

   Field	Description
   Tracker	The issue type — for example, Bug, Feature, or Task. Your administrator configures which trackers are available per project.
   Subject	A short, descriptive summary of the issue (required, up to 255 characters).
   Description	A full description of the issue. Supports CommonMark (Markdown, the default) or Textile depending on your instance configuration.
   Status	The initial status is set automatically based on the tracker’s default.
   Priority	Urgency level — typically Low, Normal, High, or Urgent.
   Assignee	The person responsible for the issue. Leave blank if unassigned.
   Target version	The version or milestone this issue is planned for.
   Start date / Due date	Optional scheduling dates.

   You may also see custom fields specific to your project or tracker. Fill those in as required.

   Click Create (or Create and continue to immediately start another issue). Redmine creates the issue, assigns it a unique number (e.g., #42), and takes you to the issue detail page.

   You can attach files to an issue by dragging and dropping them onto the description area, or by using the Attach files section at the bottom of the form.

6. Update an issue

   Open any issue you have permission to edit. Scroll to the bottom of the issue detail page to find the Update section (also called the journal entry area).

   From here you can:

   • Change the status, assignee, priority, and other fields
   • Add a note (a comment visible in the issue history)
   • Mark a note as Private so only project members with sufficient permissions can see it
   • Upload additional attachments

   Click Submit to save your changes. Every update is recorded in the issue’s journal so the full history is preserved.

   Which status transitions are available to you depends on your role in the project and how the administrator has configured the workflow for that tracker.

7. Log time against an issue

   Time logging in Redmine records how long you spent working on an issue. Open the issue, then click Log time (shown near the top of the issue detail page, or in the More dropdown depending on your theme).

   Fill in the time entry form:

   Field	Description
   Date	The date the work was done (defaults to today).
   Hours	Time spent, in decimal hours (e.g., 1.5 for one hour thirty minutes).
   Activity	The type of work — for example, Development, Design, or Testing. Your administrator configures the available activities.
   Comment	An optional description of the work performed.

   Click Save. The logged time appears in the Spent time section of the issue and is also included in the project’s time reports.

   You can also log time without opening a specific issue by clicking Log time in the project sidebar. In this case the entry is recorded against the project but not a specific issue.

8. Watch an issue and manage notifications

   To receive email notifications when an issue changes, click the Watch link on the issue detail page. Redmine will send you email updates whenever someone updates the issue, adds a note, or changes its status.

   To stop watching, click Stop watching on the same page.

   You can manage your global notification preferences under My account > Email notifications. Options include notifications for all events, only events on issues you are involved in, or none at all.

Where to go next

Core concepts

Deepen your understanding of projects, trackers, statuses, roles, and workflows.

Issues

Learn the full capabilities of the issue tracker: relations, subtasks, custom queries, and bulk editing.

Time tracking

Explore time reports, activities, and how logged hours roll up to projects.

Wiki

Use the project wiki to document specs, processes, and decisions.