Make task list checkboxes clickable/interactive directly in draft issue descriptions (like in full issues)

[UweKubosch]

Summary

Enable interactive (clickable) task list checkboxes in the descriptions of draft issues/items within GitHub Projects, just like they work in full issues, pull requests, and comments.

Current behavior

In GitHub Projects (the modern Projects experience), we often use draft issues as lightweight cards on project boards. It's common to add a Markdown task list/checklist to the draft's description, e.g.:

• Research options
• Implement prototype
• Test and refine

However, these checkboxes are not interactive when viewing the draft item (either in the board view preview or when opening the item sidebar). Clicking them does nothing. To toggle a checkbox, you must:

1. Click the edit pencil
2. Manually change [ ] to [x] (or vice versa) in the Markdown
3. Save the update

This works fine in full issues (after converting the draft), where checkboxes are fully clickable and update instantly without entering edit mode.

Desired behavior

Make the rendered task list checkboxes in draft issue descriptions clickable and interactive, exactly like in regular issues:

• Clicking a checkbox instantly toggles it ([ ] ↔ [x])
• No need to enter full edit mode just to check off items
• Optional: Show a subtle progress indicator (e.g., "3 of 5 complete") on the card preview, similar to how task lists work elsewhere

This would keep drafts lightweight while making simple checklist tracking much faster and more intuitive directly on the project board.

Why this would be helpful

• Many teams use drafts for quick tasks, epics, or todos that don't immediately need a full repository-backed issue.
• Checklists in drafts are a natural way to track sub-steps or progress without converting everything upfront.
• The current manual edit → save workflow adds unnecessary friction for frequent small updates (e.g., during standups or quick planning).
• It creates inconsistency: the same Markdown syntax behaves differently in drafts vs. full issues.

Converting every draft to a full issue early just to get clickable checkboxes defeats the purpose of drafts being simple placeholders.

Related discussions

While there are threads about general draft issue limitations and workflow friction, I couldn't find one specifically calling out this checkbox interactivity gap:

• https://github.com/orgs/community/discussions/10317 ([Projects Beta] why is everything a draft?)
• https://github.com/orgs/community/discussions/30471 (Create new issues directly from projects list, not "draft" issues)
• https://github.com/orgs/community/discussions/12989 ([Project Beta] Draft Issue Improvements)
• https://github.com/orgs/community/discussions/50026 (Templates for draft issues)

This request would complement those by improving one specific but common pain point in draft workflows.

Guidelines

• I have read the above statement and can confirm my post is relevant to the GitHub feature areas Issues and/or Projects.

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[jchate6]

Please bring back this functionality. It would drastically improve the utility of drafts within a project.