Backref wót Alessio Bazzica

Backref turns bug-tracker IDs scattered across GitHub into clickable links straight to your issue tracker. No more copy-pasting an ID into Linear, Jira, or your internal tool — every reference becomes a one-click jump.

WHAT GETS LINKED
• Code comments (line and block)
• PR and issue descriptions
• Conversation and inline review comments
• Commit titles and bodies
• Already-linked text is left alone

HOW IT WORKS
Define rules in the options page — each rule is a regular expression plus a link template. The regex \b[A-Z]+-[0-9]+\b paired with the template https://linear.app/your-org/issue/{id}/ turns every "BUG-123" on the page into a Linear ticket link.

You can add as many rules as you like, and each rule can be scoped to specific hosts — so you can link Linear IDs on GitHub, Zendesk IDs on Linear, and anything else you want, all from one extension.

WHY INSTALL
• Faster context switching between code and tickets — the link is always there, no manual searching.
• Works alongside AI tools: when your AI assistant leaves comments like "// TODO(BUG-123)", those references become instantly navigable for both humans and the next AI session that needs ticket context.
• Self-hosted GitHub Enterprise and other Git forges work too — just add the host in settings.

PRIVACY
Backref runs entirely in your browser. It does not send any data anywhere — your configuration and the page contents stay local. The source is open at https://github.com/alessiob-riverside/backref.

FOR ORGANIZATIONS
Backref supports Chrome Enterprise managed storage. IT pushes the regex and tracker URL once via policy, and every employee gets the same setup with zero manual configuration. Per-rule host scoping and lock flags are supported.