External references on posts

How to get there: Open any post → in the right sidebar, expand References → click Add.

References are external links or identifiers attached to a post. They live in a dedicated sidebar panel and give your team a one-click path from a ProductLift post out to the system where the work actually happens (an issue tracker, a support ticket, a doc, a PR, etc.).

References are admin-only. End users do not see them on the public post page.

What you can store

A reference is a free-text value up to 6000 characters. It is typically a URL, but it can also be a plain identifier like a ticket number or an internal code.

When the value is a URL, ProductLift picks an icon automatically based on the hostname:

  • GitHub (github.com, github.io) shows the GitHub icon
  • Twitter shows the Twitter icon
  • Facebook (facebook.com, fb.com) shows the Facebook icon
  • LinkedIn shows the LinkedIn icon
  • Any other URL shows a generic link icon
  • Non-URL values show a hashtag icon

URLs are rendered as a clickable link. Non-URL values display as plain text.

How to add a reference

  1. Open the post.
  2. In the right sidebar, expand References.
  3. Click Add.
  4. Paste a URL, email, ticket number, or other identifier.
  5. Click Add (or press Enter).

The reference appears immediately in the list, with its icon.

How to remove a reference

In the References panel, click the trash icon next to the reference and confirm.

Use cases

  • Link a post to its Jira, Linear, or GitHub issue so engineering can jump straight to the tracker.
  • Attach the customer support ticket or email thread that triggered the request.
  • Point at the design doc, Figma file, or spec for context.
  • Drop in a related blog post, changelog entry, or external discussion.

How references differ from other linking features

  • References point outward to anything outside ProductLift. They are admin-only and have no typed relationship.
  • Linked Posts create a typed relationship (Blocks, Duplicate of, Parent of, etc.) between two ProductLift posts. See Link posts and inline post mentions.
  • Inline post mentions (#postkey (post not found)) drop a clickable card for another ProductLift post directly into a description or comment. See Mention users and posts.

Pick references when the target lives outside ProductLift. Pick the other two when both ends of the link are ProductLift posts.