OpenProject 17.9 makes it easier for users to turn ideas into actionable tasks. You can now create work packages directly from the Documents module. This version also offers helpful search and filter options in Backlogs, allowing teams to work more effectively on sprints and backlogs with a specific selection of work packages.
We’re especially excited to make date alerts available in the Community Edition with OpenProject 17.9. With this feature, it becomes easier to stay aware of approaching deadlines.
In this article, we highlight the most important changes and what they mean for your daily work. And, as always, please see our Release notes for a complete list of changes, features, and bug fixes
A quick article navigation:
- Create work packages directly from Documents
- Search and filter work packages in Backlogs
- Date alerts now available in the Community edition
- Other great improvements with OpenProject 17.9
Create work packages directly from Documents
Documents are a great place to collect ideas, requirements, notes and plans. With OpenProject 17.9, you can now turn this content directly into actionable work – without leaving the document you are working on.
There are two ways to create a work package directly from the Documents module: Use the slash command to create a new work package at your current position, or select existing text and create a work package from your selection. When using selected text, OpenProject automatically uses it as the subject of the new work package.
Once created, the work package is linked directly in the document. This keeps the context in your document connected to the actionable work that follows from it.
Learn more about Documents in OpenProject.
Search and filter work packages in Backlogs
OpenProject 17.9 introduces the first iteration of filters in Backlogs. You can now search for work packages by subject or use the familiar OpenProject filters to narrow down the work packages displayed in your Backlogs view.
Filters apply across sprints, backlog buckets and the backlog inbox. Counters and story points adapt to the currently visible work packages, making it easier to work with the filtered selection. You can also continue moving and reordering work packages while filters are active.
Please note that this is the first iteration of Backlogs filters. Saving a filtered Backlogs view is not yet available.
Learn more about Backlogs and sprints in OpenProject.
Date alerts now available in the Community edition
At OpenProject, we remain committed to our Community and to continuously strengthening the free and open source OpenProject Community edition. With OpenProject 17.9, date alerts, formerly an Enterprise add-on, are now available to all OpenProject users. 🎉
Date alerts help you keep track of important dates by notifying you about approaching start and finish dates and overdue work packages. You can customize when and how often you want to be reminded. You can also configure date alerts for individual projects. Project-specific notification settings let you fine-tune your alerts depending on the needs of each project.
Learn how date alerts can help you manage deadlines in OpenProject.
Date alerts were previously available as an Enterprise add-on. We are very happy to make this useful feature available to the whole OpenProject Community with 17.9.
Other great improvements with OpenProject 17.9
Beyond these highlights, OpenProject 17.9 introduces several additional improvements for AI-assisted workflows, work package management, budgeting, migrations, and more. We’ll give a short overview in this article. For the complete list of features, enhancements, and bug fixes, please always refer to the Release notes.
Faster Jira migrations with real-time progress
The Jira Migrator can now process project data using concurrent jobs and display import progress in real time. Administrators can also abort an import and later resume or revert it.
More MCP Server capabilities for AI assistants (Enterprise add-on)
Following the new write capabilities introduced with OpenProject 17.8, OpenProject 17.9 further extends the MCP Server. AI assistants can now track time, use work package display IDs with semantic identifiers, and receive more compact work package search results by default.
Keep descendants when deleting a work package
When deleting a work package with descendants, you can now choose whether to delete only the selected work package or delete it together with all its descendants. This provides more control when restructuring work package hierarchies.
See where a work package is observed in versions
The new ‘Observed in versions’ field shows the versions in which a work package is included as an observed work package, making this relationship easier to see directly from the work package.
Enter planned labor in hours, days, weeks or months
When adding planned labor costs to a budget, you can now enter planned labor in hours, days, weeks or months, making it easier to estimate work using the unit that best fits your planning.
Set default PDF export settings per work package type
Administrators can now define default PDF export settings for each work package type, including options such as page orientation, footer text and hyphenation. The defaults are applied automatically and can still be adjusted when needed.
More control over password login with SSO
Administrators using Single Sign-On can now restrict password login for SSO users or for everyone. A break-glass allowlist can retain password-based access for selected users or groups when needed.
OpenProject 17.9: Migration, installation, updates and support
Follow the upgrade guide for the packaged installation or Docker installation to update your OpenProject installation to OpenProject 17.9. We update your hosted OpenProject environments (Enterprise cloud) today, September 30, 2026.
You will find more information about all new features and changes in our Release notes and in the OpenProject Documentation.
If you need support, you can post your questions in the Community Forum, or if you are eligible for Enterprise support, please contact us and we will be happy to support you personally.
- New to OpenProject? To test all features of OpenProject 17.9 right away, create a 14 days free trial instance for our OpenProject Enterprise cloud.
- Prefer to run OpenProject 17.9 in your own infrastructure? Here you can find the Installation guidelines for OpenProject.
- Want to upgrade from a Community version to try out the Enterprise add-ons? Get a 14 days free trial token to test the Enterprise add-ons (all plans).
Credits
A very special thank you goes to Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin, City of Cologne, Deutsche Bahn, and ZenDiS for sponsoring released and upcoming features. Your support, alongside the efforts of our amazing Community, helps drive these innovations.
Also a big thanks to our Community members for reporting bugs and helping us identify and provide fixes. Special thanks for reporting and finding bugs go to Daniel Paulo Dos Santos, Max Tachkov, Tobias Nowakow, Michael Gillen, Jürgen Tauschl, Raphael Zoppoth, and Paul Grimes.
Last but not least, we are very grateful for our very engaged translation contributors on Crowdin, who translated quite a few OpenProject strings! This release we would like to particularly thank the following users:
- Jonatan Nyberg, for translations into Swedish,
- BigSeung for translations into Korean.
Would you like to help out with translations yourself? Then take a look at our translation guide and find out exactly how you can contribute. It is very much appreciated!
