Search for source branches when creating a new MR from an issue
Release notes
In the "Create merge request" panel in an issue, you can now search for existing branches or choose a source branch from a dropdown menu.
Problem to solve
In the "create merge request" panel opened from an issue, you can only type in the branch name, it shows if the branch is available, but does not allow you to see which source branches are there. This forces users to manually type the branch name or navigate to the next page to select a branch, adding unnecessary steps to the workflow.
Intended users
Personas are described at https://handbook.gitlab.com/handbook/product/personas/
User experience goal
The user should be able to create a merge request based on non-default source branch directly from an issue without having to select it in the new merge request page, by easily selecting a source branch from a pre-populated list.
Proposal
Replicate the functionality of the choose branch function to the "Source (branch or tag)" field from the new merge request panel. This includes:
- Dropdown Menu: When a user clicks on the "Source (branch or tag)" field, a dropdown menu should appear, listing available branches in the repository.
- Search/Filter: As the user types, the list of branches in the dropdown should be filtered to show matching results.
The user does not have to select the source branch in the next page, creating merge request will be more streamlined.
Permissions and Security
The proposed changes do not alter any existing permissions. The ability to view and select branches in the dropdown should be consistent with a user's existing permissions to view branches in the repository.