Throughput#

Throughput counts issues closed and PRs merged within a time window -- the simplest measure of delivery rate.

Definition#

throughput_issues = count(issues closed in window)
throughput_prs    = count(PRs merged in window)

Unweighted: every closed issue and every merged PR counts as 1, regardless of size, complexity, or effort.

Throughput vs. velocity#

Throughput and velocity both measure output, but they differ in two ways:

Dimension	Throughput	Velocity
Weighting	Every item = 1	Items weighted by effort strategy (count, attribute, or numeric)
Time boundary	Arbitrary date range (`--since` / `--until`)	Iteration-aligned (sprint boundaries)

Throughput is useful without sprints or effort estimates. Velocity is useful for tracking effort-weighted output across consistent iteration boundaries.

When velocity uses effort.strategy: count, velocity for a completed iteration equals throughput for the same window. They diverge when effort weighting or iteration alignment matters.

What it tells you#

Delivery rate: How many items your team finishes per week/month.
Trend direction: Is output increasing, decreasing, or stable over time?
Bottleneck signal: A drop in throughput with stable team size suggests process friction.

Throughput does not distinguish a one-line typo fix from a multi-week refactor. Use alongside lead time and cycle time for a complete picture.

Signals used#

Signal	Source	Description
Issue closed	`issue.closed_at`	Issue closure timestamp within the time window
PR merged	`pr.merged_at`	PR merge timestamp within the time window

Both come from the GitHub REST Search API.

Configuration that affects throughput#

Config field	Effect
`scope.query`	Filters which issues/PRs are counted
`exclude_users`	Excludes items authored by specified users (e.g., bots)
`lifecycle.done.query`	Search qualifiers for finding closed issues

Throughput does not use effort strategies, iteration boundaries, or classification categories.

Example output#

Throughput appears in the report command output:

Activity (last 30 days)
  Issues closed: 12
  PRs merged: 18
  Releases: 2

JSON#

{
  "issues_closed": 12,
  "prs_merged": 18,
  "releases": 2
}

Commands that report throughput#

gh velocity report --since 30d -- activity summary including throughput counts
gh velocity flow lead-time --since 30d -- closed issue count as context

Insights#

Insight	When it fires	What it means
Zero activity	0 issues closed and 0 PRs merged	No work completed in this window. Check your date range and scope.
Issue/PR mismatch	PRs merged but 0 issues closed, or PR:issue ratio > 3:1	PRs may not be linked to issues. This affects cycle time measurement and issue-based metrics.