Components are containers for [issues](https://developers.google.com/issue-tracker/concepts/issues) in Google Issue Tracker. A component
may correspond to a project, sub-project or other functional or organizational
group of issues.

Components can have child components, with all of the components in Issue
Tracker comprising a component hierarchy. Generally, the hierarchy organizes
components from most general to most specific. For example, a project whose
issues are managed in Issue Tracker can have one top-level component and several
nested sub-components, each of which organize issues into related groups.

A best practice for creating issues is to create them in the most specific
component whose purpose matches the issue type. The appropriate component for
any given issue varies by project.

## Component properties

Components have the following properties:

| Property | Example | Description |
|---|---|---|
| **Name** | Feedback | Name of the component. This is not necessarily unique across Issue Tracker. |
| **ID** | 121405 | Unique ID number for the component. |
| **Description** | Summary of information required to identify the component and its purpose. |   |
| **Component Hierarchy** | `Sample Project > Sample Project Bugs` | Hierarchy of the parent components down to the given component. |
| **Child Components** | `UX Bugs`, `Latency Issues`, `Security` | Components that are direct children of the given component. |
| **Custom Fields** | `Sprint`, `ETA` | Custom fields associated with the component. For more information, see [Custom Fields](https://developers.google.com/issue-tracker/concepts/custom-fields). |
| **Access Control** | See [Access Control](https://developers.google.com/issue-tracker/concepts/access-control) | Specifies who can perform what actions in the component. |
| **Templates** | See the [Template page](https://developers.google.com/issue-tracker/concepts/templates) | Specifies default or initial fields values for new issues filed in the component. |

## Component search

Issue Tracker displays the [component search tool](https://developers.google.com/issue-tracker/guides/find-a-component) wherever you can specify a
component in the user interface. When you enter keywords associated with the
component path or description, the tool automatically initiates a component
search and displays ranked search results in a drop-down list. The ranking is
determined using a combination of text-match scoring and popularity.

![](https://developers.google.com/issue-tracker/images/public/initial-component-drop-down.png)

> [!NOTE]
> If you search components using a string of numbers, Issue Tracker returns components that have the string in their name or description, as well as the specific component whose component ID matches the string.

The component search result shows matching components, as well as any child
components.

To isolate a specific component within the displayed hierarchy and view its
children, click the **Show Child Components** button ![show child components
icon](https://developers.google.com/issue-tracker/images/public/show-child-components-button.png) on the left side of the
component entry. This button is not available when using the search bar. When
you click the button the component tree browser replaces the ranked search
results.

![](https://developers.google.com/issue-tracker/images/public/component-tree-browser-small.png)

You can click the back button to return to the ranked search results.

#### Search for components

You can search for components when you perform the following tasks:

- [Create a new issue](https://developers.google.com/issue-tracker/guides/create-issue-ui).
- [Edit the component field of a specific issue](https://developers.google.com/issue-tracker/guides/edit-issue-ui).
- Choose **Component** in the [search builder](https://developers.google.com/issue-tracker/concepts/searches).
- Enter `componentID` in the [search bar](https://developers.google.com/issue-tracker/concepts/searches).
- Select **Component** in the Edit drop-down of a [*bulk edit*](https://developers.google.com/issue-tracker/guides/edit-issue-bulk).
- Search by or display a [custom field](https://developers.google.com/issue-tracker/concepts/custom-fields) in an issue search.

> [!NOTE]
> When you search for a component in the search bar, you cannot choose to show child components when viewing search results. These features also convert any component name that you choose to a numerical ID for display.

### Advanced component search syntax

When searching for components in the component search tool, you can use
structured query tokens (search atoms) to filter and refine your search:

- **`componentid:<id>`**: Retrieves direct subcomponents (children) of the specified parent component ID.
- **`includearchived:[true|false]`**: Controls whether archived components are included in the search results. By default, archived components are excluded.

## Component hovercards

A component hovercard contains the component name, ID, and description. For
example:

![](https://developers.google.com/issue-tracker/images/public/component-hovercard.png)

The component hovercard contains three links:

- **View recent open issues**: Link that searches for open issues assigned to the component and orders the results by date of creation.
- **Create an issue in this component** : Link that takes you to a [Create
  Issue page](https://developers.google.com/issue-tracker/guides/create-issue-ui) with the component and template pre-selected.
- **View component**: Link that takes you to the manage component page for the component.

Component hovercards appear when hovering over the following:

- A component within the component hierarchy, as listed below the issue title on an issue details page.
- Components in the **Component Hierarchy** or **Child Components** section of the **Basic Information** tab of a component details page.
- Components listed in the **Custom Fields** section of the **Fields** tab on the component details page.

## Recent Components

When you click **Search Components** , recently used components appear in the
picker below the search box. Recently used components also appear on the
**Browse components** page.

Components are considered recent if you have done any of the following while
logged in:

- Created an issue in the component
- Edited an issue in the component