diff --git a/internal/cli/issue_create.go b/internal/cli/issue_create.go
index b853f79..bff5186 100644
--- a/internal/cli/issue_create.go
+++ b/internal/cli/issue_create.go
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ func newIssueCreateCommand(service issueCreateService) *cobra.Command {
 		Short: "Create an issue on a Tangled repository",
 		Long: `Create an issue on a Tangled repository. When title and body are omitted,
 tg opens $EDITOR. The edited document's first line is the title, its second line
-must be blank, and the remaining text is the required body.`,
+must be blank, and the remaining text is an optional body.`,
 		Args: cobra.MaximumNArgs(1),
 		RunE: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 			ctx := cmd.Context()
diff --git a/internal/cli/issue_editor.go b/internal/cli/issue_editor.go
index e8d5231..e8eb69d 100644
--- a/internal/cli/issue_editor.go
+++ b/internal/cli/issue_editor.go
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ const (
 	titledDraftTemplate = "\n\n" + titledDraftSentinel + "\n" +
 		"<!-- Enter a title above, followed by a blank line and an optional body. -->\n"
 	issueDraftTemplate = "\n\n" + titledDraftSentinel + "\n" +
-		"<!-- Enter a title above, followed by a blank line and a body. -->\n"
+		"<!-- Enter a title above, followed by a blank line and an optional body. -->\n"
 )
 
 var errTitledDraftCanceled = errors.New("title and body creation canceled")
@@ -41,14 +41,7 @@ func editTitledDraft(ctx context.Context, kind, pattern, template string, input
 }
 
 func editIssueDraft(ctx context.Context, input io.Reader, output, errorOutput io.Writer) (titledDraft, error) {
-	draft, err := editTitledDraft(ctx, "issue", "tg-issue-*.md", issueDraftTemplate, input, output, errorOutput)
-	if err != nil {
-		return titledDraft{}, err
-	}
-	if strings.TrimSpace(draft.Body) == "" {
-		return titledDraft{}, fmt.Errorf("parse issue draft: body must not be empty; draft saved to %s", draft.Path)
-	}
-	return draft, nil
+	return editTitledDraft(ctx, "issue", "tg-issue-*.md", issueDraftTemplate, input, output, errorOutput)
 }
 
 func parseTitledDraft(document string) (string, string, error) {
diff --git a/internal/cli/issue_editor_test.go b/internal/cli/issue_editor_test.go
index 485ca79..552e860 100644
--- a/internal/cli/issue_editor_test.go
+++ b/internal/cli/issue_editor_test.go
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ func TestEditIssueDraftLifecycle(t *testing.T) {
 	}{
 		{name: "valid draft", document: "Bug report\n\nDetails\n", wantTitle: "Bug report", wantBody: "Details", wantSaved: true},
 		{name: "canceled draft", document: issueDraftTemplate, wantError: errTitledDraftCanceled.Error()},
-		{name: "empty body", document: "Bug report\n\n", wantError: "body must not be empty", wantSaved: true},
+		{name: "empty body", document: "Bug report\n\n", wantTitle: "Bug report", wantSaved: true},
 		{name: "malformed draft", document: "Bug report\nDetails\n", wantError: "second line must be empty", wantSaved: true},
 		{name: "failed editor", document: "Unfinished\n\nDraft\n", exitStatus: 23, wantError: "run issue editor", wantSaved: true},
 	}