sync: add generic issue and pull request templates by HaraldNordgren · Pull Request #507 · Homebrew/.github

HaraldNordgren · 2026-11-03T10:28:07Z

Most Homebrew repositories have no issue or pull request template, so new issues and PRs open with an empty description and nothing prompts contributors to disclose AI usage as https://docs.brew.sh/Responsible-AI-Usage asks. Of the 17 repositories the sync covers, only brew, homebrew-core, homebrew-cask, BrewUI and formulae.brew.sh have both, and install has issue templates only.

As suggested in Homebrew/formulae.brew.sh#2352 (comment), install generic templates where a repository has none, built from what the existing ones have in common:

A pull request template asking about duplicate PRs, what the change does and why, tests, local checks and AI usage, based on the template from Add pull request template formulae.brew.sh#2352.
A bug report form asking what you were trying to do, what happened, what you expected and how to reproduce it, with checkboxes for duplicate issues and AI usage.
An issue config that disables blank issues and links to GitHub Discussions, like every repository with issue templates except BrewUI.
Links to each repository's own pull requests and issues.

The sync skips a repository that already has a pull request template or an ISSUE_TEMPLATE/ directory, wherever GitHub reads them from: .github/, the root or docs/, in any case. Single-file ISSUE_TEMPLATE.md templates don't count because GitHub retired them on 30 March 2025. Once installed, the templates belong to the repository like any other, so they have no "synced" comment and later sync runs leave them alone. The one exception is an unedited synced pull request template in a repository that later adds its own elsewhere: GitHub prefers .github/, so the sync removes ours. Feature request forms only exist in brew and BrewUI, so they're left out.

Skip .github itself, because GitHub would use templates there as the default for every repository without one, including archived repositories and forks that the sync skips.

This adds the pull request template to actions, advisory-database, brew-pip-audit, brew.sh, ci-orchestrator-private, discussions, glibc-bootstrap, install, patchelf.rb, private and ruby-macho, and the issue templates to the same repositories except install.

I used Claude Code (Claude Opus 5.5) to write the change and its specs. Claude ran brew style and the shared configuration specs, and checked that the new specs fail when the template skips are removed.

coderabbitai · 2026-11-03T10:32:04Z

Summary

Summary by CodeRabbit

Documentation
- Added a pull request checklist covering duplicate PRs, change explanations, tests, repository checks and AI-use disclosure.
New Features
- Shared pull request and issue templates are synced when suitable, while existing repository-owned templates are preserved.
- Added a structured bug report form with required verification and reproduction details. Blank issue creation is disabled, and a contact link directs people to GitHub Discussions for help.
Tests
- Added checks for template discovery, installation, repeat syncing and preservation of existing templates.

The pull request adds shared pull request and bug report templates, plus issue configuration. The sync script detects existing templates and installs shared templates according to repository-specific rules.

Changes: Shared contribution templates and sync

Layer / File(s)	Summary
Contribution template content `.github/actions/sync/pull_request.template.md`, `.github/actions/sync/issue_bug.template.yml`, `.github/actions/sync/issue_config.template.yml`	The pull request template adds contribution checks and AI-use guidance. The bug report form adds required verification and report fields. The issue configuration disables blank issues and links to Discussions.
Template synchronisation and validation `.github/actions/sync/shared-config.rb`, `.github/actions/sync/shared-config_spec.rb`	The sync script detects tracked and non-ignored untracked templates. It formats templates for target repositories and applies rules for existing templates and the `.github` repository. Specs cover installation, idempotency, and preservation of repository-owned templates.

Merge Risk: Minimal · up to a2762

No supported workflow presents an actionable merge-blocking risk in these template synchronization changes.

Pre-merge checks: 4

Check name	Status	Explanation
Title check		The title clearly summarises the main change: adding generic issue and pull request templates through the sync process.
Description check		The description explains the template changes, sync behaviour, affected repositories, and validation performed. It is directly related to the changeset.
Linked Issues check		Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.
Out of Scope Changes check		Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.

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MikeMcQuaid

Thanks, looks good when Coderabbit and CI are happy!

- Give repositories without their own templates a pull request template, bug report form and issue config built from what the existing templates have in common. - List repositories that keep their own templates, so pull request descriptions don't start with a synced-file comment. - Skip `.github` because templates there would become the default for every repository, including unsynced ones.

- Detect existing templates wherever GitHub reads them from instead of listing repositories that have their own. - Leave installed templates to each repository afterwards, so they need no synced-file comment.

- Remove an unedited synced pull request template once a repository adds its own elsewhere, as GitHub would keep showing ours. - Install issue templates next to single-file `ISSUE_TEMPLATE.md` templates, which GitHub retired on 30 March 2025. - Don't overwrite uncommitted templates during local syncs.

- Include untracked files when looking for existing templates, so local syncs don't add a shared template beside an uncommitted one.

- Only count template paths that still exist, so local syncs treat templates deleted but not yet committed as gone.

HaraldNordgren · 2026-11-03T11:39:55Z

@MikeMcQuaid Do you want to take another look? The solution grew a lot when I leaned into the Coderabbit comments, which then generated more Coderabbit comments (did they reproduce like rabbits?).

But I think it's in an ok place now.

Important for me is that is doesn't duplicate or overwrite working templates. It seems okay to add new temples when there are ones in the paths that GitHub doesn't read anymore, I want to remove them in follow-up PRs in the relevant repos as well.

coderabbitai

Additional comments: 1

.github/actions/sync/shared-config.rb-236-236: 1

236-236: Minor · Functional Correctness · Quick win

Unverified finding
Verification ran but could not confirm this finding. It is shown for review, not as a verified issue.

Preserve templates omitted by sparse checkout.

If a sparse checkout omits docs/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md, this filter treats it as deleted. The sync can then commit a .github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md that takes precedence over the repository’s existing template. Git retains the omitted file in the index. (git-scm.com)

Keep tracked paths marked skip-worktree in working_tree_files, while continuing to exclude actual deletions.