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Published on Thursday, November 4, 2021, last updated

GitHub pull request template

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Welcome to this guide on GitHub pull request templates! We hope you'll find what you are looking for, and if you're interested in the best way to manage your pull requests in Slack, you should take a look at Axolo, which helps thousands of developers merge pull requests faster (also incubated by Slack in 2023).

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Why should you use a pull request template

Pull request templates allow your organizations to have a default text when you create a pull request on GitHub. It is quite useful to make sure to follow a standard process for every pull request and to have a to-do list for the author to check before requesting a review.

The easiest way to add a pull request template to your repository is by adding a file called pull_request_template.md in the root of your directory. It’s a markdown file, so you can use any of the markdown that is available to you. More about markdown in the mastering markdown syntax guide.

7 GitHub pull request template examples

Below, there are 6 pull request templates we recommend you to test. You can also find them on our pull request template repository ready to be copied.

Find more on SteveLao GitHub issue templates and Awesome GitHub templates

Example 1: Simple pull request template with a checklist

## Describe your changes

## Issue ticket number and link

## Checklist before requesting a review
- [ ] I have performed a self-review of my code
- [ ] If it is a core feature, I have added thorough tests.
- [ ] Do we need to implement analytics?
- [ ] Will this be part of a product update? If yes, please write one phrase about this update.

Example 2: Detailed description pull request template

# Description

Please include a summary of the changes and the related issue. Please also include relevant motivation and context. List any dependencies that are required for this change.

Fixes # (issue)

## Type of change

Please delete options that are not relevant.

- [ ] Bug fix (non-breaking change which fixes an issue)
- [ ] New feature (non-breaking change which adds functionality)
- [ ] Breaking change (fix or feature that would cause existing functionality to not work as expected)
- [ ] This change requires a documentation update

# How Has This Been Tested?

Please describe the tests that you ran to verify your changes. Provide instructions so we can reproduce. Please also list any relevant details for your test configuration

- [ ] Test A
- [ ] Test B

**Test Configuration**:
* Firmware version:
* Hardware:
* Toolchain:
* SDK:

# Checklist:

- [ ] My code follows the style guidelines of this project
- [ ] I have performed a self-review of my code
- [ ] I have commented my code, particularly in hard-to-understand areas
- [ ] I have made corresponding changes to the documentation
- [ ] My changes generate no new warnings
- [ ] I have added tests that prove my fix is effective or that my feature works
- [ ] New and existing unit tests pass locally with my changes
- [ ] Any dependent changes have been merged and published in downstream modules

THIS PROJECT IS IN MAINTENANCE MODE. We accept pull requests for Bug Fixes **ONLY**. NO NEW FEATURES ACCEPTED!

<!--- Provide a general summary of your changes in the Title above -->

## Description
<!--- Describe your changes in detail -->

## Related Issue
<!--- This project only accepts pull requests related to open issues -->
<!--- If suggesting a new feature or change, please discuss it in an issue first -->
<!--- If fixing a bug, there should be an issue describing it with steps to reproduce -->
<!--- Please link to the issue here: -->

## Motivation and Context
<!--- Why is this change required? What problem does it solve? -->
<!--- If it fixes an open issue, please link to the issue here. -->

## How Has This Been Tested?
<!--- Please describe in detail how you tested your changes. -->
<!--- Include details of your testing environment, and the tests you ran to -->
<!--- see how your change affects other areas of the code, etc. -->

## Screenshots (if appropriate):

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Example 4: Checklist for open-source pull request template

 All Submissions:

* [ ] Have you followed the guidelines in our Contributing document?
* [ ] Have you checked to ensure there aren't other open [Pull Requests](../../../pulls) for the same update/change?

<!-- You can erase any parts of this template not applicable to your Pull Request. -->

### New Feature Submissions:

1. [ ] Does your submission pass tests?
2. [ ] Have you lint your code locally before submission?

### Changes to Core Features:

* [ ] Have you added an explanation of what your changes do and why you'd like us to include them?
* [ ] Have you written new tests for your core changes, as applicable?
* [ ] Have you successfully run tests with your changes locally?

Example 5: Checklist and detailed description GitHub pull request template

* **Please check if the PR fulfills these requirements**
- [ ] The commit message follows our guidelines
- [ ] Tests for the changes have been added (for bug fixes/features)
- [ ] Docs have been added / updated (for bug fixes / features)


* **What kind of change does this PR introduce?** (Bug fix, feature, docs update, ...)


* **What is the current behavior?** (You can also link to an open issue here)


* **What is the new behavior (if this is a feature change)?**


* **Does this PR introduce a breaking change?** (What changes might users need to make in their application due to this PR?)


* **Other information**:

Example 6: Open-source to-do list pull request template for GitHub

## Pull Request template
Please, go through these steps before you submit a PR.

1. Make sure that your PR is not a duplicate.
2. If not, then make sure that:

    a. You have done your changes in a separate branch. Branches MUST have descriptive names that start with either the `fix/` or `feature/` prefixes. Good examples are: `fix/signin-issue` or `feature/issue-templates`.

    b. You have a descriptive commit message with a short title (first line).

    c. You have only one commit (if not, squash them into one commit).

    d. `npm test` doesn't throw any error. If it does, fix them first and amend your commit (`git commit --amend`).

3. **After** these steps, you're ready to open a pull request.

    a. Your pull request MUST NOT target the `master` branch on this repository. You probably want to target `staging` instead.

    b. Give a descriptive title to your PR.

    c. Describe your changes.

    d. Put `closes #XXXX` in your comment to auto-close the issue that your PR fixes (if such).

IMPORTANT: Please review the [CONTRIBUTING.md](../CONTRIBUTING.md) file for detailed contributing guidelines.

**PLEASE REMOVE THIS TEMPLATE BEFORE SUBMITTING**

We hope you've found your perfect pull request template! Keep on reading and discover our next pull request dive in: Part IV: How to review code in GitHub

Axolo is a Slack app to help techteams review pull request seamlessly

Bonus: Issue templates for your project

And if you're working with open-source projects, you might need the help of some useful issue templates in your repositories. Recently, GitHub developed multiple issue templates. For example, GitHub users looking to post an issue will face something like this (React example):

React template issues in GitHub

Example 1: Simple GitHub issue template

## Expected Behavior


## Current Behavior


## Possible Solution


## How to reproduce (for bugs)

Example 2: Detailed GitHub issue template

## I'm submitting a ...

- [ ] bug report
- [ ] feature request

## What is the current behavior?

## If the current behavior is a bug, please provide the steps to reproduce and if possible a minimal demo of the problem

## What is the expected behavior?

## What is the motivation / use case for changing the behavior?

## Please tell us about your environment:

Version: 2.0.0-beta.X
Browser:
Language: