PR Description Template Generator
Turn a summary, change list and testing notes into a structured pull request description in Markdown.
What is PR Description?
A pull request description generator. It assembles the sections a reviewer reads in order — what changed, why, how it was tested, what breaks — and can be saved as .github/pull_request_template.md so every future PR starts from it.
How it works
Each field maps to a Markdown section: the type becomes a checkbox list so reviewers can see at a glance what kind of change this is, the change list becomes bullets with the leading markers stripped, and issue references become `Closes #412` lines. Missing pieces are reported rather than left blank — an empty summary and an untested change are the two things a reviewer cannot work around.
- Paste or fill in the input. Drop in a commit message, a diff, a package.json, a path list or a set of options. The tool reads it locally — nothing is uploaded and no repository is contacted.
- Adjust the rules to match your project. Every linter here takes its convention from a setting you can change: allowed commit types, header length, target branch length, known branch names. Set them once to what your team actually uses.
- Copy the result. Generated files copy straight to the clipboard or download as a real file with the right name (.gitignore, CODEOWNERS, LICENSE, COMMIT_EDITMSG), and Reset returns every field to its default.
Examples
A commit message that fails CI
"Updated(auth): Fixed the expired-token redirect." is rejected by release automation and reported here with the exact reasons: unknown type, capitalised description, past tense and a trailing period.
A .gitignore that only half works
The Checker shows which rule decides a path — and why `!keep.txt` inside an ignored directory never fires, the mistake that sends people to Stack Overflow.
A dependency bump nobody reviewed
The package.json Diff separates added, removed and changed entries per section, so a caret bump of a runtime dependency does not hide inside a lockfile-sized pull request.
A diff pasted from a code review comment
The Diff Viewer understands several `diff --git` blocks, mode-only changes, renames and binary stubs, and calls out a pasted `--stat` summary instead of rendering an empty box.
Common mistakes
Committing a .gitignore without checking it
Rules look right and behave differently: a pattern containing a slash is anchored to the root, a trailing slash means directories only, and a file inside an ignored directory cannot be re-included. Check the paths that matter before you commit the file.
Rewriting published history
A clean commit history is worth having, but amend, rebase and filter-repo change commit hashes. Only rewrite commits that nobody has pulled; after a rewrite, push with --force-with-lease rather than --force.
Treating a generated file as if it were reviewed
These tools produce a starting point, not a decision. Check the licence text against the canonical source, read the security policy before publishing it, and make sure a CODEOWNERS team actually exists — GitHub silently ignores rules whose owner has no write access.
Putting slow checks in a pre-commit hook
A hook that takes 30 seconds gets bypassed with --no-verify within a week, and then it protects nothing. Keep pre-commit to formatting and linting, move type checks and tests to pre-push or CI.
Frequently asked questions
What belongs in a pull request description?
The summary a reviewer needs to decide whether to read the diff, the notable changes, how it was tested, anything that breaks, and where you are least confident. The diff already shows the how; the description is for the why.
How do I make this the default for every pull request?
Save the generated Markdown as .github/pull_request_template.md (or docs/pull_request_template.md). GitHub pre-fills the body with it, and the checklist is a good place to state what you actually verified.
Do `Closes #12` links really close issues automatically?
Yes, when the pull request is merged into the default branch. Use `Refs #12` (or a plain mention) for related issues that should stay open.