Issue Station
Sign In
Tools hereToolbox

codex - 💡(How to fix) Fix PR template doesn't exist (docs create a circular reference) [2 comments, 3 participants]

Official PRs (…)
ON THIS PAGE

Recommended Tools

×6

Utilities matched from this issue’s tags and category — try them while you read without losing context.

GitHub issue graph ai analysis

Paste a GitHub issue URL. We fetch that issue, discover linked issues from bodies/comments/timeline, collect linked pull requests, and produce a structured English report.

The report is written in English Markdown for sharing and archival.

Helpful · Quick feedback

Loading…
GitHub stats
openai/codex#20038•Fetched 2026-04-29 06:23:33
View on GitHub
Comments
2
Participants
3
Timeline
4
Reactions
0
Author
HaleTomHaleTom
Participants
etraut-openaietraut-openaigithub-actions[bot]github-actions[bot]HaleTomHaleTom
Timeline (top)
commented ×2closed ×1labeled ×1
RAW_BUFFERClick to expand / collapse

What is the type of issue?

  • Documentation is confusing
  • Documentation is missing

What is the issue?

Issue #19856 was closed as completed, but the fix was insufficient. The circular reference between contributing.md and the PR template still exists, and the "What? Why? How?" structure that contributing.md tells contributors to use is still absent from the template.

What was changed: The PR template wording was updated slightly (now says "replace this text with a detailed and high quality description" and "Include a link to a bug report or enhancement request").

What was not changed — the three remaining problems:

  1. The circular reference is unbroken. The PR template at .github/pull_request_template.md says:

    "External code contributions are by invitation only. Please read the dedicated 'Contributing' markdown file for details"

    Then docs/contributing.md says:

    "Fill in the PR template (or include similar information) - What? Why? How?"

    An invited contributor following these instructions lands in a loop: "read contributing.md" → "fill in the PR template" → "read contributing.md" → … and never finds the "What? Why? How?" sections.

  2. contributing.md still doesn't link to the template. The "Opening a pull request" section says "Fill in the PR template" but does not link to — or even name — .github/pull_request_template.md. A contributor reading contributing.md cannot navigate to the template from the document that tells them to use it.

  3. The "What? Why? How?" structure still doesn't exist in the template. The template contains no headings, no sections, no "What?", "Why?", or "How?" prompts. It asks contributors to "replace this text with a detailed and high quality description" — a freeform request, not a structured one. Yet contributing.md promises contributors they will find a specific "What? Why? How?" structure to fill in.

Where did you find it?

extent analysis

TL;DR

Update the PR template to include the "What? Why? How?" structure and remove the circular reference by linking directly to the contributing guide.

Guidance

  • Remove the circular reference by changing the PR template to link directly to the contributing guide instead of instructing contributors to read it for details.
  • Add a link to the PR template from the "Opening a pull request" section in contributing.md for easier navigation.
  • Update the PR template to include the "What? Why? How?" structure with clear headings and sections to guide contributors.
  • Verify the changes by testing the navigation flow from contributing.md to the PR template and ensuring the template includes the required structure.

Example

### What?
Describe the change or feature you are proposing.

### Why?
Explain the reason behind this change or feature.

### How?
Provide steps or details on how to implement this change or feature.

Notes

The changes should be made to both the PR template and contributing.md to ensure consistency and clarity for contributors.

Recommendation

Apply the workaround by updating the PR template and contributing.md as described, to improve contributor experience and reduce confusion.

Vote matrix · Quick signals

Works
Did the solution work? Tap to confirm.
Easy Fix
Was it a quick fix?
Time Saver
Did it save you time?
Blocking
Was it severely blocking?
Common Issue
Are others likely hitting this too?
Flaky / Intermittent
Is it intermittent?
Verified / Reproducible
Can you reproduce it reliably?
Loading…
#device allocation#model download#tokenizer error#prompt formatting#chain error

Still need to ship something?

×6

Another batch ranked right after the header list — different links, same matching logic.

Back to top recommendations

TRENDING

codex - 💡(How to fix) Fix PR template doesn't exist (docs create a circular reference) [2 comments, 3 participants]