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elliette merged 6 commits into from
Mar 13, 2026
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Merged

Update contributing guidelines and the PR template #9700

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Make a small edit
elliette Mar 11, 2026
f76f627
Update contribution guidelines and PR request template
elliette Mar 11, 2026
03f68ec
Refer to contributions-welcome and good-first-issue
elliette Mar 11, 2026
bdd127a
Update test checklist
elliette Mar 11, 2026
ca81213
Update test phrasing
elliette Mar 11, 2026
8dd9fa3
Update AI checklist
elliette Mar 12, 2026
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42 changes: 36 additions & 6 deletions .github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md
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@@ -1,19 +1,46 @@
*Replace this paragraph with a description of what this PR is changing or adding, and why. Consider including before/after screenshots.*

*List which issues are fixed by this PR.*

*Please add a note to `packages/devtools_app/release_notes/NEXT_RELEASE_NOTES.md` if your change requires release notes. Otherwise, add the 'release-notes-not-required' label to the PR.*
*Replace this paragraph with a description of what this PR is changing or adding, and why. If your PR is updating any UI functionality, please include include before/after screenshots and/or a gif of the UI interaction.*

## Pre-launch Checklist

### General checklist

- [ ] I read the [Contributor Guide] and followed the process outlined there for submitting PRs.
- [ ] I read the [Tree Hygiene] wiki page, which explains my responsibilities.
- [ ] I read the [Flutter Style Guide] _recently_, and have followed its advice.
- [ ] I signed the [CLA].
- [ ] I listed at least one issue that this PR fixes in the description above.
- [ ] I updated/added relevant documentation (doc comments with `///`).
- [ ] I added new tests to check the change I am making, or there is a reason for not adding tests.

### Issues checklist

- [ ] I listed at least one issue that this PR fixes in the description above.
- [ ] I listed at least one issue which has the [`contributions-welcome`] or [`good-first-issue`] label.
- [ ] I did not list at least one issue with the [`contributions-welcome`] or [`good-first-issue`] label. I understand this means my PR might take longer to be reviewed.

### Tests checklist

- [ ] I added new tests to check the change I am making...
- [ ] OR there is a reason for not adding tests, which I explained in the PR description.

### AI-tooling checklist
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@kenzieschmoll kenzieschmoll Mar 11, 2026

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@stuartmorgan-g do you have any feedback on this section?

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@stuartmorgan-g stuartmorgan-g Mar 12, 2026

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It looks like the specific elements that are pulled out from the guidelines to be their own extra checkbox items here (which I think has the effect of emphasizing those things, and thus de-emphasizing the rest) are all one-time things that apply to creating the initial PR. They commit to having reviewed the code before opening the PR, but aren't committing to reviewing future AI generated changes. They commit to having verified the accuracy of the PR description, but aren't committing to verifying the accuracy of future comments.

We've had non-trivial issues with people who feed review comments into an AI and uncritically upload the results—both code and response comments—either manually or by pointing an agent at the PR. Given that, I would worry that people would come away from this checklist thinking that basic due diligence on AI output is a one-time thing rather than an ongoing process. But you may be seeing different patterns of behavior in this repository, and want to emphasize different things as a result.

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@elliette elliette Mar 12, 2026

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Ah good point! I added one more checklist item here:

"I commit to verifying the accuracy of any AI-generated code or text that I upload in response to review comments."


- [ ] I did not use any AI tooling in creating this PR.
- [ ] OR I did use AI tooling, and...
* [ ] I read the [AI contributions guidelines] and agree to follow them.
* [ ] I reviewed all AI-generated code before opening this PR.
* [ ] I understand and am able to discuss the code in this PR.
* [ ] I have verifed the accuracy of any AI-generated text included in the PR description.
* [ ] I commit to verifying the accuracy of any AI-generated code or text that I upload in response to review comments.

### Feature-change checklist

- [ ] This PR does not change the DevTools UI or behavior and...
* [ ] I added the `release-notes-not-required` label or left a comment requesting the label be added.
- [ ] OR this PR does change the DevTools UI or behavior and...
* [ ] I added an entry to `packages/devtools_app/release_notes/NEXT_RELEASE_NOTES.md`.
* [ ] I included before/after screenshots and/or a GIF demo of the new UI to my PR description.
* [ ] I ran the DevTools app locally to manually verify my changes.

![build.yaml badge]

Expand All @@ -24,5 +51,8 @@ If you need help, consider asking for help on [Discord].
[Tree Hygiene]: https://github.com/flutter/flutter/blob/master/docs/contributing/Tree-hygiene.md
[Flutter Style Guide]: https://github.com/flutter/flutter/blob/master/docs/contributing/Style-guide-for-Flutter-repo.md
[CLA]: https://cla.developers.google.com/
[Discord]: https://github.com/flutter/flutter/blob/master/docs/contributing/Chat.md
[`contributions-welcome`]: https://github.com/flutter/devtools/issues?q=state%3Aopen%20label%3Acontributions-welcome
[`good-first-issue`]: https://github.com/flutter/devtools/issues?q=state%3Aopen%20label%3Agood-first-issue
[AI contributions guideline]: https://github.com/flutter/flutter/blob/master/docs/contributing/Tree-hygiene.md#ai-contribution-guidelines
[build.yaml badge]: https://github.com/flutter/devtools/actions/workflows/build.yaml/badge.svg
[Discord]: https://github.com/flutter/flutter/blob/master/docs/contributing/Chat.md
4 changes: 4 additions & 0 deletions CONTRIBUTING.md
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Expand Up @@ -22,6 +22,10 @@ We gladly accept contributions via GitHub pull requests! We encourage you to rea
framework's contributing guide, as all of that information applies to contributing to the `flutter/devtools`
repo as well.

We prioritize reviewing PRs that address issues with the following labels:
* [`good-first-issue`](https://github.com/flutter/devtools/issues?q=state%3Aopen%20label%3Agood-first-issue): Small and easy issues that can be tackled by a first-time contributor.
* [`contributions-welcome`](https://github.com/flutter/devtools/issues?q=state%3Aopen%20label%3Acontributions-welcome): Issues of any size or difficulty that we consider high-priority fixes.

We communicate primarily over GitHub and [Discord](https://github.com/flutter/flutter/blob/master/docs/contributing/Chat.md) on the
[#hackers-devtools](https://discord.com/channels/608014603317936148/1106667330093723668) channel.

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