docs: add PR description style guide for agents (#21148)

Adds a style guide documenting PR description patterns observed in the
Coder repository. This guide is intended for AI agents to reference when
creating PRs, ensuring consistency with project conventions.

The guide covers title format (Conventional Commits), description
structure (default concise vs. complex structured), what to include
(links, performance context, warnings), and what to avoid (test plans,
benefits sections). Includes examples from recent merged PRs
demonstrating each pattern.

Placed in `.claude/docs/` alongside other agent-specific documentation
(WORKFLOWS.md, ARCHITECTURE.md, etc.) rather than in the main
contributing docs, as this is primarily for automated tooling reference.

🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)

Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

---------

Co-authored-by: Claude Sonnet 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
This commit is contained in:
Ben Potter
2025-12-08 19:55:32 +00:00
committed by GitHub
co-authored by Claude Sonnet 4.5
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# Pull Request Description Style Guide
This guide documents the PR description style used in the Coder repository, based on analysis of recent merged PRs.
## PR Title Format
Follow [Conventional Commits 1.0.0](https://www.conventionalcommits.org/en/v1.0.0/) format:
```text
type(scope): brief description
```
**Common types:**
- `feat`: New features
- `fix`: Bug fixes
- `refactor`: Code refactoring without behavior change
- `perf`: Performance improvements
- `docs`: Documentation changes
- `chore`: Dependency updates, tooling changes
**Examples:**
- `feat: add tracing to aibridge`
- `fix: move contexts to appropriate locations`
- `perf(coderd/database): add index on workspace_app_statuses.app_id`
- `docs: fix swagger tags for license endpoints`
- `refactor(site): remove redundant client-side sorting of app statuses`
## PR Description Structure
### Default Pattern: Keep It Concise
Most PRs use a simple 1-2 paragraph format:
```markdown
[Brief statement of what changed]
[One sentence explaining technical details or context if needed]
```
**Example (bugfix):**
```markdown
Previously, when a devcontainer config file was modified, the dirty
status was updated internally but not broadcast to websocket listeners.
Add `broadcastUpdatesLocked()` call in `markDevcontainerDirty` to notify
websocket listeners immediately when a config file changes.
```
**Example (dependency update):**
```markdown
Changes from https://github.com/upstream/repo/pull/XXX/
```
**Example (docs correction):**
```markdown
Removes incorrect references to database replicas from the scaling documentation.
Coder only supports a single database connection URL.
```
### For Complex Changes: Use "Summary", "Problem", "Fix"
Only use structured sections when the change requires significant explanation:
```markdown
## Summary
Brief overview of the change
## Problem
Detailed explanation of the issue being addressed
## Fix
How the solution works
```
**Example (API documentation fix):**
```markdown
## Summary
Change `@Tags` from `Organizations` to `Enterprise` for POST /licenses...
## Problem
The license API endpoints were inconsistently tagged...
## Fix
Simply updated the `@Tags` annotation from `Organizations` to `Enterprise`...
```
### For Large Refactors: Lead with Context
When rewriting significant documentation or code, start with the problems being fixed:
```markdown
This PR rewrites [component] for [reason].
The previous [component] had [specific issues]: [details].
[What changed]: [specific improvements made].
[Additional changes]: [context].
Refs #[issue-number]
```
**Example (major documentation rewrite):**
- Started with "This PR rewrites the dev containers documentation for GA readiness"
- Listed specific inaccuracies being fixed
- Explained organizational changes
- Referenced related issue
## What to Include
### Always Include
1. **Link Related Work**
- `Closes https://github.com/coder/internal/issues/XXX`
- `Depends on #XXX`
- `Fixes: https://github.com/coder/aibridge/issues/XX`
- `Refs #XXX` (for general reference)
2. **Performance Context** (when relevant)
```markdown
Each query took ~30ms on average with 80 requests/second to the cluster,
resulting in ~5.2 query-seconds every second.
```
3. **Migration Warnings** (when relevant)
```markdown
**NOTE**: This migration creates an index on `workspace_app_statuses`.
For deployments with heavy task usage, this may take a moment to complete.
```
4. **Visual Evidence** (for UI changes)
```markdown
<img width="1281" height="425" alt="image" src="..." />
```
### Never Include
- ❌ **Test plans** - Testing is handled through code review and CI
- ❌ **"Benefits" sections** - Benefits should be clear from the description
- ❌ **Implementation details** - Keep it high-level
- ❌ **Marketing language** - Stay technical and factual
- ❌ **Bullet lists of features** (unless it's a large refactor that needs enumeration)
## Special Patterns
### Simple Chore PRs
For straightforward updates (dependency bumps, minor fixes):
```markdown
Changes from [link to upstream PR/issue]
```
Or:
```markdown
Reference:
[link explaining why this change is needed]
```
### Bug Fixes
Start with the problem, then explain the fix:
```markdown
[What was broken and why it matters]
[What you changed to fix it]
```
### Dependency Updates
Dependabot PRs are auto-generated - don't try to match their verbose style for manual updates. Instead use:
```markdown
Changes from https://github.com/upstream/repo/pull/XXX/
```
## Attribution Footer
For AI-generated PRs, end with:
```markdown
🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)
Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
```
## Creating PRs as Draft
**IMPORTANT**: Unless explicitly told otherwise, always create PRs as drafts using the `--draft` flag:
```bash
gh pr create --draft --title "..." --body "..."
```
After creating the PR, encourage the user to review it before marking as ready:
```
I've created draft PR #XXXX. Please review the changes and mark it as ready for review when you're satisfied.
```
This allows the user to:
- Review the code changes before requesting reviews from maintainers
- Make additional adjustments if needed
- Ensure CI passes before notifying reviewers
- Control when the PR enters the review queue
Only create non-draft PRs when the user explicitly requests it or when following up on an existing draft.
## Key Principles
1. **Always create draft PRs** - Unless explicitly told otherwise
2. **Be concise** - Default to 1-2 paragraphs unless complexity demands more
3. **Be technical** - Explain what and why, not detailed how
4. **Link everything** - Issues, PRs, upstream changes, Notion docs
5. **Show impact** - Metrics for performance, screenshots for UI, warnings for migrations
6. **No test plans** - Code review and CI handle testing
7. **No benefits sections** - Benefits should be obvious from the technical description
## Examples by Category
### Performance Improvements
Includes query timing metrics and explains the index solution
### Bug Fixes
Describes broken behavior then the fix in two sentences
### Documentation
- **Major rewrite**: Long form explaining inaccuracies and improvements
- **Simple correction**: One sentence for simple correction
### Features
Simple statement of what was added and dependencies
### Refactoring
Explains why client-side sorting is now redundant
### Configuration
Adds guidelines with issue reference
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@.claude/docs/TESTING.md
@.claude/docs/TROUBLESHOOTING.md
@.claude/docs/DATABASE.md
@.claude/docs/PR_STYLE_GUIDE.md
@.claude/docs/DOCS_STYLE_GUIDE.md
## Local Configuration