[Bug]: Follow change request templates ignores GitLab and Azure DevOps templates #12330

Activity

1. BradyHazell

   added

   bugSomething is broken or behaving incorrectly.Something is broken or behaving incorrectly.

   needs-triageIssue needs maintainer review and initial categorization.Issue needs maintainer review and initial categorization.

   on Sep 17, 2026
2. juliusmarminge commented on Sep 17, 2026

   

   juliusmarminge

   on Sep 17, 2026

   Member

   More actions

   Triage

   Decision: Accept
   Classification: Bug
   Severity: Minor (P3)
   Confidence: High
   Repro: Source-confirmed. Reporter steps are sufficient; no extra environment details are required.
   Area: apps/server (Git stacked actions + PR/MR description generation)

   Summary

   Confirmed. Settings → Source Control → Follow change request templates is on by default and advertised as host-agnostic (“Use the repository's template for change request descriptions when available”), but PR/MR body generation only loads a template when the remote is GitHub. GitLab and Azure DevOps repos skip discovery entirely, so generated descriptions fall back to the generic ## Summary / ## Testing prompt instead of the repo template.

   This is not a duplicate of a still-open issue. It is leftover GitHub-only scope from #4204 / #264.

   Diagnosis

   Two independent gates, both still present on current main:

   1. Provider gate in runPrStep. Template detection runs only when settings.style.followChangeRequestTemplates && provider.kind === "github". Any other host (gitlab, azure-devops, also Forgejo/Gitea/Bitbucket) passes changeRequestTemplate: undefined into generatePrContent.

       const changeRequestTemplate =
         settings.style.followChangeRequestTemplates && provider.kind === "github"
           ? Option.getOrUndefined(yield* detectPrTemplate(cwd, baseRangeRef, gitCore.execute))
           : undefined;

   2. GitHub-only path list in the detector. Even if the kind check were removed, detectPrTemplate only looks at GitHub-compatible files/directories. It does not include the paths the reporter named:

      • GitLab: .gitlab/merge_request_templates/Default.md (and the rest of .gitlab/merge_request_templates/*.md)
      • Azure DevOps: .azuredevops/pull_request_template.md

   const TEMPLATE_PATHS = [
     ".github/pull_request_template.md",
     ".github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md",
     "pull_request_template.md",
     "PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md",
     "docs/pull_request_template.md",
     "docs/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md",
   ] as const;
   
   const TEMPLATE_DIRECTORIES = [
     ".github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE",
     "PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE",
     "docs/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE",
   ] as const;

   User-facing copy does not mention a GitHub limit:

           description="Use the repository's template for change request descriptions when available."

   When no template is passed, generation uses the generic body rules in TextGenerationPrompts.ts. followChangeRequestTemplates defaults to true, so GitLab/Azure users hit this without changing settings.

   PR #4204 implemented this as “Detect GitHub pull request templates” and closed #264. The setting and source-control docs later grew to cover GitLab and Azure DevOps, but discovery did not.

   Reproduction assessment

   Reporter steps match the code path. No log/screenshot is needed.

   1. Repo on GitLab or Azure DevOps with a distinctive template at the host’s documented path.
   2. Follow change request templates enabled (default).
   3. Create a PR/MR from T3 Git actions.

   Expected: template headings appear in the generated description.
   Actual: detector never runs (non-GitHub), and GitLab/ADO paths are not in TEMPLATE_PATHS / TEMPLATE_DIRECTORIES.

   Tests only cover GitHub paths (PrTemplateDetection.test.ts) and a GitHub pr create flow. There is no GitLab/Azure case that asserts a template is passed through.

   Related issues

   • Pull requests via t3code should use a pull request template #264 — original “use a pull request template” request. Closed by feat: add configurable source control writing settings #4204. Suggested fix was GitHub’s .github/pull_request_template.md only.
   • feat: add configurable source control writing settings #4204 — shipped the setting + GitHub-only detector. Not a duplicate; this issue is the remaining host gap.
   • No open issue about GitLab/Azure DevOps change-request templates.

   Same provider gate also blocks Forgejo, Gitea, and Bitbucket. Out of scope for this report, but a fix should not special-case only GitLab + Azure if those hosts already have documented template paths.

   Recommended next step

   Accept and implement in apps/server:

   1. Stop gating detectPrTemplate on provider.kind === "github". Keep the followChangeRequestTemplates setting as the only user switch.
   2. Extend TEMPLATE_PATHS / TEMPLATE_DIRECTORIES with host paths, at least:
      • .gitlab/merge_request_templates (prefer Default.md when several files exist; today’s “ambiguous directory → none” rule would otherwise ignore a valid GitLab default)
      • .azuredevops/pull_request_template.md
   3. Add detector tests for those paths and a GitManager test that a non-GitHub provider still receives changeRequestTemplate.
   4. Optional docs tweak in docs/user/source-control.md under “Create a pull request” so the supported template locations are explicit.

   Workaround

   Unchanged from the report: after T3 generates the description, paste or edit in the host template by hand.
3. juliusmarminge

   added

   acceptedfeature request acceptedfeature request accepted

   via-triageFiled through npx t3 triageFiled through npx t3 triage

   good first issueGood for newcomersGood for newcomers

   and removed

   needs-triageIssue needs maintainer review and initial categorization.Issue needs maintainer review and initial categorization.

   on Sep 17, 2026
4. scs0209 commented on Sep 18, 2026

   

   scs0209

   on Sep 18, 2026

   Last edited by scs0209

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   I've prepared a fix in #12392 that adds GitLab (.gitlab/merge_request_templates/Default.md) and Azure DevOps (.azuredevops/pull_request_template.md) change request template detection — let me know if you'd like any changes.
5. SachinD6 commented on Sep 23, 2026

   

   SachinD6

   on Sep 23, 2026

   More actions

   Proposal ready in my fork for #12330:

   • Fork PR: fix(git): follow change request templates on GitLab and Azure DevOps (#12330) SachinD6/t3code#1
   • Branch: SachinD6/t3code@poteto-12330-pr-templates

   Adds .gitlab/merge_request_templates/Default.md (+ directory) and .azuredevops template paths to PrTemplateDetection, and enables followChangeRequestTemplates for gitlab and azure-devops in GitManager. Small fix, 3 files, 12 insertions. Happy to adjust scope.
6. fixfon commented on Oct 11, 2026

   

   fixfon

   on Oct 11, 2026

   Contributor

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   I'd like to take this. I'll follow the direction in the maintainer triage above and open a focused PR with before/after evidence, noting the model and harness used.
7. fixfon commented on Oct 11, 2026

   

   fixfon

   on Oct 11, 2026

   Contributor

   More actions

   PR is up: #18209. It adds the GitLab and Azure DevOps template readers following the triage. Forgejo, Gitea, Bitbucket and Azure branch-specific templates are out of scope there.