Check that pull requests follow the pull request template

[akolson]

Overview

Contributors open pull requests that do not follow the pull request template. Reviewers then ask
for the missing information by hand.

Make the template reachable in every consumer repo, and check it through the automation entry point.
The check fails the run when the body does not follow the template.

Complexity: Medium
Target branch: main

Context

A sample of the most recent pull requests from non-members shows three separate failures:

Repo	Sampled	No template sections	## AI usage missing	… placeholders left
kolibri	8	3	1	1
studio	12	2	2	3
kolibri-design-system	6	0	0	0

The template is not one check. A body can carry the headings and still leave ## AI usage empty,
which the template marks as required.

kolibri-design-system is the outlier, and the reason is where the file sits. It holds its own
template at .github/pull_request_template.md. morango and test-actions hold their own too.
kolibri, studio, le-utils, kolibri-app and kolibri-installer-android hold none, so they
fall back to the org default in this repo at .github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md.

GitHub applies an org default in the web form. A pull request opened with gh pr create, the REST
API, or a coding agent reads the working copy instead, and the org file is not in the working copy.
A contributor in a kolibri checkout therefore has no template to follow.

kolibri-design-system already enforces one section in .github/workflows/changelog.yml. It reads
the body, fails the job when the section is absent or still the placeholder text, and exempts
dependabot[bot]. It is the model for the check here.

The Change

Put the template in the checkout. Extend scripts/sync-automation-template.js so it carries
PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md to consumers alongside automation-template.yml. Skip any repo that
holds its own template. This prevents the failure rather than reporting it, because the file then
sits where every tool looks for it.

Add a pull-request-template automation. Add an entry to automation-registry.yml with a leaf
that reads github.event.pull_request.body. The leaf resolves the template the same way GitHub
does, repo copy first and org default second, then takes the required sections from it. The
generator places the job in automation-group-pull-request-target.yml.

The check reports three things:

1. A required section heading is absent.
2. A required section holds no text.
3. A section still holds the … placeholder.

Fail the run. The job exits non-zero, as changelog.yml does.

The job log is the only channel, so it must name every missing section rather than fail on the
first one.

Notes for the implementer

Trigger on pull_request_target types opened, edited and reopened, so a corrected body clears
the check. The template on: block currently carries labeled, opened and review_requested, so
edited and reopened are new. Every consumer needs the widened template, which the sync workflow
proposes on its next run.

Exempt bot authors, as changelog.yml does.

Out of Scope

• Changing the wording of the template.
• Posting a comment on the pull request. The failed check is the only report.
• Making the check required in branch protection. That is a repo setting, and it follows once the
  check runs clean.
• Changing the kolibri-design-system changelog check.

Acceptance Criteria

• The sync workflow proposes PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md to consumers without their own copy, and
  skips kolibri-design-system, morango and test-actions.
• automation-registry.yml holds a pull-request-template entry, and the generated files are
  up to date.
• A body with no template sections fails the run.
• A body with the sections but an empty ## AI usage fails the run.
• A body that still holds … fails the run.
• The log of a failed run names every missing section, not only the first.
• A body that follows the template passes.
• Editing a bad body to a good one turns the check green.
• Bot authors pass.
• The check reads the repo template in a repo that holds one, and the org default elsewhere.

Testing

Test in test-actions. See
testing the automations.
The contributor cases need an account outside the organization.

1. Open a pull request with an empty body. Expect a failed check that names every missing section.
2. Edit the body to follow the template. Expect the check to pass.
3. Open a pull request that follows the template. Expect a passing check.
4. Dispatch the sync workflow with only: test-actions and dry_run. Expect no template row,
   because test-actions holds its own copy.

References

• Open sync pull requests when a consumer's automation.yml drifts #97 added the sync workflow.
• Use test-actions as the standard place to test the automations #98 made test-actions the place to test.
• Group automation jobs by event and move the PR spreadsheet to a daily cron #101 grouped automation jobs by trigger event.

AI usage

I used Claude Code to sample recent contributor pull requests, to check which repos hold their own
template, and to read the kolibri-design-system changelog check. I decided the approach and
verified the findings against the repos.

[akolson]

#108 consumes the ## AI usage parsing from this check, to record the disclosure in the contributions sheet. The parsing belongs here, and #108 should read it rather than grow its own.