Writing Your First Pull RequestLesson 3.1

How to write a pull request description that gets reviewed fast

PR title format, PR body template, what changed section, why it changed, testing instructions, screenshots for UI, issue linking, draft PRs

A PR Description Is a Sales Pitch

Maintainers review dozens of PRs. A PR with no description gets deprioritized. A clear description that explains what changed, why, and how to test it gets reviewed the same day.

PR Title

Follow the same Conventional Commits format: fix(auth): prevent null pointer on logout. This feeds directly into changelogs and release notes in many projects.

PR Body Template

## What
Added null guard in AuthService.logout() before reading
the session token. Token was accessed after expiry check failed.

## Why
Fixes #234 -- NPE reported in production on session timeout.

## Testing
1. Log in and wait for session to expire
2. Click Logout
3. Confirm no exception in logs

## Checklist
- [x] Tests added
- [x] Docs updated
- [x] No breaking changes

Linking Issues

Use GitHub keywords to auto-close issues on merge: Fixes #234, Closes #234, Resolves #234. These work in the PR body, not just comments.

Draft PRs

Open a Draft PR early when you want feedback on approach before finishing the code. It signals work-in-progress and prevents premature review requests. Convert to Ready for Review when done.