The PR Template I Use to Keep Reviews Fast (and Teams Sane)
Published: (February 5, 2026 at 09:23 AM EST)
1 min read
Source: Dev.to
Source: Dev.to
Why PR hygiene matters
- Keeps reviewers focused on one problem at a time
- Makes rollbacks painless when something breaks
- Creates a written trail of “why” decisions for future you (this matters more than you think)
The anatomy of a solid PR
- Branch name: use a type prefix (
feature/,bugfix/,security/, etc.) followed by the purpose. - Commits: follow Conventional Commits (
type: short-description), never “fix” or “update” (please, for the sake of your reviewer). - PR body: include Summary, Why, Changes Made, Testing.
- Scope: only what’s needed. One PR, one purpose.
Copy/paste template
Summary
- …
Why
- …
Changes made
- …
Testing
- Manual steps
- Automated (tests/commands)
Quick checklist before you click “Create PR”
- Branch name is clear and prefixed.
- Commits are descriptive and consistent.
- Every PR section is filled in.
- Single‑purpose change. Each change gets its own PR.
Steal this template, tweak it for your team, and enjoy faster, cleaner reviews.
If you have your own PR rules or improvements, I’d love to hear them. I’m sharing more notes as I continue leading and mentoring developers.