.github

Default community health files, issue templates, and shared configurations for all JacobPEvans repositories.

About This Repository

This is GitHub's special .github repository, which provides organization-wide default files for all public repositories. Files stored here are automatically inherited by any repository that doesn't have its own version.

How Inheritance Works

Automatic Inheritance: When someone views a community health file in a repository that doesn't have one, GitHub displays the version from this .github repository. This happens in real-time. No syncing is required.

Search Order: GitHub looks for files in this order within both the target repository and this .github repository:

1. The .github/ folder
2. The repository root
3. The docs/ folder

One-Way Flow: Files in this repository serve as fallbacks. Changes here don't overwrite or sync to repositories that already have their own versions.

Override Behavior: Any repository can override these defaults by creating its own version of a file. For issue templates specifically, if a repository has ANY files in its own .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/ folder, NONE of the defaults from this repository will be used.

Public Requirement: This repository must be public for inheritance to work organization-wide. Private .github repositories only work for private repositories in the same organization.

Learn More: Creating a default community health file - GitHub Docs

Supported Inheritable Files

According to GitHub's documentation, the following files can be inherited:

• CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md
• CONTRIBUTING.md
• Discussion category forms
• FUNDING.yml
• GOVERNANCE.md
• Issue and pull request templates
• SECURITY.md
• SUPPORT.md

Note: LICENSE files cannot be inherited and must be added to each repository individually.

Repository Structure

Root Files

File	Purpose	Inherited?	Documentation
README.md	This file	No	-
LICENSE	MIT License for this repository	No	-
AGENTS.md	Quick reference for AI agents	No	-

docs/

Documentation files (inheritable by other repositories):

File	Purpose	Inherited?	Documentation
docs/CONTRIBUTING.md	Contribution guidelines	Yes	About CONTRIBUTING
docs/LABELS.md	Label system documentation	No	-

.github/

File	Purpose	Inherited?	Documentation
.github/labels.yml	Canonical label definitions	No	Managing labels

.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/

Standardized issue forms that enforce the label taxonomy and collect structured information:

Template	Description	Auto-Label	File
Bug Report	Bug reports with reproduction steps	type:bug	bug_report.yml
Feature Request	Feature requests and enhancements	type:feature	feature_request.yml
Documentation	Documentation improvements	type:docs	documentation.yml
Chore/Maintenance	Maintenance and tooling tasks	type:chore	chore.yml
Template Config	Disables blank issues, configures chooser	-	config.yml

All templates require:

• Priority selection (priority:critical/high/medium/low)
• Size estimation (size:xs/s/m/l/xl)

Learn More:

• About issue and pull request templates
• Syntax for issue forms

.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE/

Standardized pull request templates that enforce conventional commits and collect structured information:

Template	Use Case	Type Label	File
Default/General	Chores, CI, tests, other changes	Multiple	pull_request_template.md
Bug Fix	Bug fixes with root cause	type:bug	bug.md
Feature	New features with design docs	type:feature	feature.md
Breaking Change	Breaking changes with migration	type:breaking	breaking.md
Documentation	Docs improvements	type:docs	docs.md
Refactoring	Code refactoring with impact	type:refactor	refactor.md
Performance	Performance improvements	type:perf	performance.md

All templates require:

• Conventional commit format in PR title (type(scope): description)
• Related issue linking
• Type, priority, and size labels
• GPG-signed commits

Selecting a template:

• Default template loads automatically
• Use query parameter for specific template: ?template=bug.md
• Templates align with Conventional Commits specification

Learn More:

• Creating a pull request template for your repository
• Conventional Commits specification

.github/workflows/

GitHub Actions workflows that automate label management:

Workflow	Purpose	Trigger	Documentation
auto-label-issues.yml	Automatically applies priority and size labels from issue form dropdowns	Issue creation	Using workflows

How it works: When an issue is created from a template, the workflow extracts the user's dropdown selections (priority and size). It then applies the corresponding labels automatically.

Label System

All repositories use a consistent labeling taxonomy for issue classification and workflow management.

See LABELS.md for complete documentation.

Quick Reference

• Type labels (type:*): bug, feature, breaking, docs, chore, ci, test, refactor, perf
• Priority labels (priority:*): critical, high, medium, low
• Size labels (size:*): xs, s, m, l, xl
• AI workflow labels (ai:*): created, ready
• Triage labels: duplicate, invalid, wontfix, question

Learn More: Managing labels - GitHub Docs

Using These Files in Your Repositories

Option 1: Inherit (Recommended)

Simply don't create your own versions of community health files. GitHub will automatically display files from this .github repository as fallbacks.

How to check: Visit https://github.com/JacobPEvans/YOUR_REPO/community to see which files are inherited vs. defined in your repository.

Pros: Zero maintenance. Updates to this repository automatically apply to all repos without their own files.

Cons: Can't customize per-repository without losing inheritance completely.

Option 2: Override

Create your own version of a file in your repository to override the default.

Examples:

• Add CONTRIBUTING.md to your repo root or docs/ folder to replace the inherited version
• Add any file to .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/ to disable ALL template inheritance

Pros: Full customization for specific repository needs.

Cons: Loses automatic updates from this .github repository.

Option 3: Sync Labels

Labels are not inherited automatically. Use the GitHub CLI to sync them from .github/labels.yml:

# One-time sync from this repo to another
gh label clone JacobPEvans/.github -R JacobPEvans/YOUR_REPO --force

Why --force? Updates existing labels and creates new ones. Without it, the command fails if labels already exist.

Learn More: GitHub CLI manual

Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines on contributing to this repository.

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Related Documentation:

• About community profiles for public repositories
• Creating a default community health file
• GitHub CLI documentation

Maintained by: Jacob P Evans