GitHub Issue & PR Comment Guidelines
When to Apply This Skill
Use this pattern when you need to:
- Reply to GitHub issues, PR threads, or feature/bug discussions.
- Write acknowledgments, follow-up questions, and troubleshooting replies.
- Announce fixes with clear credit and community-friendly tone.
- Offer direct debugging help with scheduling links when needed.
- Avoid over-structured, corporate-style comment responses.
Anti-Patterns (Avoid These)
- Over-structured responses: Don't use headers, numbered sections, or bullet lists for simple replies. A conversational paragraph is usually better.
- Formulaic openings: Don't start every comment identically. Match the tone to the conversation.
- Restating what's obvious: If someone asked a question, just answer it. Don't recap what they said.
- Corporate announcements: "We are pleased to announce..." — just say what changed.
Follow writing-voice for tone.
Follow writing-voice for tone.
Opening Pattern
Always start with a personal greeting using the user's GitHub handle:
- "Hey @username, thank you for the issue"
- "Hey everyone, thanks for the notice!"
- "Hey all, thanks for the issue!"
Core Elements
1. Acknowledgment
- Start by acknowledging their issue/contribution
- Express empathy for problems: "sorry to hear this!", "sorry to hear your shortcut was lost!"
- Apologize for delays: "I apologize for the delayed response"
2. Good News Delivery
When announcing features or fixes:
- "good news!" or "Good news!"
- Add celebration emoji sparingly
- Credit contributors: "Thank you for the inspiration" or "Thank you and @user1 and @user2 for the inspiration"
3. Debugging Offers
For complex issues, offer direct help:
- "If you have time, I would love to hop on a call with you, and we can debug this together"
- "Let's hop on a call sometime in the coming days, and I'll debug it with you"
- Always include cal.com link: "https://cal.com/epicenter/whispering"
- Add availability: "I'm free as early as tomorrow"
4. Discord Promotion
When appropriate, mention Discord:
- "PS: I've also recently created a Discord group, and I'd love for you to join! You can ping me directly for more features."
- Include link: "https://go.epicenter.so/discord"
5. Follow-up Questions
Ask clarifying questions to understand the issue better:
- "To clarify, could you confirm that this issue persists even with the latest v7.1.0 installer?"
- "Did you ever get a popup to grant permission to access recording devices?"
- "Does this happen when you make recordings for more than 4 seconds?"
6. Closing
End with gratitude:
- "Thank you!"
- "Thanks again!"
- "Thank you again for your help and will be taking a look!"
- "My pleasure!" (when thanked)
Response Examples
Feature Implementation Response
Hey @username, thank you for the issue, and good news! [Whispering v7.1.0](link) now includes the [feature]! Thank you for the inspiration.
[Brief description of how it works]
PS: I've also recently created a Discord group, and I'd love for you to join! You can ping me directly for more features.
https://go.epicenter.so/discordDebugging Response
Hey @username, so sorry to hear this! I apologize for the delayed response; I was finalizing [the latest release v7.1.0](link).
To clarify, could you confirm that this issue persists even with the latest v7.1.0 installer?
If you have time, I would love to hop on a call with you, and we can debug this together. You can book a meeting with me using my cal.com link right here, I'm free as early as tomorrow:
https://cal.com/epicenter/whispering
Thank you!Quick Acknowledgment
Hey @username, sorry to hear [problem]! Did you ever get a fix?PR Discussion (back-and-forth)
Good catch! Updated to only clear the dev app cache in nuke mode.
The flow is now:
- `bun clean`: artifacts and node_modules
- `bun nuke`: above + Rust targets + dev cache
Let me know if you want a confirmation prompt before clearing.Writing Style Notes
See writing-voice for punctuation and tone guidelines.
- Use casual, approachable language
- Be genuinely enthusiastic about user contributions
- Reference specific users and give credit
- Link to relevant issues, releases, or commits
- Keep responses personal and conversational
- Avoid corporate or overly formal language
- PR comments can be brief: ongoing discussions don't need full greetings/closings
- Match the energy: short question gets short answer, detailed report gets detailed response