Writing Better Pull Requests

Why PR Descriptions Matter

A well-written pull request description can be the difference between a quick, productive review and days of back-and-forth. Good PRs help reviewers understand your changes quickly, provide better feedback, and ultimately ship features faster.

The Anatomy of a Great PR

1. Clear, Descriptive Title

2. Summary Section

Start with a brief summary (2-3 sentences) of what the PR does and why.

## Summary
This PR adds rate limiting to the login endpoint to prevent brute force attacks.
We were seeing an increase in failed login attempts, and this will help protect user accounts.

3. What Changed

Use bullet points to list specific changes:

## Changes
- Added Redis-based rate limiter middleware
- Limit: 5 login attempts per 15 minutes per IP
- Returns 429 status code when limit exceeded
- Added unit tests for rate limiter
- Updated API documentation

4. Why These Changes

Explain the reasoning behind your approach:

## Rationale
- Chose Redis over in-memory storage for distributed deployment support
- 5 attempts in 15 minutes balances security with user experience
- 429 status code is standard for rate limiting

5. Testing

Describe how you tested the changes:

## Testing
- ✅ Unit tests added (95% coverage)
- ✅ Tested manually in development environment
- ✅ Verified rate limit resets after 15 minutes
- ✅ Confirmed legitimate users aren't blocked

6. Screenshots/Videos (if applicable)

For UI changes, include before/after screenshots or a quick demo video.

7. Related Issues

Link to relevant tickets or issues:

## Related Issues
Closes #1234
Related to #567

PR Best Practices

PR Template Example

## Summary
[Brief description of what and why]

## Changes
- [List of specific changes]
- [One bullet per logical change]

## Testing
- [ ] Unit tests added/updated
- [ ] Integration tests pass
- [ ] Manually tested in dev environment
- [ ] Edge cases covered

## Screenshots
[If applicable]

## Related Issues
Closes #[issue number]

## Notes for Reviewers
[Anything specific you want reviewers to focus on]