Bootstrap a Contributor-Ready Open Source Repo on GitHub

What you'll build

A public GitHub repo where an outside contributor can pick a beginner-friendly issue, file a well-formed bug report, and open a PR that automatically requests your review. You'll wire up an issue form, a template chooser config, a PR template, CODEOWNERS, and a seeded good first issue that appears on your repo's /contribute page.

Prerequisites

• A GitHub account (free tier is fine).
• GitHub CLI 2.x, authenticated via gh auth login. Verified against gh 2.100.0.
• Git 2.x.
• macOS or Linux shell. On Windows, run the heredoc commands in Git Bash or WSL.

Verified against GitHub Docs as of September 2026.

1. Create the repo

gh repo create contrib-demo --public --add-readme --clone
cd contrib-demo
mkdir -p .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE

Everything contributor-facing lives under .github/, and none of it takes effect until it lands on the default branch.

2. Add an issue form

Issue forms are YAML files in .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/. Unlike old Markdown templates, form fields can be required, so you stop getting one-line "it doesn't work" reports.

cat > .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/bug_report.yml <<'EOF'
name: Bug report
description: Report something broken
labels: ["bug"]
body:
  - type: input
    id: version
    attributes:
      label: Version
      placeholder: v1.2.3
    validations:
      required: true
  - type: textarea
    id: repro
    attributes:
      label: Steps to reproduce
      description: Exact commands, one per line.
    validations:
      required: true
  - type: textarea
    id: expected
    attributes:
      label: What you expected vs. what happened
    validations:
      required: true
EOF

name, description, and body are the required top-level keys. The labels key auto-applies bug on submit, which feeds your triage flow later.

Now the chooser config, which hides the blank-issue option and redirects questions away from the tracker:

cat > .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/config.yml <<'EOF'
blank_issues_enabled: false
contact_links:
  - name: Questions and ideas
    url: https://github.com/orgs/community/discussions
    about: Ask here instead of opening an issue.
EOF

Point url at your own Discussions or Discord once you have one.

3. Add a PR template

cat > .github/pull_request_template.md <<'EOF'
## What this changes

## Why

## Checklist
- [ ] Linked the issue this closes (e.g. `Closes #1`)
- [ ] Tests pass locally
EOF

The filename must be exactly pull_request_template.md; valid locations are the repo root, docs/, or .github/.

4. Add CODEOWNERS

CODEOWNERS maps file patterns to reviewers, and GitHub auto-requests a review from the matching owner on every PR. Owners need write access, so for a new repo that's you:

echo "* @$(gh api user -q .login)" > .github/CODEOWNERS

Patterns use gitignore-style syntax and the last matching line wins, so you can add docs/ @your-docs-teammate below the catch-all later.

5. Label and seed a good first issue

New repos ship with default labels including good first issue, help wanted, and documentation. Add one for triage, then push everything and file a starter issue:

gh label create "needs triage" --color D93F0B --description "Awaiting maintainer review"
git add .github
git commit -m "Add contributor templates, CODEOWNERS, and chooser config"
git push
gh issue create --title "Add a CONTRIBUTING.md" \
  --body "Write a short CONTRIBUTING.md covering setup and how to run tests. Good starter task." \
  --label "good first issue" --label "documentation"

Issues labeled good first issue populate github.com/YOU/contrib-demo/contribute, the page GitHub shows newcomers looking for a way in.

Verify it works

Check the labels:

gh label list

Expected output includes your custom label alongside the defaults:

bug           Something isn't working         #d73a4a
good first issue  Good for newcomers          #7057ff
needs triage  Awaiting maintainer review      #D93F0B

The gh issue create command should have printed an issue URL like https://github.com/YOU/contrib-demo/issues/1. Then open https://github.com/YOU/contrib-demo/issues/new/choose in a browser: you should see the "Bug report" card and your contact link, with no blank-issue option. Finally, visit https://github.com/YOU/contrib-demo/contribute and confirm issue #1 is listed (this page can lag a few minutes behind labeling).

Troubleshooting

To get started with GitHub CLI, please run: gh auth login — any gh command prints this when you're not authenticated. Run gh auth login and pick HTTPS with browser auth.

HTTP 422: Validation Failed ... already_exists from gh label create — the label already exists (remember, good first issue is a default). Rerun with --force to update its color and description instead.

Unknown owner on line 1: make sure @user exists and has write access to the repository — shown when viewing .github/CODEOWNERS on github.com. The named user or team either doesn't exist, is a typo, or lacks write access. Fix the handle or grant access, then recommit.

Your template doesn't appear in the issue chooser — no error is shown; it's just missing. Either the file isn't on the default branch yet (push it) or the YAML lacks one of the required name, description, or body keys.

Next steps

Turn on branch protection requiring code-owner review so CODEOWNERS gates merges instead of just requesting them. Add more issue forms (feature request, docs fix) and a SECURITY.md. When that CONTRIBUTING.md PR lands, check your repo's Community Standards page under Insights, which scores exactly these files and tells you what's still missing.