The Problem: Your Colleagues Are Lazy and You're Suffering

Let's be honest: pull request descriptions have become the digital equivalent of leaving a sticky note that says "fixed thing" on a completely rewritten authentication system. We've all seen them. We've all written them. The classic "updated files" when you've just refactored the entire database layer. The legendary "minor changes" that somehow touch 47 files. The ever-popular "fixes bug" that provides exactly as much debugging context as a fortune cookie.

Why does this happen? Because writing code is fun, and writing about code feels like homework. Developers would rather solve complex algorithmic problems than answer the simple question "what did you do and why?" It's the ultimate irony: we'll spend hours optimizing a function that runs 0.0003 seconds faster, but we can't be bothered to write three sentences explaining why we changed the API endpoint structure.

The real cost isn't just annoyance—it's productivity death by a thousand paper cuts. Every vague PR description forces the reviewer to:

• Play detective with git diff (the developer version of CSI: Codebase)
• Message the author for context (initiating the awkward "can you explain your PR?" dance)
• Make assumptions that are probably wrong (leading to bugs in production)
• Spend 30 minutes reviewing what should take 5 minutes with proper context

My personal favorite was the PR titled "cleanup" that removed our entire logging infrastructure. Just... cleanup. Like Marie Kondo decided our logs didn't spark joy. Or the legendary "tweaks" PR that introduced a race condition affecting 12% of our users. Such tweaks. Much wow.

The Solution: Let the Machine Do What Humans Won't

I built PR Description Rewriter to solve this exact problem. It's a tool that accepts the reality that developers are never going to write good PR descriptions voluntarily, so it does the work for them. Think of it as a combination of your most pedantic senior engineer and that one colleague who always writes novels in code reviews.

Here's how it works: the tool analyzes your git diff, looks at what actually changed, reads your commit messages (if you bothered to write any), and generates a detailed description that actually tells people what you did. It's like having a technical writer following you around, except this one doesn't need coffee breaks and won't judge you for that hacky fix at 2 AM.

The beautiful part? It's actually useful despite the humor. Yes, it includes sarcastic templates because let's be real—sometimes you need to acknowledge the absurdity of the situation. But underneath the snark is a genuinely helpful tool that:

• Saves reviewers hours of detective work
• Improves code review quality
• Creates better documentation automatically
• Makes your team actually know what's changing

And the best feature? It can be run as a pre-push hook or CI check, meaning developers can't even push their "fixed stuff" PRs without getting an actual description. It's the gentle (or not-so-gentle) nudge toward better practices that we all need.

How to Use It: Because Reading Documentation is Also Hard

Installation is straightforward because I know you won't use it if it requires more than three commands:

# Clone the repository
$ git clone https://github.com/BoopyCode/pr-description-rewriter.git

# Install dependencies
$ cd pr-description-rewriter
$ npm install

# Run it on your current changes
$ node index.js --diff

Basic usage is even simpler. Point it at your git diff, and watch the magic happen:

// Example from the main file
const generateDescription = (diff, commits) => {
  const changes = analyzeDiff(diff);
  const context = extractContext(commits);
  
  // Choose template based on change type
  const template = selectTemplate(changes);
  
  return formatDescription(template, changes, context);
};

// Output might look like:
// "Refactored user authentication module to use JWT tokens instead of sessions.
// Changes include: auth.js, middleware.js, and user model.
// Also fixed that bug I definitely didn't introduce last week."

Check out the full source code on GitHub for more examples and configuration options. Yes, there's actual documentation. No, it's not just "it works."

Key Features: Because Buzzwords Sell

• Analyzes git diff to detect file changes: It actually looks at what you changed instead of trusting your vague summary
• Generates detailed descriptions using commit messages and code context: Turns "fixed bug" into "Fixed null pointer exception in user profile loading when session expires"
• Adds sarcastic templates: Like "Fixed a critical bug that definitely wasn't introduced by my last commit" or "Refactored for readability (my readability, not yours)"
• Optionally inserts passive-aggressive review prompts: "Please review carefully as I wrote this while sleep-deprived" or "Tested on my machine (the only one that matters)"
• Can be run as pre-push hook or CI check: The ultimate enforcement mechanism for teams that value sanity

Conclusion: Stop the Madness

At the end of the day, PR Description Rewriter isn't just about generating funny descriptions—it's about fixing a real problem that wastes countless hours across our industry. Every minute spent deciphering a bad PR description is a minute not spent writing code, not spent with family, not spent doing literally anything more productive than playing "guess what the developer meant."

The benefits are real: better reviews, fewer bugs making it to production, less frustration, and more time for actual development work. Plus, you get to enjoy the sarcastic templates while secretly becoming a better team member. It's a win-win, except for anyone who genuinely believes "updated files" is an acceptable PR description.

Try it out: https://github.com/BoopyCode/pr-description-rewriter

Your colleagues will thank you. Or at least, they'll stop sending you Slack messages asking what your PR actually does. And really, isn't that the same thing?