Fix a pnpm bug with your coding agent

A developer has published a step-by-step workflow for using a coding agent to contribute a bug fix to the pnpm package manager, covering forking the repo, selecting an unassigned bug via the GitHub CLI, reproducing it with a failing test, making a minimal root-cause fix, and opening a PR that discloses AI assistance. The guide instructs the agent to confirm the chosen issue with the human before proceeding and to comment on the issue if work stops.

| | I want to contribute a bug fix to pnpm https://github.com/pnpm/pnpm . | | | 1. Set up | | | - Fork and clone the repo: gh repo fork pnpm/pnpm --clone , then cd into it. | | | - Read CONTRIBUTING.md and any AGENTS.md / CLAUDE.md files, and follow them. | | | They explain how to install dependencies, build, run tests, and add changesets. | | | 2. Pick an issue | | | - List open bugs that nobody is working on yet: | | | gh issue list -R pnpm/pnpm --state open --label "type: bug" --limit 100 \ | | | --search "no:assignee -label:\"state: has PR\" -label:\"state: in progress\" -label:\"state: blocked\" -label:\"state: needs design\" -linked:pr" | | | - Choose ONE issue that has clear reproduction steps and a scope you can fix in a | | | single focused PR. Skip issues that need a design decision or depend on a specific OS | | | or registry setup you can't reproduce. | | | - Read the whole thread, and check that there isn't already an open PR for it | | | and that nobody has commented that they are working on it. | | | - Tell me which issue you picked and why before you continue. | | | - Once I confirm, leave a short comment on the issue so others don't start on it too: | | | gh issue comment <number -R pnpm/pnpm --body "I'm working on a fix for this." | | | 3. Reproduce | | | - Reproduce the bug locally first. If you can't reproduce it, stop and tell me | | | instead of guessing a fix. | | | - Write a failing test that captures the bug. | | | 4. Fix | | | - Make the smallest change that fixes the root cause. Don't refactor unrelated code. | | | - Match the style of the code around it. | | | - Run the tests covering the changed packages, plus lint, and make sure they pass. | | | - Add a changeset if CONTRIBUTING.md asks for one. | | | 5. Open a PR | | | - Commit on a new branch, push to my fork, and open a PR against pnpm/pnpm main | | | with gh pr create . | | | - Put "close <issue number " in the description, explain the root cause and | | | the fix, and say how you tested it. | | | - Mention that the PR was written with the help of an AI agent. | | | - Watch CI and fix any failures. | | | If you stop working on the issue at any point for example, because you can't reproduce it , | | | comment on it again to say so, so that someone else can pick it up. | | | Apart from the comments above, don't post on the issue or the PR for me without asking first. |