TL;DR
tldraw maintainers will automatically close pull requests from external contributors after seeing a rise in AI-produced submissions that lack context and follow-up. The project will still accept issues, bug reports and discussions, and the measure is temporary until better contribution management tools appear.
What happened
The tldraw project announced a temporary change to how it handles contributions: maintainers will automatically close pull requests originating from external contributors. The team says the action responds to a notable uptick in contributions created by AI tools; many such pull requests are formally correct but often miss necessary context, misinterpret the codebase, and show little or no engagement from their authors. The maintainers framed an open pull request as a pledge that the project will invest time to review and consider it; given the influx, they will close unsolicited submissions first and selectively re-open those that are under active consideration. Issues, bug reports and discussion threads remain welcome. The repository’s author recalled making the project public in 2021 and described the decision as temporary, expressing hope that GitHub will introduce better tooling to manage contributions so the project can reopen normal contribution workflows.
Why it matters
- Maintainers’ review workload can be overwhelmed by high volumes of low-engagement submissions, slowing development.
- Automatic closing changes the pathway for contributors, shifting participation toward issues and discussions rather than unsolicited pull requests.
- AI-generated contributions can introduce misleading or incorrect changes when they lack human context or follow-up.
- Project governance and tooling limitations on platforms like GitHub can force temporary policy shifts for open-source projects.
Key facts
- tldraw will begin automatically closing pull requests from external contributors.
- The project continues to welcome issues, bug reports and discussions.
- The change is described as temporary and tied to the availability of better GitHub management features.
- Maintainers reported a recent increase in contributions generated by AI tools.
- Many AI-generated pull requests were noted to lack necessary context, misunderstand the codebase, or not include follow-up from authors.
- An open pull request is treated by the team as a commitment that it will be reviewed carefully and considered seriously.
- The repository was made public in 2021 and the maintainer said they had previously welcomed public contributions.
What to watch next
- Whether GitHub releases new contribution-management features that let tldraw reopen external pull requests as before.
- Announcements from the tldraw team about policy changes or selective re-opening criteria for external pull requests.
- not confirmed in the source: If other open-source projects adopt similar automatic-closing policies in response to AI-generated contributions.
Quick glossary
- Pull request: A request by a contributor to merge code changes from one branch or fork into another repository branch, subject to review.
- Maintainer: A person or team responsible for reviewing contributions, merging changes, and managing a software project’s repository.
- Repository: A storage location for a software project’s code, history, and collaboration artifacts, commonly hosted on services like GitHub.
- AI-generated contribution: Code or other repository changes produced with the assistance of automated tools or models rather than solely by a human author.
Reader FAQ
Will tldraw still accept bug reports and discussions?
Yes. The project said it will continue to welcome issues, bug reports and discussions.
Are external pull requests permanently blocked?
No. The policy is described as temporary; maintainers will close unsolicited pull requests first and selectively re-open those under consideration.
Why did the project change its contribution policy?
The team cited a surge in AI-generated pull requests that frequently lack context, misunderstand the codebase, and show little follow-up from authors.
Will GitHub add tools to address this problem?
The maintainer expressed hope that GitHub will roll out better management features soon, but that outcome is not confirmed in the source.
tldraw / tldraw Public Notifications Fork 2.9k Star 44.6k Code Issues 279 Pull requests 73 Actions Security Insights Contributions policy #7695 New issue Open Task Description steveruizok opened Collaborator Hey all,…
Sources
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