COSMIC is reported to have revised its GitHub pull-request template to ask contributors to attest that submitted PRs contain no LLM-generated material. The reported scope includes code, comments, and PR descriptions. This is a contribution-review policy—not evidence of a blanket ban on privately using AI—and the current template’s exact wording and effective date have not been independently confirmed.
What COSMIC’s reported policy means for contributors
Linuxiac reported on October 2, 2026, that COSMIC’s revised pull-request template asks contributors to confirm a PR contains no LLM-generated code, comments, or description. The report also says the template includes attestations that contributors understand their changes, can respond to review feedback, have tested their work, and certify under the Developer Certificate of Origin. The primary template was not retrieved, so these details describe the report rather than verified verbatim template language. Linuxiac’s October 2 report
The practical distinction is between material submitted as part of a PR and private use of AI while preparing to contribute. The sources describe a restriction on generated content in submitted PRs; they do not establish a blanket prohibition on using AI privately for research, debugging, or understanding code. Contributors should check COSMIC’s live template and project guidance before opening a PR.
How the policy was reported to develop
August 2026: a maintainer referred to an existing template policy
In an August 2–4 GitHub discussion, contributor Commander-Zal asked about generated contributions. COSMIC maintainer mmstick replied, “We have a policy in place that we use with GitHub pull request templates:” and linked the template. Another participant said there was no current plan to change the policy and described substantial LLM-written PRs as generally not accepted. This establishes an earlier reference to a template policy, but not the complete wording of the later reported rule. August GitHub discussion
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September 30: rationale and an exception were reported
A September 30 Reddit post reproduces a team statement explaining that COSMIC wanted to prioritize its team and regular contributors after receiving a much larger volume of changes from first-time contributors using LLMs. The statement characterizes many of those changes as unplanned and having a low acceptance rate; no named statistic was verified in the available sources. The post also reports an exception for cosmic-flatpak manifests: each project manages its own manifest, while COSMIC reviews sandboxing. This rationale and exception come through a secondary reproduction, not a directly retrieved project announcement. September 30 Reddit post
October 2: reporting described a more explicit declaration
Linuxiac’s October 2 report describes the revised template as requiring a no-LLM-generated-content attestation covering code, comments, and PR descriptions. The available evidence supports a shift toward more explicit declarations and a reported broader scope; it does not establish the precise date when the revised text took effect. October 2 Linuxiac report
What to do before opening a COSMIC pull request
- Open the current COSMIC repository and read the pull-request template and linked contribution guidance. The exact current template wording has not been independently verified here.
- Submit only work you understand well enough to explain and defend during review.
- Test the change and report accurately what you tested; do not attest to testing you did not perform.
- Follow the template’s current declarations, including any applicable Developer Certificate of Origin certification.
- If your contribution concerns a cosmic-flatpak manifest, check the live project guidance rather than assuming the reported exception’s details or scope.
This is a project-specific approach, not an open-source-wide rule
Open-source projects set their own contribution policies. GitLab’s official contribution policy, for example, permits AI-generated contributions under disclosure, validation, and other conditions. That contrast does not alter COSMIC’s reported requirements; it shows why contributors need to consult the rules of the project receiving their PR. GitLab contribution policy
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What remains unclear
The exact current text of COSMIC’s PR template and the effective date of the reported revision remain unconfirmed by the sources cited here. For a submission, the live project template—not a paraphrase of news coverage—is the guidance to follow.
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