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Check the target repository’s current contribution guide and AI policy before opening a pull request (PR). Disclosure rules vary by project: Kubernetes asks for a brief note in the PR description, while Linux kernel guidance calls for more context in cover letters and changelogs. In every case, you remain responsible for reviewing, understanding, and verifying the changes you submit.
Start with the repository’s own policy
There is no single disclosure format for open-source PRs. Linux Foundation guidance says individual projects may set their own recommendations, so read the destination repository’s contribution guide and any AI-specific policy before writing the final PR description. Treat that project’s instructions as controlling for its contributions.
A 2026 arXiv preprint by Andre Hora, Romain Robbes, and Stefano Zacchiroli analyzed 281 AI contribution policies. In that collection, 83.3% permitted or encouraged AI use in code contributions, 67.3% required substantial human involvement, 43.4% assigned accountability to the human contributor, and 48.8% required disclosure. The study found that disclosure was most often requested in PR descriptions or commit messages, but the details differed. Those figures describe the policies the authors collected; they are not universal rates for all repositories. Read the 2026 preprint.
Use the disclosure location and detail the project requests
Kubernetes: a sentence in the PR description
The Kubernetes contributor guide says, “If you used AI tools in preparing your PR, you must disclose this in the description of your PR.” It gives this example wording: “This PR was written in part with the assistance of generative AI,” The guide says that sentence is sufficient. See Kubernetes’ AI guidance.
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Kubernetes also says using AI to help write a PR is acceptable, but authors are responsible for understanding every change. It instructs contributors to verify their work before submission and prohibits AI-related assisted-by, co-developed, or similar commit trailers. Follow the guide’s PR-description approach rather than adding an attribution trailer.
Linux kernel: explain meaningful generated content
The Linux kernel’s guidance addresses a meaningful amount of contribution content generated by a tool rather than a person in the Signed-off-by chain. It recommends disclosure in cover letters and changelogs. Depending on the contribution, useful context may include the tool name, the portions it affected, prompts or a summary of a longer session, and testing performed. The guidance recommends an Assisted-by tag for AI contributions, while stating that only a human can add Signed-off-by. Read the kernel’s AI-assisted contributions guidance.
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The kernel page treats spelling or grammar fixes, identifier completion, mechanical renaming, and formatting as outside its defined scope. It nevertheless asks contributors to consider whether reviewers would benefit from knowing a tool was used; when uncertain, its guidance favors transparency. This is a kernel-specific threshold, not a rule to apply to other projects.
How the two policies differ
| Policy detail | Kubernetes | Linux kernel |
|---|---|---|
| Where to disclose | PR description | Cover letter and changelog |
| Level of detail | A brief disclosure sentence is sufficient | Tool, affected portions, prompts or session summary, and testing may be useful |
| AI attribution trailers | Assisted-by, co-developed, and similar trailers are prohibited | An Assisted-by tag is recommended; only humans can add Signed-off-by |
| Contributor responsibility | Understand every change and verify before submission | Review generated code, comply with licensing, sign off personally, and take responsibility |
These examples show why copying a generic AI disclosure template can be wrong: the expected location, detail, and attribution format can conflict.
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Review and verify the contribution yourself
Disclosure does not transfer responsibility to the tool or its developer. Kubernetes says the author must understand every change. Gateway API states, “You are accountable for what tools do in your name.” Linux kernel guidance likewise expects the submitter to understand and defend the contribution. Read Gateway API’s contribution policy.
- Read the full diff, including generated text, tests, and documentation.
- Run the relevant tests and checks required by the repository, and report what you ran when the project asks for it.
- Confirm that you can explain each change and its likely effects before asking maintainers to review it.
- Correct or remove output you cannot validate; disclosure is not a substitute for review.
Keep disclosure separate from rights and licensing checks
A disclosure tells maintainers how AI assisted with the work; it does not answer whether the contribution can legally be submitted. Linux Foundation guidance says, “Code or other content generated in whole or in part using AI tools can be contributed to Linux Foundation projects.” It separately advises contributors to check tool terms and permissions for third-party material, and to provide appropriate notices and attribution where needed. Check those questions, plus any employer or project requirements, independently of the PR disclosure. Read Linux Foundation’s generative AI guidance.
Quick Recap
A practical checklist before opening the PR
- Open the repository’s current contribution guide and any AI policy.
- Follow its disclosure location and wording. For Kubernetes, put the prescribed disclosure in the PR description; for kernel work, include the relevant detail in the cover letter and changelog.
- Use only the project’s attribution format. Do not add an AI co-author or trailer unless that project explicitly calls for it.
- Review, understand, and verify the entire submission, and be ready to explain it.
- Separately check code licensing, third-party rights, tool terms, and any applicable employer rules.
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