Promptless ❤️ Open Source

Overview

Promptless helps open-source projects keep documentation in sync with fast-moving codebases. Use it to update developer docs, generate changelogs for new releases, or draft translations.

This quickstart sets up Promptless in three parts: install a GitHub app, set up doc collections, and choose which changes start documentation work. Open-source workflows often differ from commercial ones, so it also covers the trigger and publishing settings that suit busy public repositories.

Before you start

A Promptless account, through the Open Source Program if your project is eligible.
Permission to install a GitHub App on the organization that owns your repositories. Whether you can grant write access decides which app you install.

Set up Promptless on your project

Install the GitHub app

Choose the app that matches the permissions you can grant:

App	How Promptless publishes	Choose it when
Standard GitHub app	Creates branches and PRs directly on your repositories, public or private.	You can install apps with write permissions.
GitHub (read-only) app	Creates PRs from a fork, which works for public repositories only. It can still read any repository, public or private, for triggers and context.	You can only install read-only apps.

To publish to a private repository, use the standard GitHub app. For details on the read-only app, see the GitHub (read-only) integration.

On the Integrations page, connect GitHub with the app you chose.
Choose which repositories Promptless can access.

Set up doc collections

A doc collection tells Promptless where your documentation lives. Create more than one when you need to, for example when your changelog lives in a different location from your main docs. If your docs live in a monorepo alongside your code, scope the collection to the docs directory.

Create your doc collections by following GitHub repos (docs as code).

Configure triggers

Open the Configuration page.
In the triggers section of your promptless.yaml, list the repositories whose pull requests Promptless listens to.
Save the configuration.
Recommended. Run a backfill to generate an initial batch of suggestions from recent pull requests, and review them to calibrate Promptless before going live.

Open pull requests for every suggestion

Many open-source projects centralize work in GitHub, so anyone can benefit from Promptless without a Promptless account. If that applies to your project, have Promptless turn every suggestion into a pull request.

After your initial calibration, turn on Open a pull request automatically (publishing.auto_create_pr) in your publishing policies. Waiting until calibration is complete lets you refine the configuration before rolling it out to all contributors.

Choose PR or commit triggers

Most projects trigger Promptless on opened PRs. In popular projects, many contributor PRs close without merging, so a commit trigger can fit better:

Trigger	When Promptless runs	Choose it when
GitHub PR trigger	When a pull request opens	Most projects, where you want doc suggestions during review
GitHub commit trigger	When changes merge to your default branch	Many contributor PRs close without merging

Switch trigger types after your initial calibration.

Extend Promptless to other workflows

Translate your docs

For translation workflows, point the trigger at the English directory of your docs. Promptless then drafts updates that carry each change into the rest of your documentation. Someone fluent in the target language needs to review AI-drafted translations before they publish. See Keep localized docs current for how to set that up.

Start updates from GitHub issues

If your project uses GitHub Issues, create a GitHub issues trigger. Contributors can then tag Promptless in an issue to request a doc update.

Update contributor PRs (coming soon)

In some monorepos, you might want Promptless to add a docs commit to the contributor’s own PR, in place of a separate docs PR. The feature isn’t compatible with the GitHub (read-only) app. If you’re interested in it, contact us at help@gopromptless.ai.