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+<!-- Install as: <each code repo> -> .github/pull_request_template.md -->
+
+## What this does
+
+<!-- Behaviour change, in plain language. -->
+
+## Why
+
+<!-- Link the change request: Closes control-theory/dstl8-codegraph-action#<n>. Every planned change
+     carries one — it is what ties this merge back to an approved request.
+
+     Emergency change with no prior CR? Write EMERGENCY on the line below and ship it,
+     then open the change request straight after and come back and link it. The Change
+     Management Policy explicitly allows post-implementation registration where time
+     constraints prevent registering first. Do not sit on a production fix waiting for
+     a ticket number. -->
+
+CR: control-theory/dstl8-codegraph-action#<n>
+
+## Depends on
+
+<!-- Other PRs that must merge first, in order. Delete if none. -->
+
+## Evidence
+
+<!-- Test output, CI run link, screenshots, or the command you ran and its result.
+     "Tests pass" on its own is not evidence — link the run. -->
+
+## Deployment notes
+
+<!-- Migrations, backfills, feature flags, config/values changes, ordering
+     constraints, or anything that is not "ships with the next chart release".
+     Include how to back this out. Delete if none. -->
+
+## Reviewer checklist
+
+<!-- A human approving review is required to merge into main; the approver is never the
+     author. Copilot code review is optional -- request it from the Reviewers panel when
+     it would help. If Copilot (or anyone) leaves review comments, every thread must be
+     resolved or answered before the merge unblocks. -->
+
+- [ ] The description above matches the code that is actually merging (no stale design notes)
+- [ ] Tests cover the change, and CI is green on the final commit
+- [ ] Security/privacy implications considered (auth on new endpoints, secrets handling, tenant isolation, data in logs)
+- [ ] Any review comments left on this PR -- human or automated (Copilot) -- are resolved or answered in-thread
+- [ ] Approver is not the author