[Feature Request] Add GitHub Action to require issue assignment before PR submission #7880
Description
Problem
Currently, contributors can submit PRs for issues they were never assigned to. This causes:
- Wasted effort - Multiple people work on the same issue unknowingly
- PR conflicts - Maintainers must manually close duplicate PRs
- Contributor frustration - People invest time only to have PRs rejected
- Increased maintainer workload - Manual enforcement of the CLAIM process
Recent example: Issue #7858 had 2 PRs submitted, one from an assigned contributor and one from an unassigned contributor.
Proposed Solution
Implement a GitHub Action that:
- Runs automatically on every PR
- Extracts the linked issue number from the PR description (e.g., "Closes [Term Entry] Python NumPy - ndarray: max() #7858")
- Checks via GitHub API if the PR author is assigned to that issue
- Fails as a required status check if the author is not assigned
- Provides clear error message: "You must be assigned to issue #XXXX before submitting a PR"
Benefits
✅ Prevents unauthorized PRs (not just discourages)
✅ Immediate feedback to contributors
✅ Reduces maintainer workload
✅ Makes CLAIM process enforceable, not advisory
✅ Zero additional manual work required
Implementation
This can be implemented using GitHub Actions with actions/github-script@v7. Similar systems are used successfully by projects like:
- First Contributions
- freeCodeCamp
- Mozilla's projects
I'm happy to help implement this if the maintainers are interested.
Alternative Considered
- Auto-closing bot: Works but may seem harsh to new contributors
- Manual enforcement: Current system, doesn't scale
- Required reviews: Still allows unauthorized PRs, just blocks merging
The required status check approach provides the best balance of enforcement and contributor experience.