Respond to GitHub Issue

Workflow

1. Understand the issue

• Fetch the issue using

  gh issue view <number> --repo NVIDIA/Megatron-LM --json title,body,comments,labels,state

  .
• Read the title, body, and all existing comments to understand the full context.
• Identify the type: bug report, feature request, question, or discussion.

2. Research the codebase

• Based on what the issue is asking, search the Megatron-LM codebase for the relevant code.
• Read the relevant source files to understand the current behavior.
• If the issue references specific files or functions, read those directly.
• Check

  git log --oneline -20 -- <relevant-files>

  to see if there have been recent changes that address or relate to the issue.
• Use

  git log -S "<symbol>" --oneline

  to trace when code was added or removed — this is especially useful for questions about unused/deprecated code or missing features.
• If the issue is about a bug, try to confirm whether the reported behavior matches the code.
• Check whether an existing PR already addresses the issue:

  gh pr list --repo NVIDIA/Megatron-LM --search "<keywords>" --limit 5

  .

3. Verify before citing

• If citing a commit hash, confirm the commit message and diff match what you're claiming (

  git show <hash> --stat

  ).
• If citing a file path and line number, re-read the file to confirm the line content is correct.
• If claiming code is unused or missing, do a thorough grep to make sure you haven't missed a reference.

4. Draft the response

• Is technically accurate and grounded in the actual code (cite file paths and line numbers where helpful).
• Is respectful and welcoming to external contributors.
• Directly addresses the question or concern raised.
• If the contributor identified a real gap or bug, acknowledge it clearly.
• If there's a workaround, mention it.
• If work is planned or a fix would be welcome, say so and suggest next steps (e.g., "a PR to address this would be welcome").
• Keeps the tone professional but friendly.
• Is concise -- contributors appreciate direct answers, not walls of text.

5. Suggest follow-up actions

6. Present to the maintainer

Important guidelines

• Never post comments to GitHub without explicit approval from the user.
• If you're unsure about the answer, say so clearly in your draft and flag the uncertainty for the maintainer.
• If the issue is outside the scope of what you can determine from the code, tell the maintainer what you found and what remains unclear.
• Check whether similar issues exist that might be relevant:

  gh issue list --repo NVIDIA/Megatron-LM --search "<keywords>" --limit 5

  .