Migration from Checklist Buddy app

As part of our ongoing investment in pull request automation, we are bringing all checklist capabilities together under DevSensei, giving you a single, more powerful platform to manage your workflows. We have designed a smooth migration path so you can transition at your own pace, without losing any of your existing setup.

If you already use the Checklist Buddy app, DevSensei gives you a straightforward migration path. DevSensei configuration works via a devsensei.yaml file rather than the PRCHECKLIST file from Checklist Buddy. In order to ease the migration, DevSensei can generate the equivalent devsensei.yaml file corresponding to your current PRCHECKLIST file and create a pull request for you. This lets you preserve your current checklist behavior while moving to a more powerful and maintainable workflow engine.

Checklist Buddy syntax reference and generated DevSensei YAML

The following Checklist Buddy syntax elements are converted into DevSensei workflows in the generated devsensei.yaml file. In DevSensei, the filters and modifiers from PRCHECKLIST become workflow conditions, while the checklist entries become workflow actions.

• Pull request-level tasks and comments: +task+, +comment+, and +title+ entries are migrated into pull request-level DevSensei checklist actions, such as add-checklist, or comment/task actions where appropriate.

• Branch, file, and commit-title filters: filters such as --source, --target, --files, and --commit-title are represented as DevSensei workflow conditions. Negated filters using -except are converted into corresponding negative conditions.

• File-level checklist behavior: entries using --put-on-files and --with-modification are generated as file-level workflow actions, such as add-checklist-on-files, so checklist items are added to matching changed files instead of only to the pull request.

• File-level comments: non-blocking comments that apply to files can be generated as file-level comment actions, such as add-comment-on-files, depending on the Checklist Buddy configuration.

As a result, the generated devsensei.yaml does not simply copy the PRCHECKLIST syntax line by line. It translates the Checklist Buddy behavior into DevSensei’s workflow model: conditions decide when a workflow applies, and actions add pull request checklists, pull request comments/tasks, file-level checklists, or file-level comments depending on what was configured in Checklist Buddy.

# Before: Checklist Buddy PRCHECKLIST
--target master --source feature/* +title+ Release checklist
--target master --source feature/* +task+ Bump version number
--target master --source feature/* +task+ Public documentation is up to date
--target master --source feature/* +comment+ All done? merge PR with --ff-only.

--put-on-files src/** --with-modification added +title+ New source file checklist
--put-on-files src/** --with-modification added +task+ Double check that the file location follows the Package by Feature guideline

--put-on-files RELEASENOTES.txt +comment+ Please ask QA to review these changes

# After: DevSensei-created devsensei.yaml
workflows:
  - name: Repository Checklist Config - Checklist 1
    conditions:
      - destination ~= 'master'
      - source ~= 'feature/*'
    actions:
      - add-checklist:
          title: Release checklist
          items:
            - task: Bump version number
            - task: Public documentation is up to date
            - "All done? merge PR with --ff-only."
          duplicate-strategy: keep-existing

  - name: Repository Checklist Config - Checklist 2
    actions:
      - add-checklist-on-files:
          title: New source file checklist
          items:
            - task: Double check that the file location follows the Package by Feature guideline
          filter:
            and:
              - $1.path ~= 'src/**'
              - $1.added
          duplicate-strategy: keep-existing

  - name: Repository Checklist Config - Checklist 3
    actions:
      - add-comment-on-files:
          content: Please ask QA to review these changes
          filter: $1.path ~= 'RELEASENOTES.txt'
          duplicate-strategy: keep-existing

How the migration works

The migration is designed for existing Checklist Buddy customers who want to move their repository-level checklist setup into DevSensei without recreating it manually.

Repository migration flow

1. Install the DevSensei app.

2. Open the repository settings as an admin.

3. Navigate to the DevSensei migration section.

4. If a PRCHECKLIST file exists in the repository, a migration action is available.

5. Click Create Migration Pull Request.

6. DevSensei generates a devsensei.yaml file that mirrors the existing PRCHECKLIST behavior.

7. DevSensei creates a pull request containing the generated YAML configuration.

8. Review the pull request and merge it when you are satisfied with the result.

After the migration

Once the pull request is merged, your team can continue using the migrated checklist behavior in DevSensei and refine the configuration over time.

• Keep the migrated YAML as your compatibility baseline.

• Introduce advanced conditions, up-to-date checklist behavior, and duplicate strategies as your team is ready.

• Extend the same YAML file into broader pull request automation over time.

What DevSensei adds on top of Checklist Buddy

Checklist Buddy is centered around the PRCHECKLIST file. DevSensei keeps the idea of configuration-as-code, but moves it into a structured YAML format that supports broader pull request automation.

• Up-to-date checklists: DevSensei can keep checklists aligned with pull request changes instead of leaving outdated checklist content behind.

• Advanced conditions: You can define more precise rules for when a checklist should run, such as branch-based logic, pull request metadata, file-based matching, and other workflow conditions.

• Duplicate strategy control: You can decide how DevSensei behaves when a workflow is triggered multiple times. For example, it can keep the existing checklist, replace it, create a new one, or reset existing task states depending on the action and configuration.

• Workflow expansion: After migration, the same YAML file can evolve beyond checklists into broader pull request automation in DevSensei.

In short: migration preserves what you already have, while DevSensei gives you a stronger foundation for future workflow automation.

Summary

Migration from Checklist Buddy to DevSensei is designed to be simple for repository admins and low-risk for teams. If both apps are installed and a PRCHECKLIST file exists, DevSensei can generate the equivalent devsensei.yaml and open a pull request automatically, reducing manual setup effort.

The real benefit goes beyond migration. DevSensei gives teams a more capable platform for pull request automation, helping them move from a static checklist setup to a more flexible and maintainable workflow model.