tldraw pauses external contributions, citing rise in low-quality AI code and pull requests

tldraw, the open source collaborative whiteboard project, is suspending all external pull requests due to increasing concerns about the quality of AI-generated submissions. According to an updated “Contributions policy” on their GitHub repository, the team has announced they will automatically close all pull requests from external contributors. This temporary measure will remain until GitHub provides better technical controls over who can contribute, when, and where.

While tldraw will stop accepting external code contributions, users can still file issues, report bugs, and participate in discussions. The project's maintainers note a sharp rise in pull requests written entirely or largely by artificial intelligence tools. Although some submissions are technically correct, many fail to demonstrate adequate understanding of the codebase or lack meaningful engagement with the maintainers after submission.

Following clarification from the tldraw team, they stated that the presence of AI in itself is not the main problem. Instead, they question whether AI-assisted external code contributions are currently valuable, given observed quality and workflow issues. The decision has been positively received by contributors and users alike, who appreciate the team's concern for the stability and quality of the project.