How to Write a GitLab CODEOWNERS File from a Repo Map
CODEOWNERS files invent @root and a star rule. The map had two paths. Default NONE means no star rule.
The matching generator is the GitLab CODEOWNERS File from a Repo Map (No Invented Usernames) prompt. Browse related cards in the PromptDig library (Browse more prompts). When a filled run survives, share the version you actually use (Share a prompt).
Quote GitLab version or write UNKNOWN
Write a GitLab CODEOWNERS file from a repo map. No invented usernames, groups, or paths. Start by filling Inputs, not by asking the model to remember last week's run. If a field is blank, write NONE or NOT IN INPUTS and leave it blank through Generate. The card is built so the model cannot honestly invent a number, owner, URL, or command that you did not paste.
Paste these fields before you hit run:
Repo map (paths and owners I allow): [Map]
Default owners I allow (or NONE): [Default]
Sections I allow (or NONE): [Sections]
Words I must not use: [Banned]
What I must never invent (usernames, groups, paths): [Never]
Output format: [Format]
Language for comments: [Lang]
Max rules: [Max]
GitLab version note I lock (or UNKNOWN): [Version]
That inventory is the honesty ledger. Anything that does not appear there is forbidden in the draft. If you catch yourself adding a nice-to-have after the run, you are no longer using the card. You are ghostwriting. Put the extra fact in Inputs and run again.
Skip section syntax when Sections is NONE
Generate is numbered on purpose. Do not skip a step because the first paragraph looked done. The early steps exist to stop later prose from smuggling claims.
Walk the Generate list in order:
- Honesty ledger: Map paths, Default, Sections, Version, Lang, Max. Forbidden: invented @users, invented groups, extra paths.
- Version note: quote Version or write VERSION UNKNOWN. GitLab section syntax only if Sections is not NONE.
- CODEOWNERS body: at most Max rules. Paths and owners only from Map and Default.
- Default: if Default is NONE, do not add a * rule.
- Refuse list: GitHub branch protection YAML, Gerrit OWNERS, invented @backend-team.
- Groups: only groups written in Map. Do not expand a team name into people.
- Never: do not add @root or @admin unless listed.
- Compliance pass: quote Banned and Never hits. Cut them. Count rules vs Max. Format as Format.
If a step asks for a version lock, quote the version from Inputs in the output. If a step asks for a refuse list, keep the refuse list in the published artifact, not in a sidebar you delete. Reviewers should see what the model was not allowed to do.
Do not expand groups into people
Most failures are the same shape: a missing field gets a confident fill. A conversion rate appears. A Gradle task appears. A flash point appears. A caption appears on a job that asked for slide text only. Your review is to search the draft for numbers, names, and commands, then grep Inputs. No match means cut.
Honor the constraints as hard stops, not vibes:
- GitLab CODEOWNERS from Map. Not GitHub branch protection and not Gerrit.
- Never invent usernames, groups, or paths.
- Stay at or under Max rules.
- No emojis.
When the card says not legal advice, not certification, not an exam dump, or not a caption engine, that sentence belongs at the top of the output. Deleting it to look more finished is how you inherit risk.
Refuse GitHub protection YAML and Gerrit OWNERS
Finish with the compliance pass the prompt already asks for. Quote the banned-word hits. Cut them. Print character counts when the job has a cap. Print word counts when the job has a budget. List gaps as gaps. Five missing facts are more useful than one smooth paragraph.
Tags on the card (gitlab codeowners file, no invented usernames, repo map owners) are a reminder of the job shape, not an invitation to wander into a neighboring cluster. If you need a different surface, open a different PromptDig card rather than stretching this one.
Fill the card, then run
Replace every bracket. Run on ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini. Read the ledger first, then the artifact. If the model invents a commit, KPI, DOI, PEL, bid, or logo, discard the run. Tighten Inputs. Run again. Share the filled card that survived, not the first draft that sounded done.