diff --git a/.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md b/.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..eae79e499
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+<!-- What does this PR do, in a line or two? Reference the issue it addresses, if any. -->
+
+<!-- Pull requests created primarily with AI must be declared with (AI) or
+     (AI Generated) in the title. See CONTRIBUTING.md. -->
+
+<!-- If this is your first PR, an automated check of your account credentials will be
+     run and if there are any issues this will be posted publicly as a comment below. -->
diff --git a/.github/workflows/profile_contributors.yml b/.github/workflows/profile_contributors.yml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..7e4c84e3d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/profile_contributors.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,74 @@
+# Profile the author of a PR from someone with no merged PR here yet, and comment
+# only when gh-profiler raises a yellow or red flag.
+#
+# gh-profiler is by Eric Matthes: https://github.com/ehmatthes/gh-profiler
+
+name: profile_contributors
+
+on:
+    # Never checks out or runs PR code; it reads the author's login and comments.
+    pull_request_target:
+        types: [opened]
+
+permissions:
+    pull-requests: write
+
+jobs:
+    profile:
+        # Dependabot and friends do not need profiling.
+        if: github.event.pull_request.user.type != 'Bot'
+        runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+        steps:
+        - name: Check whether contributor has a previously merged PR
+          id: previous
+          env:
+              GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
+              AUTHOR: ${{ github.event.pull_request.user.login }}
+              REPO: ${{ github.repository }}
+          run: |
+              count="$(gh pr list --repo "$REPO" --author "$AUTHOR" \
+                  --state merged --limit 1 --json number --jq 'length')"
+              echo "count=$count" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+
+        - name: Install uv
+          if: steps.previous.outputs.count == '0'
+          uses: astral-sh/setup-uv@v7
+
+        - name: Profile contributor
+          if: steps.previous.outputs.count == '0'
+          id: profile
+          env:
+              GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
+              AUTHOR: ${{ github.event.pull_request.user.login }}
+          run: |
+              uvx gh-profiler==0.9.0 "$AUTHOR" --concise | tee profile.txt
+              echo '===================== Full profile ====================='
+              uvx gh-profiler==0.9.0 "$AUTHOR"
+
+              # A yellow on the profile section alone means only that the account is
+              # newish or has empty bio fields, which is not worth a public comment.
+              concern=false
+              if grep -q '🔴' profile.txt; then
+                  concern=true
+              elif grep -e 'recent PR activity' -e 'recent issue activity' profile.txt \
+                      | grep -q '🟡'; then
+                  concern=true
+              fi
+              echo "concern=$concern" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+
+        - name: Comment on PR
+          if: steps.previous.outputs.count == '0' && steps.profile.outputs.concern == 'true'
+          env:
+              GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
+              PR: ${{ github.event.pull_request.number }}
+          run: |
+              {
+                  echo 'Contributor profile ([gh-profiler](https://github.com/ehmatthes/gh-profiler));'
+                  echo 'the full report is in this workflow'"'"'s log.'
+                  echo
+                  echo '```text'
+                  cat profile.txt
+                  echo '```'
+              } > comment.txt
+
+              gh pr comment "$PR" --body-file comment.txt
diff --git a/AGENTS.md b/AGENTS.md
index 2e7640dca..e65377b41 100644
--- a/AGENTS.md
+++ b/AGENTS.md
@@ -98,6 +98,11 @@
   branch such as `m21_9`. When a CI check fails but passes locally, "is my branch behind
   `master`?" should be one of the first things to check: fetch and merge `master`, then the
   newer types/code on `master` will reproduce the failure locally.
+- The issue and PR templates in `.github/` are requirements, not suggestions. Read and follow
+  them even when opening through the API or `gh`, which do not fill them in for you. An issue
+  or PR that ignores the template may be closed without comment.
+- A PR from an account with no merged PR here is profiled automatically, and anything flagged
+  is posted publicly as a comment on the PR.
 - All PRs and Issues that use AI to be declared AI-assisted. Just write "AI-assisted (Claude)" with short name of Agent replacing "Claude". No robot emoji under any circumstance.
 - 20 or more lines of code written by an agent needs to be declared as AI-assisted in the docstring.  
   Humans can remove and should remove this note when they do a review.
diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index 9c9232c61..1abc91006 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -17,6 +17,14 @@ In 2026 we welcome AI-Assisted contributions, but users must take responsibility
 they must match the code-style of the rest of the music21 project. "Slop that works somehow" will
 not be accepted.
 
+When opening an issue or pull request in Github, templates will appear to guide you in making
+the request.  If you are opening in a different way, like through an agent tool, those
+templates may not appear -- be sure your agent is reading them in `.github/` anyhow, since
+they are required to be used. Thanks!
+
+If this is your first PR, an automated check of your account credentials will be run and if
+there are any issues this will be posted publicly as a comment on the PR.
+
 ## Resources ##
 
 [Module Documentation and User's Guide](https://www.music21.org/music21docs/)