diff --git a/.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md b/.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md
index 68a75ce35..821a68f6a 100644
--- a/.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md
+++ b/.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md
@@ -4,7 +4,8 @@ Please describe the changes in this PR in the commit message(s) instead, with
 each commit representing one logical change. Address code review comments by
 rewriting the branch rather than adding commits on top. Use force-push when
 pushing the updated branch (`jj git push` does that automatically when you
-rewrite a branch).
+rewrite a branch). Merge the PR at will once it's been approved. See
+https://github.com/martinvonz/jj/blob/main/docs/contributing.md for details.
 -->
 
 # Checklist
diff --git a/docs/contributing.md b/docs/contributing.md
index 9722fc710..0a43504da 100644
--- a/docs/contributing.md
+++ b/docs/contributing.md
@@ -25,6 +25,32 @@ use GitHub pull requests for this purpose. Consult
 [GitHub Help](https://help.github.com/articles/about-pull-requests/) for more
 information on using pull requests.
 
+Unlike many GitHub projects (but like many VCS projects), we care more about the
+contents of commits than about the contents of PRs. We review each commit
+separately, and we don't squash them when the PR is ready.
+
+Each commit should ideally do one thing. For example, if you need to refactor a
+function in order to add a new feature cleanly, put the refactoring in one
+commit and the new feature in a different commit. If the refactoring itself
+consists of many parts, try to separate out those into separate commits. You can
+use `jj split` to do it if you didn't realize ahead of time how it should be
+split up. Include tests and documentation in the same commit as the code the
+test and document. The commit message should describe the changes in the commit;
+the PR description can even be empty, but feel free to include a personal
+message.
+
+When you address comments on a PR, don't make the changes in a commit on top (as
+is typical on GitHub). Instead, please make the changes in the appropriate
+commit. You can do that by checking out the commit (`jj checkout/new <commit>`)
+and then squash in the changes when you're done (`jj squash`). `jj git push`
+will automatically force-push the branch.
+
+When your first PR has been approved, we typically give you contributor access,
+so you can address any remaining minor comments and then merge the PR yourself
+when you're ready. If you realize that some comments require non-trivial
+changes, please ask your reviewer to take another look.
+
+
 ### Community Guidelines
 
 This project follows [Google's Open Source Community