diff --git a/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md b/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..899ed1b725
--- /dev/null
+++ b/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+Thank you for contributing to Cats!
+
+This is a kind reminder to run `sbt prePR` and commit the changed files before submitting. 
+
+
diff --git a/build.sbt b/build.sbt
index 84da2cb443..63f45e5f5b 100644
--- a/build.sbt
+++ b/build.sbt
@@ -697,6 +697,8 @@ addCommandAlias("validateKernelJS", "kernelLawsJS/test")
 addCommandAlias("validateFreeJS", "freeJS/test") //separated due to memory constraint on travis
 addCommandAlias("validate", ";clean;validateJS;validateKernelJS;validateFreeJS;validateJVM")
 
+addCommandAlias("prePR", ";fmt;validateBC")
+
 ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
 // Base Build Settings - Should not need to edit below this line.
 // These settings could also come from another file or a plugin.