Contributor PR checks remain pending for long time (workflow approval + external CI queue)

[mithlohar144]

Summary

For contributor PRs (from forks), required checks can remain in a pending state for a long time.

Observed behavior

• DCO completes quickly.
• Other required checks (for example Jenkins and scan) stay at "Waiting for status to be reported" for extended periods.
• Page also indicates workflow approval is required from a maintainer.

Why this is a problem

• New contributors are unsure whether something is broken or just queued.
• It delays feedback/merge cycle and creates confusion.

Suggested improvements

1. Add contributor-facing guidance in PR template/CONTRIBUTING about expected wait times and required maintainer approvals.
2. Add a bot message/comment when checks are waiting for maintainer approval.
3. If possible, reduce external CI queue delay or provide queue visibility.

Context

This was observed while submitting a small fix PR from a fork.

[maliberty]

Jenkins just takes a while to run all the tests but you can click on it to be taken to the Jenkins page for that action.

Most of the others are fairly quick, clang-tidy is probably the slowest. First time contributors are subject to approval before the actions run but you should see a GH notice about it (after a first PR is merged that approval is dropped).

That said more documentation is welcome.

[github-actions]

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