diff --git a/.ci/bootstrap_catdog.sh b/.ci/bootstrap_catdog.sh
index 21779f76..88d651c3 100755
--- a/.ci/bootstrap_catdog.sh
+++ b/.ci/bootstrap_catdog.sh
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ if [ "$GITHUB_EVENT_NAME" = "pull_request" ]
 then
     COMMIT_MSG=$(git log --format=%B -n 1 HEAD^2)
 else
-    COMMIT_MSG="Initial commit\n\n[noissue]"
+    COMMIT_MSG="Initial commit"
 fi
 echo "${COMMIT_MSG}"
 
diff --git a/.ci/scripts/pr_labels.py b/.ci/scripts/pr_labels.py
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..9d637b6b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.ci/scripts/pr_labels.py
@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+#!/bin/env python3
+
+# This script is running with elevated privileges from the main branch against pull requests.
+
+import re
+import sys
+import tomllib
+from pathlib import Path
+
+from git import Repo
+
+
+def main():
+    assert len(sys.argv) == 3
+
+    with open("pyproject.toml", "rb") as fp:
+        PYPROJECT_TOML = tomllib.load(fp)
+    BLOCKING_REGEX = re.compile(r"DRAFT|WIP|NO\s*MERGE|DO\s*NOT\s*MERGE|EXPERIMENT")
+    ISSUE_REGEX = re.compile(r"(?:fixes|closes)[\s:]+#(\d+)")
+    CHERRY_PICK_REGEX = re.compile(r"^\s*\(cherry picked from commit [0-9a-f]*\)\s*$")
+    CHANGELOG_EXTS = [
+        f".{item['directory']}" for item in PYPROJECT_TOML["tool"]["towncrier"]["type"]
+    ]
+
+    repo = Repo(".")
+
+    base_commit = repo.commit(sys.argv[1])
+    head_commit = repo.commit(sys.argv[2])
+
+    pr_commits = list(repo.iter_commits(f"{base_commit}..{head_commit}"))
+
+    labels = {
+        "multi-commit": len(pr_commits) > 1,
+        "cherry-pick": False,
+        "no-issue": False,
+        "no-changelog": False,
+        "wip": False,
+    }
+    for commit in pr_commits:
+        labels["wip"] |= BLOCKING_REGEX.search(commit.summary) is not None
+        no_issue = ISSUE_REGEX.search(commit.message, re.IGNORECASE) is None
+        labels["no-issue"] |= no_issue
+        cherry_pick = CHERRY_PICK_REGEX.search(commit.message) is not None
+        labels["cherry-pick"] |= cherry_pick
+        changelog_snippets = [
+            k
+            for k in commit.stats.files
+            if k.startswith("CHANGES/") and Path(k).suffix in CHANGELOG_EXTS
+        ]
+        labels["no-changelog"] |= not changelog_snippets
+
+    print("ADD_LABELS=" + ",".join((k for k, v in labels.items() if v)))
+    print("REMOVE_LABELS=" + ",".join((k for k, v in labels.items() if not v)))
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    main()
diff --git a/.github/workflows/pr_checks.yml b/.github/workflows/pr_checks.yml
index 20eb115e..61a9c077 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/pr_checks.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/pr_checks.yml
@@ -1,62 +1,67 @@
 # WARNING: DO NOT EDIT!
 #
 # This file was generated by plugin_template, and is managed by it. Please use
-# './plugin-template --github pulp_catdog' to update this file.
+# './plugin-template --github pulpcore' to update this file.
 #
 # For more info visit https://github.com/pulp/plugin_template
 
 ---
-name: Plugin template PR static checks
+name: "Core PR static checks"
 on:
   pull_request_target:
-    types: [opened, synchronize, reopened]
+    types: ["opened", "synchronize", "reopened"]
 
 # This workflow runs with elevated permissions.
 # Do not even think about running a single bit of code from the PR.
 # Static analysis should be fine however.
 
 concurrency:
-  group: ${{ github.event.pull_request.number }}-${{ github.workflow }}
+  group: "${{ github.event.pull_request.number }}-${{ github.workflow }}"
   cancel-in-progress: true
 
 jobs:
-  single_commit:
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    name: Label multiple commit PR
+  apply_labels:
+    runs-on: "ubuntu-latest"
+    name: "Label PR"
     permissions:
-      pull-requests: write
+      pull-requests: "write"
     steps:
       - uses: "actions/checkout@v4"
         with:
           fetch-depth: 0
-      - name: Commit Count Check
+      - uses: "actions/setup-python@v5"
+        with:
+          python-version: "3.11"
+      - name: "Determine PR labels"
         run: |
+          pip install GitPython==3.1.42
           git fetch origin ${{ github.event.pull_request.head.sha }}
-          echo "COMMIT_COUNT=$(git log  --oneline --no-merges origin/${{ github.base_ref }}..${{ github.event.pull_request.head.sha }} | wc -l)" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
-      - uses: actions/github-script@v7
+          python .ci/scripts/pr_labels.py "origin/${{ github.base_ref }}" "${{ github.event.pull_request.head.sha }}" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
+      - uses: "actions/github-script@v7"
+        name: "Apply PR Labels"
         with:
           script: |
-            const labelName = "multi-commit";
-            const { COMMIT_COUNT } = process.env;
+            const { ADD_LABELS, REMOVE_LABELS } = process.env;
 
-            if (COMMIT_COUNT == 1)
-            {
-              try {
-                await github.rest.issues.removeLabel({
-                  issue_number: context.issue.number,
-                  owner: context.repo.owner,
-                  repo: context.repo.repo,
-                  name: labelName,
-                });
-              } catch(err) {
+            if (REMOVE_LABELS.length) {
+              for await (const labelName of REMOVE_LABELS.split(",")) {
+                try {
+                  await github.rest.issues.removeLabel({
+                    issue_number: context.issue.number,
+                    owner: context.repo.owner,
+                    repo: context.repo.repo,
+                    name: labelName,
+                  });
+                } catch(err) {
+                }
               }
             }
-            else
-            {
+            if (ADD_LABELS.length) {
               await github.rest.issues.addLabels({
                 issue_number: context.issue.number,
                 owner: context.repo.owner,
                 repo: context.repo.repo,
-                labels: [labelName],
+                labels: ADD_LABELS.split(","),
               });
             }
+...
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 5dd2155d..3e5bad37 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -133,8 +133,6 @@ The following settings are stored in `template_config.yml`.
                         the CI will run an additional pytest call running pulpcore tests with that
                         mark.
 
-  noissue_marker        A string that is used to mark a commit as not attached to an issue.
-
   stalebot              A boolean that indicates whether to use stalebot or not.
 
   stalebot_days_until_stale
diff --git a/plugin-template b/plugin-template
index ea33caf3..da4342fd 100755
--- a/plugin-template
+++ b/plugin-template
@@ -40,7 +40,6 @@ DEFAULT_SETTINGS = {
     "github_org": "pulp",
     "latest_release_branch": None,
     "lint_requirements": True,
-    "noissue_marker": "[noissue]",
     "os_required_packages": [],
     "parallel_test_workers": 8,
     "plugin_app_label": None,
diff --git a/scripts/update_ci.sh b/scripts/update_ci.sh
index d9ae7714..3926f86c 100755
--- a/scripts/update_ci.sh
+++ b/scripts/update_ci.sh
@@ -20,13 +20,8 @@ fi
 
 plugin_name="$(python ../plugin_template/scripts/get_template_config_value.py plugin_name)"
 ci_update_docs="$(python ../plugin_template/scripts/get_template_config_value.py ci_update_docs)"
-noissue_marker="$(python ../plugin_template/scripts/get_template_config_value.py noissue_marker)"
 use_black="$(python ../plugin_template/scripts/get_template_config_value.py black)"
 
-if [[ -z "${noissue_marker}" ]]; then
-  noissue_marker="[noissue]"
-fi
-
 if [[ "${ci_update_docs}" == "True" ]]; then
   docs=("--docs")
 else
@@ -46,7 +41,7 @@ fi
 
 if [[ $(git status --porcelain) ]]; then
   git add -A
-  git commit -m "Update CI files" -m "${noissue_marker}"
+  git commit -m "Update CI files"
 else
   echo "No updates needed"
 fi
@@ -59,7 +54,7 @@ then
   if [[ "$(git status --porcelain)" ]]
   then
     git add -A
-    git commit -m "Reformat with black" -m "${noissue_marker}"
+    git commit -m "Reformat with black"
   else
     echo "No formatting change needed"
   fi
@@ -70,6 +65,6 @@ if [[ "$plugin_name" != "pulpcore" ]]; then
   python ../plugin_template/scripts/update_core_lowerbound.py
   if [[ $(git status --porcelain) ]]; then
     git add -A
-    git commit -m "Bump pulpcore lowerbounds to supported branch" -m "$noissue_marker"
+    git commit -m "Bump pulpcore lowerbounds to supported branch"
   fi
 fi
diff --git a/templates/github/.ci/scripts/collect_changes.py.j2 b/templates/github/.ci/scripts/collect_changes.py.j2
index 3983565c..fa9d46af 100755
--- a/templates/github/.ci/scripts/collect_changes.py.j2
+++ b/templates/github/.ci/scripts/collect_changes.py.j2
@@ -98,7 +98,7 @@ def main():
             for change in main_changes:
                 fp.write(change[1])
 
-        repo.git.commit("-m", "Update Changelog", "-m" "{{ noissue_marker | default("[noissue]") }}", CHANGELOG_FILE)
+        repo.git.commit("-m", "Update Changelog", CHANGELOG_FILE)
 
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
diff --git a/templates/github/.ci/scripts/pr_labels.py b/templates/github/.ci/scripts/pr_labels.py
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..9d637b6b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/templates/github/.ci/scripts/pr_labels.py
@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+#!/bin/env python3
+
+# This script is running with elevated privileges from the main branch against pull requests.
+
+import re
+import sys
+import tomllib
+from pathlib import Path
+
+from git import Repo
+
+
+def main():
+    assert len(sys.argv) == 3
+
+    with open("pyproject.toml", "rb") as fp:
+        PYPROJECT_TOML = tomllib.load(fp)
+    BLOCKING_REGEX = re.compile(r"DRAFT|WIP|NO\s*MERGE|DO\s*NOT\s*MERGE|EXPERIMENT")
+    ISSUE_REGEX = re.compile(r"(?:fixes|closes)[\s:]+#(\d+)")
+    CHERRY_PICK_REGEX = re.compile(r"^\s*\(cherry picked from commit [0-9a-f]*\)\s*$")
+    CHANGELOG_EXTS = [
+        f".{item['directory']}" for item in PYPROJECT_TOML["tool"]["towncrier"]["type"]
+    ]
+
+    repo = Repo(".")
+
+    base_commit = repo.commit(sys.argv[1])
+    head_commit = repo.commit(sys.argv[2])
+
+    pr_commits = list(repo.iter_commits(f"{base_commit}..{head_commit}"))
+
+    labels = {
+        "multi-commit": len(pr_commits) > 1,
+        "cherry-pick": False,
+        "no-issue": False,
+        "no-changelog": False,
+        "wip": False,
+    }
+    for commit in pr_commits:
+        labels["wip"] |= BLOCKING_REGEX.search(commit.summary) is not None
+        no_issue = ISSUE_REGEX.search(commit.message, re.IGNORECASE) is None
+        labels["no-issue"] |= no_issue
+        cherry_pick = CHERRY_PICK_REGEX.search(commit.message) is not None
+        labels["cherry-pick"] |= cherry_pick
+        changelog_snippets = [
+            k
+            for k in commit.stats.files
+            if k.startswith("CHANGES/") and Path(k).suffix in CHANGELOG_EXTS
+        ]
+        labels["no-changelog"] |= not changelog_snippets
+
+    print("ADD_LABELS=" + ",".join((k for k, v in labels.items() if v)))
+    print("REMOVE_LABELS=" + ",".join((k for k, v in labels.items() if not v)))
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    main()
diff --git a/templates/github/.ci/scripts/validate_commit_message.py.j2 b/templates/github/.ci/scripts/validate_commit_message.py.j2
index 34936588..38e92e37 100644
--- a/templates/github/.ci/scripts/validate_commit_message.py.j2
+++ b/templates/github/.ci/scripts/validate_commit_message.py.j2
@@ -8,7 +8,6 @@ import os
 import warnings
 from github import Github
 
-NO_ISSUE = "[noissue]"
 CHANGELOG_EXTS = [".feature", ".bugfix", ".doc", ".removal", ".misc", ".deprecation"]
 KEYWORDS = ["fixes", "closes"]
 
@@ -55,15 +54,5 @@ if issues:
     for issue in pattern.findall(message):
         __check_status(issue)
         __check_changelog(issue)
-else:
-    if NO_ISSUE in message:
-        print("Commit {sha} has no issues but is tagged {tag}.".format(sha=sha[0:7], tag=NO_ISSUE))
-    elif "Merge" in message and "cherry picked from commit" in message:
-        pass
-    else:
-        sys.exit(
-            "Error: no attached issues found for {sha}. If this was intentional, add "
-            " '{tag}' to the commit message.".format(sha=sha[0:7], tag=NO_ISSUE)
-        )
 
 print("Commit message for {sha} passed.".format(sha=sha[0:7]))
diff --git a/templates/github/.github/workflows/create-branch.yml.j2 b/templates/github/.github/workflows/create-branch.yml.j2
index 80928cbf..d9019def 100644
--- a/templates/github/.github/workflows/create-branch.yml.j2
+++ b/templates/github/.github/workflows/create-branch.yml.j2
@@ -75,10 +75,8 @@ jobs:
           branch: minor-version-bump
           base: {{ plugin_default_branch }}
           title: Bump minor version
-          body: '[noissue]'
           commit-message: |
             Bump minor version
-            [noissue]
           delete-branch: true
 
       - name: Push release branch
diff --git a/templates/github/.github/workflows/pr_checks.yml.j2 b/templates/github/.github/workflows/pr_checks.yml.j2
index fdd84484..71671010 100644
--- a/templates/github/.github/workflows/pr_checks.yml.j2
+++ b/templates/github/.github/workflows/pr_checks.yml.j2
@@ -1,57 +1,63 @@
 {% include 'header.j2' %}
 {% from 'macros.j2' import
   checkout,
+  setup_python,
 with context %}
 ---
-name: {{ plugin_app_label | camel }} PR static checks
+name: "{{ plugin_app_label | camel }} PR static checks"
 on:
   pull_request_target:
-    types: [opened, synchronize, reopened]
+    types: ["opened", "synchronize", "reopened"]
 
 # This workflow runs with elevated permissions.
 # Do not even think about running a single bit of code from the PR.
 # Static analysis should be fine however.
 
 concurrency:
-  group: {{ '${{ github.event.pull_request.number }}-${{ github.workflow }}' }}
+  group: "{{ '${{ github.event.pull_request.number }}-${{ github.workflow }}' }}"
   cancel-in-progress: true
 
 jobs:
-  single_commit:
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    name: Label multiple commit PR
+  apply_labels:
+    runs-on: "ubuntu-latest"
+    name: "Label PR"
     permissions:
-      pull-requests: write
+      pull-requests: "write"
     steps:
-      {{ checkout(0) | indent(6) }}
-      - name: Commit Count Check
+      {{ checkout(depth=0) | indent(6) }}
+      {{ setup_python() | indent(6) }}
+      - name: "Determine PR labels"
         run: |
-          git fetch origin {{ '${{ github.event.pull_request.head.sha }}' }}
-          {{ 'echo "COMMIT_COUNT=$(git log  --oneline --no-merges origin/${{ github.base_ref }}..${{ github.event.pull_request.head.sha }} | wc -l)" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"' }}
-      - uses: actions/github-script@v7
+          {%- raw %}
+          pip install GitPython==3.1.42
+          git fetch origin ${{ github.event.pull_request.head.sha }}
+          python .ci/scripts/pr_labels.py "origin/${{ github.base_ref }}" "${{ github.event.pull_request.head.sha }}" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
+          {%- endraw %}
+      - uses: "actions/github-script@v7"
+        name: "Apply PR Labels"
         with:
           script: |
-            const labelName = "multi-commit";
-            const { COMMIT_COUNT } = process.env;
+            const { ADD_LABELS, REMOVE_LABELS } = process.env;
 
-            if (COMMIT_COUNT == 1)
-            {
-              try {
-                await github.rest.issues.removeLabel({
-                  issue_number: context.issue.number,
-                  owner: context.repo.owner,
-                  repo: context.repo.repo,
-                  name: labelName,
-                });
-              } catch(err) {
+            if (REMOVE_LABELS.length) {
+              for await (const labelName of REMOVE_LABELS.split(",")) {
+                try {
+                  await github.rest.issues.removeLabel({
+                    issue_number: context.issue.number,
+                    owner: context.repo.owner,
+                    repo: context.repo.repo,
+                    name: labelName,
+                  });
+                } catch(err) {
+                }
               }
             }
-            else
-            {
+            if (ADD_LABELS.length) {
               await github.rest.issues.addLabels({
                 issue_number: context.issue.number,
                 owner: context.repo.owner,
                 repo: context.repo.repo,
-                labels: [labelName],
+                labels: ADD_LABELS.split(","),
               });
             }
+...
diff --git a/templates/github/.github/workflows/update_ci.yml.j2 b/templates/github/.github/workflows/update_ci.yml.j2
index 400e97ae..2cd84c2a 100644
--- a/templates/github/.github/workflows/update_ci.yml.j2
+++ b/templates/github/.github/workflows/update_ci.yml.j2
@@ -49,12 +49,8 @@ jobs:
           committer: "{{ release_user }} <{{ release_email }}>"
           author: "{{ release_user }} <{{ release_email }}>"
           title: "Update CI files for branch {{ branch }}"
-          body: ""
           branch: "update-ci/{{ branch }}"
           base: "{{ branch }}"
-          commit-message: |
-            Update CI files
-
-            {{ noissue_marker }}
           delete-branch: true
       {%- endfor %}
+...