diff --git a/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/bug_report.md b/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/bug_report.md
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+---
+name: 🐛 Bug Report
+about: Report a bug in the Password Manager backend
+title: "[BUG] <short description>"
+labels: bug
+assignees: ''
+---
+
+## 🐛 Bug Description
+<!-- A clear and concise description of what the bug is -->
+
+## 🔁 Steps to Reproduce
+1. Authenticate and obtain JWT token via Vault Web
+2. Call endpoint `...` with payload `...`
+3. Observe the error
+
+## ✅ Expected Behavior
+<!-- What you expected to happen -->
+
+## ❌ Actual Behavior
+<!-- What actually happened. Include HTTP status code and response body if applicable -->
+```json
+{
+  "status": 500,
+  "error": "..."
+}
+```
+
+## 🧱 Affected Area
+<!-- Check all that apply -->
+- [ ] Password Entry (CRUD)
+- [ ] Category Management
+- [ ] Vault Setup / Unlock / Rotate / Migrate
+- [ ] Password Reveal (master password / vault token)
+- [ ] Password Generation
+- [ ] Password Breach Check
+- [ ] JWT Authentication / Security
+- [ ] Encryption / Decryption
+- [ ] Other: ___
+
+## ⚠️ Priority
+<!-- How urgent is this? -->
+- [ ] 🔴 Critical – data loss, security vulnerability, or system crash
+- [ ] 🟠 High – core feature broken, no workaround
+- [ ] 🟡 Medium – feature partially broken, workaround exists
+- [ ] 🟢 Low – minor issue or cosmetic
+
+## 🖥️ Environment
+- OS: <!-- e.g. Ubuntu 22.04, macOS 14, Windows 11 -->
+- Java Version: <!-- e.g. Java 21 -->
+- Spring Boot Version: <!-- e.g. 3.x -->
+- Run Mode: <!-- HTTP / HTTPS (dev profile) -->
+- Port: <!-- default 8091 -->
+
+## 🔐 Vault State (if relevant)
+- Vault initialized: <!-- Yes / No / Unknown -->
+- Vault locked: <!-- Yes / No -->
+- Using X-Vault-Token: <!-- Yes / No -->
+- `vault.requireInitialization` enabled: <!-- Yes / No / Unknown -->
+
+## 📎 Logs / Additional Context
+<!-- Paste relevant stack traces, Swagger UI screenshots, or curl commands (redact any secrets!) -->
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/config.yml b/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/config.yml
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+blank_issues_enabled: false
+contact_links:
+  - name: 💬 General Questions & Discussions
+    url: https://github.com/Vault-Web/password-manager/discussions
+    about: For questions about setup, usage, or integration with Vault Web — use Discussions, not Issues.
+  - name: 🔐 Security Vulnerability
+    url: https://github.com/Vault-Web/password-manager/security/advisories/new
+    about: Please report security vulnerabilities privately via GitHub Security Advisories, NOT as public issues.
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diff --git a/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/feature_request.md b/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/feature_request.md
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+---
+name: 🚀 Feature Request
+about: Suggest a new feature or improvement for the Password Manager
+title: "[FEATURE] <short description>"
+labels: enhancement
+assignees: ''
+---
+
+## 🚀 Feature Description
+<!-- A clear description of the feature you'd like to see -->
+
+## 💡 Motivation / Problem
+<!-- What problem does this solve? Why is it needed? -->
+
+## 🧱 Affected Area
+<!-- Which part of the backend would this touch? -->
+- [ ] Password Entry API (`/api/passwords`)
+- [ ] Category API (`/api/categories`)
+- [ ] Vault API (`/api/vault`)
+- [ ] Password Generation (`/api/passwords/generate`)
+- [ ] Password Breach Check
+- [ ] JWT / Security Layer
+- [ ] Encryption / Crypto Service
+- [ ] Database / Repository Layer
+- [ ] Configuration / Properties
+- [ ] Other: ___
+
+## ⚠️ Priority
+- [ ] 🔴 Critical – blocking major use case
+- [ ] 🟠 High – significant improvement to core functionality
+- [ ] 🟡 Medium – useful but not urgent
+- [ ] 🟢 Low – nice to have
+
+## 📐 Proposed Solution
+<!-- How do you think this could be implemented? Any API design ideas? -->
+```http
+POST /api/...
+Authorization: Bearer <jwt>
+{
+  "field": "value"
+}
+```
+
+## 🔄 Alternatives Considered
+<!-- Any alternative approaches you've thought of? -->
+
+## 📎 Additional Context
+<!-- Links, references, mockups, or anything else helpful -->
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diff --git a/.github/pull_request_template.md b/.github/pull_request_template.md
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+## 📋 Summary
+<!-- What does this PR do and why? Be specific. -->
+
+Closes #<!-- issue number -->
+
+## 🔧 Type of Change
+- [ ] 🐛 Bug fix
+- [ ] 🚀 New feature
+- [ ] ♻️ Refactor / code cleanup
+- [ ] 📝 Documentation update
+- [ ] ✅ Test improvement
+- [ ] 🔒 Security fix
+- [ ] ⚙️ Configuration / build change
+
+## 🧱 Affected Layer(s)
+- [ ] Controller (`/controllers`)
+- [ ] Service (`/services`)
+- [ ] Repository (`/repositories`)
+- [ ] Model / DTO (`/model`, `/model/dtos`)
+- [ ] Security (`/security` — JWT, encryption)
+- [ ] Exception Handling (`/exceptions`)
+- [ ] Config (`/config`)
+- [ ] Tests (`/test`)
+
+## 🔐 Security Checklist
+<!-- Required for any change touching auth, encryption, or vault logic -->
+- [ ] No secrets, tokens, or passwords are logged or exposed
+- [ ] JWT validation logic is unchanged or reviewed
+- [ ] Vault token (`X-Vault-Token`) handling is not weakened
+- [ ] Encryption / decryption behaviour is unchanged or explicitly reviewed
+- [ ] No `ENCRYPTION_SECRET` or master password is hardcoded
+
+## ✅ General Checklist
+- [ ] I have read the [CONTRIBUTING](../../CONTRIBUTING.md) guide
+- [ ] Code follows existing style (Spring Boot conventions, Lombok, etc.)
+- [ ] I have tested locally (`./mvnw spring-boot:run` on port 8091)
+- [ ] Swagger UI (`/swagger-ui.html`) reflects changes correctly (if API changed)
+- [ ] Existing tests pass (`./mvnw test`)
+- [ ] New tests added for new behaviour (if applicable)
+- [ ] No new compiler warnings introduced
+
+## 🧪 How to Test
+<!-- Step-by-step for the reviewer -->
+1. Set `ENCRYPTION_SECRET` env variable
+2. Start Vault Web Docker (`docker compose up -d`)
+3. Run: `cd backend && ./mvnw spring-boot:run`
+4. Open Swagger at `http://localhost:8091/swagger-ui.html`
+5. ...
+
+## 📎 Additional Notes
+<!-- Anything the reviewer should be aware of — breaking changes, DB migrations, config changes, etc. -->
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