diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 8398b70e8c..11f15766ed 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@
 - Modified devcontainer permissions so that singularity can be run in Codespaces/VS Code devcontainers ([Commit a103f44](https://github.com/CarsonJM/tools/commit/a103f4484eca8c6d668e4653a4ed8d20faf1b41d))
 - Update Gitpod profile resources to reflect base environment settings.
 - ([#747](https://github.com/nf-core/tools/issues/747)) Add to the template the code to dump the selected pipeline parameters into a json file.
+- [#2161] Disable process selector warnings by default.
 
 ### Download
 
diff --git a/nf_core/pipeline-template/.github/CONTRIBUTING.md b/nf_core/pipeline-template/.github/CONTRIBUTING.md
index 6a1b9a9176..881ecbb022 100644
--- a/nf_core/pipeline-template/.github/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/nf_core/pipeline-template/.github/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -31,6 +31,9 @@ If you're not used to this workflow with git, you can start with some [docs from
 
 ## Tests
 
+You can optionally test your changes by running the pipeline locally. Then it is recommended to use the `debug` profile to
+receive warnings about process selectors and other debug info. Example: `nextflow run . -profile debug,test,docker --outdir <OUTDIR>`.
+
 When you create a pull request with changes, [GitHub Actions](https://github.com/features/actions) will run automatic tests.
 Typically, pull-requests are only fully reviewed when these tests are passing, though of course we can help out before then.
 
diff --git a/nf_core/pipeline-template/.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md b/nf_core/pipeline-template/.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md
index 0f81ebaa4c..4f01a97993 100644
--- a/nf_core/pipeline-template/.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md
+++ b/nf_core/pipeline-template/.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ Learn more about contributing: [CONTRIBUTING.md](https://github.com/{{ name }}/t
       {%- endif %}
 - [ ] Make sure your code lints (`nf-core lint`).
 - [ ] Ensure the test suite passes (`nextflow run . -profile test,docker --outdir <OUTDIR>`).
+- [ ] Check for unexpected warnings in debug mode (`nextflow run . -profile debug,test,docker --outdir <OUTDIR>`).
 - [ ] Usage Documentation in `docs/usage.md` is updated.
 - [ ] Output Documentation in `docs/output.md` is updated.
 - [ ] `CHANGELOG.md` is updated.
diff --git a/nf_core/pipeline-template/nextflow.config b/nf_core/pipeline-template/nextflow.config
index 31d6d90ccb..8c737b7a14 100644
--- a/nf_core/pipeline-template/nextflow.config
+++ b/nf_core/pipeline-template/nextflow.config
@@ -91,6 +91,7 @@ profiles {
         dumpHashes             = true
         process.beforeScript   = 'echo $HOSTNAME'
         cleanup                = false
+        nextflow.enable.configProcessNamesValidation = true
     }
     conda {
         conda.enabled          = true
@@ -216,6 +217,9 @@ env {
 // Capture exit codes from upstream processes when piping
 process.shell = ['/bin/bash', '-euo', 'pipefail']
 
+// Disable process selector warnings by default. Use debug profile to enable warnings.
+nextflow.enable.configProcessNamesValidation = false
+
 def trace_timestamp = new java.util.Date().format( 'yyyy-MM-dd_HH-mm-ss')
 timeline {
     enabled = true