Git Pull Request Workflow

Tools
,
1

With tools like Github, Gitlab, and Gitea, pull request (PR) workflow is often recommended. This is how I do it:

  • git checkout -b cbrake/main
  • make changes
  • git add/commit
  • git push -u origin HEAD

(substitute your user name and target branch)

When you push your branch, Gitlab and Gitea will give you nice links to click on to open a PR.

Why use PRs instead of committing directly to main?

  • it groups your commits for better organization (a feature can be a one PR)
  • provides email notifications to the rest of the team on activity
  • provides an opportunity to review and discuss the changes

Most Git repos I work on are configured to block commits directly to the main branch forcing everything to go through PRs. Even for solo development, PRs (like Git itself) are a useful tool to organize your work.

2

Is it common to use PRs?
In every role I’ve had it has always been “just merge your feature branch to the dev branch when you are done, no PR required”

3

I use PRs all projects – even those where I am the only contributor. I think the benefits outweigh the overhead.