Pull Requests

🤔 What is a Pull Request (PR)?

A Pull Request (PR) is a request to merge changes from one branch into another. Think of it like:

You write a report and ask a colleague to review it
They suggest changes
Once approved, it’s published

PRs are the standard way to collaborate on GitHub.

flowchart LR
    subgraph Local[Your Computer]
        BRANCH[Feature Branch<br/>git checkout -b feature]
        COMMIT[Make changes<br/>git commit -m \"...\""]
        PUSH[Push to GitHub<br/>git push origin feature]
    end

    subgraph GitHub[GitHub.com]
        PR["Open a Pull Request<br/>Compare & review"]
        REVIEW["Team reviews<br/>Comment, approve"]
        MERGE["Merge PR<br/>Into main branch"]
    end

    subgraph Deploy[Result]
        DEPLOYED[Changes are live 🚀]
    end

    BRANCH --> COMMIT --> PUSH --> PR --> REVIEW --> MERGE --> DEPLOYED

    style Local fill:#3b82f6,color:#fff
    style GitHub fill:#10b981,color:#fff
    style Deploy fill:#7c3aed,color:#fff

🍴 Fork vs Branch

Fork	Branch
A copy of the entire repo under your GitHub account	A separate line of development within the same repo
Used when you don’t have write access	Used when you’re a collaborator
You own the fork	The repo owner controls branches
Changes come via PR from fork	Changes can be pushed directly or via PR

When to fork: Contributing to open-source projects you don’t own. When to branch: Working on a team project where you’re a collaborator.

📝 Opening a PR

Command line setup:

# 1. Create and switch to a new branch
git checkout -b fix-login-bug

# 2. Make changes, stage, commit
git add .
git commit -m "Fix login redirect bug"

# 3. Push the branch to GitHub
git push -u origin fix-login-bug

On GitHub:

You’ll see a banner: “fix-login-bug had recent pushes”
Click “Compare & pull request”
Write a title and description
Assign reviewers
Click “Create pull request”

✅ PR Review Process

Things reviewers look for:

Does the code work?
Is it readable? (clear variable names, comments)
Does it follow project style?
Are there tests?
Does it break anything else?

Best practices for PRs:

Keep PRs small (one feature or fix per PR)
Write a descriptive title and list changes in the description
Link related issues (e.g., “Fixes #42”)
Respond to comments promptly
Update the PR if reviewers ask for changes (just push more commits)

🔀 Merging a PR

GitHub offers three merge options:

Method	What it does	History
Create a merge commit	Adds a merge commit	Preserves all history
Squash and merge	Combines all PR commits into one	Clean, single commit
Rebase and merge	Replays commits onto main	Linear history

After merging, delete the feature branch on GitHub (GitHub offers a button).

In Simple Words

A PR proposes changes from one branch to another, with review before merging
Fork = copy someone else’s repo; branch = separate line in your own repo
Keep PRs small and focused on one thing
Reviewers comment and approve before merging
After merge, delete the feature branch (clean up)