A pull request is a proposal to merge a set of changes from one branch of a code repository into another, typically from a feature or topic branch into the main branch. It allows developers to submit their code changes for review and discussion by collaborators before the changes are integrated into the main codebase
. Pull requests serve several key purposes:
- They facilitate collaboration by enabling team members to review, comment on, and suggest improvements to the proposed changes.
- They help maintain code quality by allowing issues, bugs, or security concerns to be identified and addressed before merging.
- They provide a structured workflow for managing updates, such as new features, bug fixes, or refactoring, without affecting the live product until approved
The typical workflow of a pull request involves:
- Creating a branch and making changes locally.
- Pushing the changes to a remote branch.
- Opening a pull request to notify repository maintainers and team members.
- Reviewing and discussing the changes.
- Making any required updates.
- Merging the approved changes into the target branch
Pull requests are supported by platforms like GitHub, Bitbucket, and Azure Repos, and they include tools for displaying differences between branches, adding comments, and tracking the review process
. In summary, a pull request is a collaborative tool in version control systems used to propose, review, and safely merge code changes into a shared project repository.
