Now that you're comfortable with the core Git and GitHub workflow, it's time to dive into the heart of collaborative development: Pull Requests. Pull Requests (often shortened to PRs) are the mechanism by which you propose changes to a project's codebase and invite others to review, discuss, and ultimately merge those changes. They are fundamental to how teams work together on GitHub.
Think of a Pull Request as a formal request to integrate your branch into another branch (usually the main branch, like 'main' or 'master'). It's not just about submitting code; it's about initiating a conversation around your code.
Here's a typical flow for creating and managing a Pull Request:
graph TD;
A[1. Make changes on a new branch] --> B(2. Commit your changes);
B --> C(3. Push your branch to GitHub);
C --> D(4. Create a Pull Request);
D --> E{5. Code Review & Discussion};
E -- Approved --> F(6. Merge the Pull Request);
E -- Changes Requested --> A;
F --> G(7. Clean up your branch);
Let's break down each step.
- Make Changes on a New Branch: Always work on a separate branch for your new features or bug fixes. This keeps your main branch clean and stable. If you haven't already, create a new branch using:
git checkout -b my-new-featureThen, make your code modifications. Once done, stage and commit them:
git add .
git commit -m "Implement new feature X"- Push Your Branch to GitHub: After committing your changes locally, push your new branch to your fork or the original repository on GitHub.
git push origin my-new-feature