Branches and pull requests

Beginner 10 min read

Work on a change in its own branch and get it reviewed before it joins the main line.

Why it matters

Branches let several people change the same project without stepping on each other. A pull request is where the change is reviewed and checked by CI before it is merged.

Where it fits

What you will learn

Create a branch, commit to it and open a pull request.
Resolve a simple merge conflict.
Review a change usefully.

Before you start

Git basics✓ Learned

A branch per change

Example

git switch -c fix/login-redirect   # new branch from where you are
# ... edit, add, commit ...
git push -u origin fix/login-redirect
# then open a pull request on your Git host

git switch main
git pull                           # get what others merged

Reviewing

The change does what the description says, and nothing unrelated.
It has tests, and CI passed.
Names and structure are clear to someone new.
No secrets, debugging leftovers or commented-out code.

Tip: Small pull requests are reviewed faster and better. Split a large change into steps that each make sense alone.

A merge conflict means two branches changed the same lines. Git marks both versions in the file; you keep the right result, remove the markers, then git add and commit.

Official documentation and references

Documentation

GitHub Docs — About protected branches ↗ Official · GitHub — Require reviews and passing checks before anything is merged.
GitHub Docs — Pull requests ↗ Official · GitHub

Reference

git-branch reference ↗ Official · Git project

Learn next

Automated tests ›✓ Learned

Git basics✓ Learned
CI/CD pipelines✓ Learned
Automated tests✓ Learned

Done with this topic?

Reviewed 2026-10-23. Links go to the official documentation unless marked otherwise.