Branches and Pull Requests in Git and GitHub

Jonathan Peake

What is a Branch?

• Separate workspace where you can make changes and try new ideas without affecting main project

• Isolated, contained development area

• Add content to a repository without affecting other code

• Can be created from any other branch

Why use branches?

• Allows multiple users to contribute to project without interfering with each other

• Fix a bug or add a feature without breaking the main project

• Experiment with new ideas without affecting the main project

How are branches different from forks?

• Housed within the repository, rather than across copies of the repository

• Collaborating and project management within a team, rather than outside the team

• Switching between branches changes the repository structure, rather than switching to a different repository

The process of branching

1. Create a branch on a repository you have write access to
2. Make and commit your changes, making commits along the way if necessary
3. If necessary/desired, sync any changes made from the main branch to your branch
4. Create a pull request to contribute your changes back to the parent repository
5. Resolve merge conflicts, if necessary

Things to keep in mind when branching

• Branches can be ephemeral or permanent

• Branches can have separate read/write access from each other

Pull requests

• Proposal to merge changes from a branch (or fork) into another

• Slight misnomer; “pull” is more like “push” or “merge” in this respect

• Initiates a conversation between the requester and collaborators

• Review and discuss changes prior to merging