What is a pull request, and what makes a good one?
Quick Answer
A pull request proposes merging one branch into another and is the place for code review, automated checks (build, tests, linters) and discussion before the change lands. A good PR is small and focused (one logical change), has a clear description of what and why, links the issue, and is green on CI.
A pull request is a proposal to merge a branch, and it's where the review, the CI checks and the conversation happen before anything hits main. What makes it good is being small and about one thing — a focused 100-line PR gets a real review, a 1000-line one gets skimmed. And it needs a description that gives the reviewer context: what problem it solves, why I took this approach, and how I tested it. On the repo side, main should be protected so nothing merges without passing checks and an approval.
- Small PRs get reviewed faster and more thoroughly; 1000-line PRs get rubber-stamped.
- Description should give the reviewer context: the problem, the approach, anything to look at closely, how it was tested.
- Branch protection: require passing checks and 1+ approval before merge to
main. - Merge options: merge commit, squash (one clean commit per PR — common), or rebase.