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Creating a Pull Request (PR)

A Pull Request is the bridge between your personal work and a shared project. It is a formal way to tell a project maintainer: "I have finished a feature or a bug fix. Please review my code and 'pull' it into the main project."

At CodeHarborHub, PRs are where we learn from each other through code reviews and discussion.

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If you are new to GitHub, creating a Pull Request is the best way to share your work with others and contribute to open-source projects. It allows you to get feedback and have your code reviewed by experienced developers.

The "Job Interview" Analogy​

Think of a Pull Request like Applying for a Job:

  1. The Resume (Commits): You prepare your best work on your own time (your branch).
  2. The Application (The PR): You submit your work to the company (the original repo).
  3. The Interview (Code Review): The team looks at your work, asks questions, and might suggest improvements.
  4. The Hire (Merge): Your code is accepted and becomes part of the official project!

Step-by-Step: Opening a PR​

1. Push Your Branch​

Before you can open a PR, you need to push your changes to GitHub. Make sure you are on the correct branch and run:

git push origin feat-new-feature

2. Start the Request​

Go to the original repository on GitHub (not your fork). You should see a banner that says: "Your recently pushed branches: feat-new-feature". Click the green Compare & pull request button. If you don't see the banner, you can also click the Pull Requests tab and then click New Pull Request.

3. Fill Out the Details​

This is the most important part of a professional PR. A good PR includes:

  • A Clear Title: feat: add user profile picture upload
  • The "Why": Explain what problem this code solves.
  • The "How": Briefly mention the technical changes you made.
  • Screenshots: If you changed the UI, add a "Before" and "After" image.

The Lifecycle of a PR​

PR Etiquette for CodeHarborHub​

To get your PR merged quickly, follow these "Industrial-Level" rules:

RuleDescription
Keep it SmallIt is easier to review 10 small PRs than 1 giant PR that changes 50 files.
Test Your CodeMake sure your code actually runs and doesn't break existing features before submitting.
Be PoliteCode review is a conversation. Be open to feedback and explain your choices calmly.
Link IssuesIf your PR fixes a bug, write Closes #12 in the description. GitHub will automatically close the bug report when the PR is merged.

Updating an Open PR​

If a reviewer asks you to change something, you don't need to open a new PR.

  1. Make the changes on your computer.
  2. git add and git commit them.
  3. git push to the same branch.
  4. The PR on GitHub will automatically update with your new changes!
tip

A Draft Pull Request is a great way to show people what you are working on before it's finished. It tells the team: "I'm working on this, but don't merge it yet!"