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Advanced Pull Request (PR) Lab

⚙️ This lab provides a detailed, hands-on workflow for creating, reviewing, and merging pull requests (PRs) in GitHub, following best practices for collaboration.

Experimental

This lab is designed to help you understand and practice the advanced features of pull requests in GitHub.

1. Cloning the Repository

  • Clone the repository you want to contribute to:

    # Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/username/repository-name.git

# Navigate into the repository
cd repository-name

2. Creating a New Branch

  • Create and switch to a new branch for your feature or fix:

    # Create a new branch
git checkout -b pr-lab-task01

3. Making Your Changes

  • Edit files, add features, fix bugs, or update documentation as needed in your new branch.

    # Make your changes
echo "Hello, World!" > hello.txt
# Stage your changes
git add hello.txt
# Commit your changes
git commit -m "PR-Lab-01: Add hello.txt with greeting"

4. Pushing Your Branch to GitHub

  • Push your branch to GitHub (first push requires --set-upstream):

    git push --set-upstream origin pr-lab-task01

5. Creating the Pull Request

  1. Go to your repository on GitHub.
  2. You should see a Compare & pull request banner.
  3. Click it, or go to the “Pull requests” tab and click New pull request.
  4. Fill out the PR form (Not all fields are required, but the more information you provide, the better):
    • Base branch: The branch you want to merge into (usually main)
    • Compare branch: Your feature branch
    • Title: Clear, concise summary of your changes
    • Description: Explain what and why, reference issues (e.g., Closes #123), add screenshots or context as needed
    • Reviewers/Assignees/Labels: Add as appropriate
    • Linked Issues: Link any related issues or PRs
  5. Review your changes and submit the PR.

6. Reviewing and Merging

  • If you can review your code, leave comments, and some request changes
  • Leave comments on specific lines of code for clarity
  • Push new commits to your branch (they appear in the PR automatically)
  • Approve the PR and merge it

8. Cleaning Up

After merging:

  • Delete the remote branch on GitHub (GitHub will prompt you)
  • Delete your local branch:
git branch -d new-feature-name

Best Practices & Tips

  • Always branch from the latest main/master
  • Write clear commit messages and PR descriptions
  • Reference related issues in your PR
  • Respond promptly to review feedback
  • Keep PRs focused and small for easier review

Resources