Pull Request

Pull requests (PRs) are used to recommend the merging of code from one branch into a different branch. PRs are a core tool in open-source software development as it allows developers to propose changes to large, open-source codebases.

After reviewing, if the changes are approved by the author(s)/collaborators of the repository, they are merged into the base branch (this is usually named the main branch). If the changes are not approved, the maintainer(s) may either ask the requester for additional changes or decline the PR altogether.

The review process by the contributors, usually involves:

• Examining the code submitted in the PR for errors and/or optimizations.
• Running tests to ensure the code works as intended.
• Discussing potential modifications.

PRs are featured on popular version control platforms such as GitHub and GitLab.

Create a Pull Request

The prerequisites for creating a PR and contributing to a project are:

1. Fork the project.
2. Clone the forked repository to local machine.
3. Create, and switch into, a new branch.
4. Add, commit, and push the changes back to the repository.

With the newly added changes pushed, open the web page of the repository. There should be a button that says “Create Pull Request” placed somewhere, similar to the image below.

Click that button and follow the steps to create the PR.