Company
Date Published
Author
Ninad Pathak
Word count
2450
Language
English
Hacker News points
None

Summary

When choosing a merge strategy for GitHub pull requests, teams can select from merge commits, squash and merge, or rebase and merge, each offering distinct benefits based on project goals and history preferences. A merge commit maintains a comprehensive audit trail by adding all commits alongside an extra merge commit, suitable for open-source projects valuing transparency. Squash and merge condenses all branch commits into one, offering a simplified history ideal for experimental or feature branches, though it sacrifices detailed authorship. Rebase and merge, by replaying commits onto the main branch, maintains a linear history, beneficial for teams valuing clarity but requiring careful management to avoid conflicts. The guide further discusses the advantages of stacking workflows, which simplify the process by breaking large tasks into smaller pull requests, ensuring efficient integration and review, particularly with the aid of tools like Graphite that automate complex tasks. Different project types, like open-source libraries or fast-moving production environments, benefit from tailored merge strategies to balance history clarity, development speed, and project management needs. Ultimately, the choice of merge strategy should align with team preferences, project requirements, and collaboration dynamics, with tools like Graphite offering solutions to streamline the merging process.