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Shane Dsouza
Shane Dsouza

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Commit To Code: Working with Git Pull Requests & Conflict Resolution

#git #github #webdev #programming

📚 Git & GitHub Series

➡️ You're reading Part 5

⬅️ Part 4: Branching, Merging, Squashing & Rebasing

Working with Pull Requests & Conflict Resolution

Pull Requests (PRs) are the heart of collaborative coding. Whether you're working solo or on a team, understanding how to open, review, and resolve conflicts in PRs is a crucial skill.

What is a Pull Request?

A Pull Request (PR) is a request to merge code from one branch into another (usually into main). PRs are managed on platforms like:

  • GitHub
  • GitLab
  • Bitbucket

Think of a PR as saying:

“Hey team, I’ve finished some work. Can you review and approve it before we add it to the main codebase?”

Creating a Pull Request on GitHub

Step 1: Create a Feature Branch and Push Your Changes 

git checkout -b feat/user-login git add . git commit -m "Add user login feature" git push --set-upstream origin feat/user-login
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We then check the commit history:

gitlog

Step 2: Visit GitHub

GitHub will show:

“This branch is X commits ahead of main. Compare & pull request.”

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Click Compare & pull request

Fill in:

  • A clear title
  • A description of what the PR does (Markdown and checklists work great!)

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Click Create Pull Request

What Happens After Creating a PR?

  • Your teammates review your code
  • They may **comment, request changes, or **approve*
  • Once approved, it gets merged into main (usually with a regular or squash merge)

Conflict Resolution in Git

Conflicts happen when two branches change the same part of a file differently. Git can’t decide which version to keep, so it flags a merge conflict.

Resolving Conflicts Safely in a PR

Sometimes your PR shows conflicts with main after it's already created.

Strategy: Merge main into your PR branch
This keeps the PR alive and lets you fix conflicts cleanly.

Option A: Fix Inside Your PR Branch

git checkout feat/user-auth git pull origin main # Resolve conflicts git add . git commit -m "Resolve conflicts with main" git push
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Option B: Fix Using a Temporary Helper Branch

This is cleaner and more review-friendly.

# Step 1: Switch to your PR branch git checkout feat/user-auth # Step 2: Create a helper branch git checkout -b feat/user-auth-merge-fix # Step 3: Merge main into it git merge main # OR rebase if preferred: # git rebase main # Step 4: Resolve conflicts # Step 5: Commit the resolution git add . git commit -m "Resolved conflicts with main" # Step 6: Push the helper branch git push origin feat/user-auth-merge-fix
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Then, create a new PR from feat/user-auth-merge-fix → feat/user-auth.

Once merged, your original PR is conflict-free and ready to go.

Why This Strategy Works

  • Keeps your PR branch clean
  • Lets you resolve conflicts independently
  • Makes the fix reviewable as a separate PR

Simulating a Merge Conflict

1. From main, create a shared file: 

echo "Hello World" > hello.txt git add hello.txt git commit -m "Initial hello.txt" git push
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2. Branch A (Developer A):

git checkout -b feat/greeting
echo "Hello from branch A" > hello.txt
git commit -am "Branch A greeting"

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3. Branch B (Developer B): 

git checkout main git checkout -b feat/salutation echo "Hi from branch B" > hello.txt git commit -am "Branch B greeting"
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4. Now merge both into main. The second merge will trigger: 

CONFLICT (content): Merge conflict in hello.txt Automatic merge failed; fix conflicts and then commit the result.
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Fixing the Merge Conflict

1. Open the conflicted file. You'll see:

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2. Edit the file to combine or choose changes:

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3. Mark it as resolved:

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git add hello.txt
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4. Commit the resolved merge: 

git commit -m "Resolve merge conflict between feat/greeting and feat/salutation"
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Best Practices for Conflict Resolution

  • Pull often from main to stay up-to-date: 
git pull origin main --rebase
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  • Keep PRs small and focused
  • Use clear commit messages when fixing conflicts
  • Avoid editing the same file as others if possible

Wrapping Up

In this article, you learned:

  • What a Pull Request is and how to open one
  • How to handle team feedback and approvals
  • What merge conflicts are and how to resolve them
  • How to handle conflicts cleanly with helper branches
  • Best practices to reduce and manage merge conflicts

Using PRs effectively will help you collaborate confidently, maintain a clean main branch, and avoid headaches when merging code.

📚 More from the Series

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