97 lines
4.6 KiB
Markdown
97 lines
4.6 KiB
Markdown
---
|
|
stage: Create
|
|
group: Source Code
|
|
info: To determine the technical writer assigned to the Stage/Group associated with this page, see https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/engineering/ux/technical-writing/#designated-technical-writers
|
|
type: index, reference
|
|
---
|
|
|
|
# Merge requests
|
|
|
|
A Merge Request (**MR**) is a _request_ to _merge_ one branch into another.
|
|
|
|
Use merge requests to visualize and collaborate on proposed changes
|
|
to source code.
|
|
|
|
## Use cases
|
|
|
|
A. Consider you're a software developer working in a team:
|
|
|
|
1. You checkout a new branch, and submit your changes through a merge request
|
|
1. You gather feedback from your team
|
|
1. You work on the implementation optimizing code with [Code Quality reports](code_quality.md)
|
|
1. You verify your changes with [Unit test reports](../../../ci/unit_test_reports.md) in GitLab CI/CD
|
|
1. You avoid using dependencies whose license is not compatible with your project with [License Compliance reports](../../compliance/license_compliance/index.md) **(ULTIMATE)**
|
|
1. You request the [approval](merge_request_approvals.md) from your manager **(STARTER)**
|
|
1. Your manager:
|
|
1. Pushes a commit with their final review
|
|
1. [Approves the merge request](merge_request_approvals.md) **(STARTER)**
|
|
1. Sets it to [merge when pipeline succeeds](merge_when_pipeline_succeeds.md)
|
|
1. Your changes get deployed to production with [manual actions](../../../ci/yaml/README.md#whenmanual) for GitLab CI/CD
|
|
1. Your implementations were successfully shipped to your customer
|
|
|
|
B. Consider you're a web developer writing a webpage for your company's website:
|
|
|
|
1. You checkout a new branch, and submit a new page through a merge request
|
|
1. You gather feedback from your reviewers
|
|
1. Your changes are previewed with [Review Apps](../../../ci/review_apps/index.md)
|
|
1. You request your web designers for their implementation
|
|
1. You request the [approval](merge_request_approvals.md) from your manager **(STARTER)**
|
|
1. Once approved, your merge request is [squashed and merged](squash_and_merge.md), and [deployed to staging with GitLab Pages](https://about.gitlab.com/blog/2016/08/26/ci-deployment-and-environments/)
|
|
1. Your production team [cherry picks](cherry_pick_changes.md) the merge commit into production
|
|
|
|
## Overview
|
|
|
|
Merge requests (aka "MRs") display a great deal of information about the changes proposed.
|
|
The body of an MR contains its description, along with its widget (displaying information
|
|
about CI/CD pipelines, when present), followed by the discussion threads of the people
|
|
collaborating with that MR.
|
|
|
|
MRs also contain navigation tabs from which you can see the discussion happening on the thread,
|
|
the list of commits, the list of pipelines and jobs, the code changes, and inline code reviews.
|
|
|
|
To get started, read the [introduction to merge requests](getting_started.md).
|
|
|
|
## Merge request navigation tabs at the top
|
|
|
|
> [Introduced](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/33813) in GitLab 12.6. This positioning is experimental.
|
|
|
|
So far, the navigation tabs present in merge requests to display **Discussion**,
|
|
**Commits**, **Pipelines**, and **Changes** were located after the merge request
|
|
widget.
|
|
|
|
To facilitate this navigation without having to scroll up and down through the page
|
|
to find these tabs, based on user feedback, we're experimenting with a new positioning
|
|
of these tabs. They are now located at the top of the merge request, with a new
|
|
**Overview** tab, containing the description of the merge request followed by the
|
|
widget. Next to **Overview**, you can find **Pipelines**, **Commits**, and **Changes**.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Please note this change is currently behind a feature flag which is enabled by default. For
|
|
self-managed instances, it can be disabled through the Rails console by a GitLab
|
|
administrator with the following command:
|
|
|
|
```ruby
|
|
Feature.disable(:mr_tabs_position)
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
## Creating merge requests
|
|
|
|
Learn [how to create a merge request](creating_merge_requests.md).
|
|
|
|
## Reviewing and managing merge requests
|
|
|
|
See the features at your disposal to [review and manage merge requests](reviewing_and_managing_merge_requests.md).
|
|
|
|
## Testing and reports in merge requests
|
|
|
|
Learn about the options for [testing and reports](testing_and_reports_in_merge_requests.md) on the changes in a merge request.
|
|
|
|
## Authorization for merge requests
|
|
|
|
There are two main ways to have a merge request flow with GitLab:
|
|
|
|
1. Working with [protected branches](../protected_branches.md) in a single repository
|
|
1. Working with forks of an authoritative project
|
|
|
|
[Learn more about the authorization for merge requests.](authorization_for_merge_requests.md)
|