Merge requests allow you to exchange changes you made to source code and
Merge requests allow you to exchange changes you made to source code and
collaborate with other people on the same project.
collaborate with other people on the same project.
## Overview
A Merge Request (**MR**) is the basis of GitLab as a code collaboration
and version control platform.
Is it simple as the name implies: a _request_ to _merge_ one branch into another.
With GitLab merge requests, you can:
- Compare the changes between two [branches](https://git-scm.com/book/en/v2/Git-Branching-Branches-in-a-Nutshell#_git_branching)
-[Review and discuss](../../discussions/index.md#discussions) the proposed modifications inline
- Live preview the changes when [Review Apps](../../../ci/review_apps/index.md) is configured for your project
- Build, test, and deploy your code in a per-branch basis with built-in [GitLab CI/CD](../../../ci/README.md)
- Prevent the merge request from being merged before it's ready with [WIP MRs](#work-in-progress-merge-requests)
- View the deployment process through [Pipeline Graphs](../../../ci/pipelines.md#pipeline-graphs)
-[Automatically close the issue(s)](../../project/issues/closing_issues.md#via-merge-request) that originated the implementation proposed in the merge request
- Assign it to any registered user, and change the assignee how many times you need
- Assign a [milestone](../../project/milestones/index.md) and track the development of a broader implementation
- Organize your issues and merge requests consistently throughout the project with [labels](../../project/labels.md)
- Add a time estimation and the time spent with that merge request with [Time Tracking](../../../workflow/time_tracking.html#time-tracking)
-[Resolve merge conflicts from the UI](#resolve-conflicts)
With **[GitLab Enterprise Edition][ee]**, you can also:
- View the deployment process across projects with [Multi-Project Pipeline Graphs](https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/ci/multi_project_pipeline_graphs.html#multi-project-pipeline-graphs)(available only in GitLab Enterprise Edition Premium)
- Request [approvals](https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/user/project/merge_requests/merge_request_approvals.html) from your managers (available in GitLab Enterprise Edition Starter)
- Enable [fast-forward merge requests](https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/user/project/merge_requests/fast_forward_merge.html)(available in GitLab Enterprise Edition Starter)
-[Squash and merge](https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/user/project/merge_requests/squash_and_merge.html) for a cleaner commit history (available in GitLab Enterprise Edition Starter)
- Enable [semi-linear history merge requests](https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/user/project/merge_requests/index.html#semi-linear-history-merge-requests) as another security layer to guarantee the pipeline is passing in the target branch (available in GitLab Enterprise Edition Starter)
- Analise the impact of your changes with [Code Quality reports](https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/user/project/merge_requests/code_quality_diff.html)(available in GitLab Enterprise Edition Starter)
## Use cases
A. Consider you are 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](https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/user/project/merge_requests/code_quality_diff.html)(available in GitLab Enterprise Edition Starter)
1. You build and test your changes with GitLab CI/CD
1. You request the approval from your manager (available in GitLab Enterprise Edition Starter)
1. Your manager pushes a commit with his final review, [approves the merge request](https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/user/project/merge_requests/merge_request_approvals.html), and set it to [merge when pipeline succeeds](#merge-when-pipeline-succeeds)(Merge Request Approvals are available in GitLab Enterprise Edition Starter)
1. Your changes get deployed to production with [manual actions](../../../ci/yaml/README.md#manual-actions) 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:
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](https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/user/project/merge_requests/merge_request_approvals.html) from your manager (available in GitLab Enterprise Edition Starter)
1. Once approved, your merge request is [squashed and merged](https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/user/project/merge_requests/squash_and_merge.html), and [deployed to staging with GitLab Pages](https://about.gitlab.com/2016/08/26/ci-deployment-and-environments/)(Squash and Merge is available in GitLab Enterprise Edition Starter)
1. Your production team [cherry picks](#cherry-pick-changes) the merge commit into production
## Authorization for merge requests
## Authorization for merge requests
There are two main ways to have a merge request flow with GitLab:
There are two main ways to have a merge request flow with GitLab:
...
@@ -79,6 +132,16 @@ specific commit page.
...
@@ -79,6 +132,16 @@ specific commit page.
You can append `?w=1` while on the diffs page of a merge request to ignore any
You can append `?w=1` while on the diffs page of a merge request to ignore any
whitespace changes.
whitespace changes.
## Live preview with Review Apps
If you configured [Review Apps](https://about.gitlab.com/features/review-apps/) for your project,
you can preview the changes submitted to a feature-branch through a merge request
in a per-branch basis. No need to checkout the branch, install and preview locally;
all your changes will be available to preview by anyone with the Review Apps link.
[Read more about Review Apps.](../../../ci/review_apps/index.md)
## Tips
## Tips
Here are some tips that will help you be more efficient with merge requests in
Here are some tips that will help you be more efficient with merge requests in
