DCubes
Git module

Lesson 11

Pull requests

Use branches and PRs as the review unit — even when you are a team of one.

beginner30 minRun on your machine

What you will be able to do

  • Describe the PR flow: branch → push → review → merge
  • Open a PR on GitHub (optional)
  • Practice the same flow locally without GitHub

Why this matters for data work

A pull request (merge request) packages commits for review: SQL correctness, secret scan, CI. Solo learners still benefit: future-you reviews past-you.

Concepts

  • Branch off main → commits → push branch → open PR → merge → delete branch
  • Description: what / why / how tested
  • Protected main — no direct push (team policy)

Practice on your machine

Local review habit (required)

cd ~/dcubes/git-lab/init-demo
git switch -c feature/pr-practice
echo "-- reviewed change" >> notes.sql
git add notes.sql
git commit -m "Document review note in notes.sql"
git log main..HEAD --oneline
git switch main
git merge feature/pr-practice
git branch -d feature/pr-practice

Optional GitHub PR

If you pushed to GitHub: push the feature branch before merging locally, open “Compare & pull request” in the UI, merge there instead.

What you should see

  • main..HEAD listed the feature commit before merge.
  • History on main includes the change after merge.

Common mistakes

  • PR with 40 unrelated files — smaller diffs review better.
  • Empty PR description — say what you tested.

Next

Undo safely

← GitHub basicsUndo safely →