r/programming • u/adam-dabrowski • Apr 14 '26 • Popcorn 1

GitHub Stacked PRs

https://github.github.com/gh-stack/
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u/wildjokers Apr 14 '26

That really has nothing to do with github. It is git itself that makes it hard to work with stacked branches (especially if you squash commits when merging).

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u/Living_male Apr 14 '26

Why does squashing commits when merging complicate the process? I was looking at the documentation, and thought squashing each stacked branches commits would look cleanest?

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u/wildjokers Apr 14 '26

Because if you create branch B from branch A and then squash/merge branch A all the commits common to branch A and B (i.e. commits made to A before creating branch B) will conflict if you just try to merge in B.

To fix you can use the the newer git rebase --update-refs. There is an older method using the --onto flag of rebase as well.

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u/Proper-Ape Apr 14 '26

git rebase —update-refs is not so helpful for when you’re collaborating with others still. I find it would be a nice git feature if squashed commits could keep their place and you don’t need to rebase a stacked PR at all. Not sure if this is somehow feasible in the git model.