Submitting an open-source pull request starts a review process; it does not automatically accept, merge, or publish your change. Reviewers discuss the proposed diff, automated checks may run, and repository rules determine what must happen before someone with merge permission can integrate it. Deployment or release can come later—or follow a separate process entirely.
What happens first: the proposal becomes visible
Your pull request (PR) gives the project a shared place to inspect the proposed changes, commits, discussion, and check results. A repository template may ask you to explain the purpose, link an issue, describe testing, or complete a checklist. In some repositories, code ownership rules route the request to reviewers responsible for the affected files. The exact process depends on the project and hosting platform. GitHub’s pull-request documentation describes these collaboration features.
How code review works
Reviewers examine the changes and can leave comments on specific lines, ask questions, approve the proposal, or request changes. A review is a discussion about whether the contribution fits the project and is ready to proceed; a request for changes is not, by itself, a final rejection.
Review tools vary. For example, GitLab’s review documentation describes inline comments and suggestions that authors can apply through its interface. Follow the project’s contribution guide and respond to the comments that affect your change.
What to do if maintainers request changes
Update the contribution to address the feedback, then continue the discussion in the PR. Depending on the repository, the update may arrive as new commits on the same branch or through another project-specific workflow.
Do not assume an earlier approval will always remain valid after an update. On GitHub, a repository can enable a protection rule that dismisses stale approvals when the diff changes; if so, reviewers may need to approve the updated version. This is configurable, not an automatic consequence of every new commit. GitHub’s protected-branch documentation explains the available rules.
Which automated checks may run
A project may run tests, linting, security checks, or other automation against a proposed change. On GitHub, the Actions pull_request event uses the pull request’s merge branch for open, mergeable requests by default, so a workflow can test the proposal in a merge context. A workflow can instead check out the contributor’s head commit. The project determines which approach its workflows use. GitHub’s documentation for the pull_request event describes this behavior.
A check appearing in the PR does not necessarily mean it is a merge requirement. Whether checks must pass before merging depends on the repository’s configured rules. Protected-branch rules can require status checks and reviews, among other conditions.
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What can block a pull request from merging
A PR can remain open while the project resolves review feedback or a merge gate is unmet. Depending on the repository, blockers can include:
- A required check that is failing or has not completed.
- A missing required review, or an approval that no longer counts under a stale-review rule.
- A merge conflict that needs to be resolved.
- A permission limit: the contributor may not have the authority to merge.
- A merge queue that must validate the change alongside the target branch and other queued changes.
Protected branches can require checks, reviews, signed commits, or other conditions. A merge queue can test a proposed change against the latest target branch and changes already waiting in the queue. These are options that repository maintainers configure, not universal requirements for open-source projects. See GitHub’s protected-branch documentation.
Who merges the change, and how
Once the project’s requirements are satisfied, a maintainer or another person with the necessary repository permission can merge the PR into its target branch. The project chooses its merge strategy; submitting a proposal does not give the contributor merge permission. GitHub documents the available branch rules and merge controls in its protected-branch guidance.
Contributions from forks can use a host-specific workflow. For example, GitLab’s merge request workflow describes bringing changes from a fork toward the project’s default branch. GitLab calls these proposals merge requests; the underlying collaborative purpose is similar, but interface details and controls differ by platform.
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What may happen after merge
Merge means the change has been integrated into a branch; it does not necessarily mean users can already access it. A project may deploy to staging, monitor production, roll out gradually, or communicate the change in a release. It may also use a different post-merge process. These are possible project practices, not mandatory steps for every contribution. GitLab’s contributor workflow gives examples of post-merge checks.
How to find the expected review flow
There is no single required sequence across open-source repositories. To understand a specific project’s workflow, check its contribution guide and the PR’s status panel, then compare these four areas:
- Review policy: Who reviews changes, and how many approvals are required?
- Automation: Which checks run, and which—if any—must pass before merge?
- Permissions: Who can merge, and does the project accept contributions through forks?
- After merge: Does the project deploy, stage, roll out, monitor, or announce changes separately?
These settings differ by repository, even when projects use the same hosting platform. The PR’s current status and the project’s own contribution instructions are the best guides to what happens next.
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