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