Pull request
Pull request: A request to merge the changes on one branch into another, shown as a page where people read the diff, comment and approve before anything lands. GitLab calls the same thing a merge request.
Not the same as a commit
A commit is a saved snapshot on a branch. A pull request is a proposal to bring a branch’s commits into another branch, with a place to review them first: nothing in it reaches the target branch until someone merges it.
Where it bites
An agent that opens a pull request has done the writing, not the checking. A green checkmark means the configured checks passed, not that the change is right, so read the diff as you would a stranger’s before you merge it.
Covered in these lessons
Related terms
Where this comes up
Also written as pull request, pull requests, merge request. Checked 2026-10-22.