Understanding Git for Beginners: Branching, Merging, and Pull Requests

If you're starting your journey in software development, understanding Git is essential. Git is a version control system that helps you track changes in your code and collaborate with others efficiently. Whether you're building personal projects or contributing to open-source, Git is the backbone of modern code collaboration.

This beginner-friendly guide focuses on three key concepts that every developer must grasp: branching, merging, and pull requests.

What Is Git and Why Use It?

Git is a distributed version control system that allows developers to:

• Track every change made to code

• Revert to previous versions if something breaks

• Collaborate with others without overwriting work

• Create isolated environments to test or develop features

GitHub, GitLab, and Bitbucket are platforms that host Git repositories and enable features like pull requests, code reviews, and issue tracking.

Understanding Branching

Branching in Git allows you to create a separate line of development without affecting the main (or production) codebase. It’s like making a copy of your project where you can safely work on new features or fixes.

The default branch in most repositories is called main or master. When you create a new branch, you’re essentially saying: “Let me make changes without disturbing the main code.”

Branches are useful for:

• Working on new features

• Fixing bugs

• Trying experimental ideas

• Collaborating with team members without conflicts

You can create as many branches as you want and merge them back once your changes are ready.

Merging Branches

Once your work on a branch is complete, the next step is to merge it back into the main branch. Merging combines the code from two branches into one.

There are two common scenarios:

1. Fast-forward merge – When no changes have been made to the main branch, Git simply moves the pointer to the new branch.

2. Three-way merge – When both branches have new changes, Git compares the two and creates a new snapshot combining both.

Sometimes, you may encounter merge conflicts—when Git can't decide which changes to keep. These must be resolved manually, making it important to commit changes frequently and communicate well with your team.

What Is a Pull Request?

A pull request (often shortened to PR) is a request to merge your branch into another branch—typically the main one. It’s a feature provided by platforms like GitHub and GitLab.

Pull requests are vital for collaboration. They allow:

• Code reviews

• Discussion on specific changes

• Testing before merging

• Assigning approvals to team members

In open-source projects, pull requests are how contributors submit improvements or fixes. Maintainers review the PR, request changes if needed, and merge it once it's approved.

A Typical Git Workflow

Here’s how a beginner-friendly Git workflow might look:

1. Clone the repository to your local machine

2. Create a new branch for your work

3. Make and commit changes on your branch

4. Push your branch to GitHub

5. Open a pull request to merge your branch into main

6. Get feedback or approvals

7. Merge the pull request and delete the branch

This structured flow allows teams to stay organized and maintain code quality.

Best Practices for Beginners

• Name your branches clearly (feature/login-form, fix/navbar-bug)

• Commit small, focused changes with meaningful messages

• Pull the latest changes from the main branch regularly to avoid conflicts

• Test your changes locally before creating a pull request

• Review and understand the changes you're merging

Learning Git might feel overwhelming at first, but once you understand branching, merging, and pull requests, it becomes a powerful ally in your development workflow. These are the foundations of working in teams, contributing to open source, and building real-world applications.

Practice with your own projects, contribute to beginner-friendly repositories on GitHub, and use Git daily—it will soon feel like second nature.