Pull Requests and Code Reviews
Pull Requests (PRs) and Code Reviews are the backbone of collaborative software development. In Azure Repos, they help ensure that every piece of code entering your main branch has been reviewed, tested, and approved — keeping your project clean, stable, and maintainable.
What is a Pull Request?
A Pull Request is like raising your hand and saying, “I’ve written some code — can someone review it before we merge it into the main project?” It’s a safe and structured way to propose code changes, request feedback, and build better software together.
Pull Requests allow teams to:
- Collaborate on changes through comments and suggestions
- Ensure quality via code review workflows
- Keep the main branch stable and production-ready
Step 1: Creating a Pull Request
Here’s how you create a PR in Azure Repos:
- Go to your repository inside the Azure DevOps project.
- Select Pull Requests from the left menu.
- Click New Pull Request.
- Choose your source branch (e.g., feature/login) and target branch (e.g., main).
- Enter a meaningful title and description explaining your changes.
- Tag reviewers — teammates who will look at your code.
- Click Create to send it off for review.
Submitting a pull request to review your changes.
What Happens During a Code Review?
Once your PR is submitted, reviewers step in to look over the code. This isn’t just about finding mistakes — it’s also about sharing knowledge, improving design, and learning from each other.
During a code review, teammates can:
- View line-by-line code differences (also called a diff)
- Leave inline comments with suggestions or questions
- Approve the changes or request updates
- Rely on automated build and test checks for quick feedback
Team members provide feedback through comments and approvals.
Step 2: Reviewing a Pull Request
As a reviewer, you’ll examine the changes and use the review tools to:
- Comment on specific lines of code
- Start discussions or ask questions
- Approve the PR if everything looks good
- Request changes if improvements are needed
- Use automated checks to ensure everything builds and passes tests
Merging the Pull Request
After a PR is reviewed and approved by all required reviewers, it's time to merge! This means the proposed changes will officially be integrated into the main branch.
Step 3: Merging the Changes
Once the green light is given, follow these steps to complete the merge:
- Click Complete Merge in the pull request view.
- You may choose to delete the feature branch (recommended to keep things clean).
- Click Confirm to merge the code into the target branch.
Done! 🎉 Your code is now part of the main project — reviewed, validated, and ready to go.
Merging reviewed code into the main branch.
Conclusion
Pull Requests and Code Reviews bring out the best in teams. They improve quality, spark collaboration, and make sure every change to your codebase is thoughtful and peer-reviewed.
In the next step, we’ll explore **Azure Boards**, where you'll learn how to organize your work with items like **Epics, Features, and User Stories**.