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Git Pull Request Merge Logic

10 posts · Dec 2005 – Jan 2026

What this trail covers

This thread tracks the evolution of Git pull request merge logic. It explains how delta file changes are determined by comparing branches against their merge-base commit, the conditions under which merge conflicts arise, and scenarios where Git appears to ignore file changes. The goal is to help users understand and troubleshoot Git merging behavior. This post adds the ability to perform rebase and semi-linear merge options when completing pull requests in Azure Repos, in addition to existing me. It also introduces improvements to pull request templates for multi-level branches, enhanced pull request notification clarity by removing low-value notifications and simplifying remaining ones, and improved comment navigation from pull request links. The Azure DevOps MCP Server continues to grow, enabling interaction with repositories, branches, commits, and pull requests directly from tools like VS Code and GitHub Copilot. Coming soon are improvements to the Git policy configuration APIs for more efficient retrieval of all policies applying to a repository, and further pull request improvements such as highlighting outstanding comments, allowing authors to reset a pull request, and filtering by tags.

All Microsoft trails
  1. What's new with Azure Repos?This post introduces the ability to perform rebase and semi-linear merge options when completing pull requests in Azure Repos. It also enhances pull request templates to support nested folder structures aligning with multi-level branch names, improves pull request email notifications by removing low-value alerts and simplifying content, and refines comment navigation from pull request links for better focus on feedback. The Azure DevOps MCP Server is highlighted for its continued growth and tools for interacting with Azure Repos. Upcoming features include improved Git policy configuration APIs and further pull request enhancements.
  2. Understanding delta file changes and merge conflicts in Git pull requestsThis post clarifies the process of determining delta file changes (Δchanges) in Git pull requests by comparing the source and target branches against their merge-base commit. It explains that commits before the merge-base are ignored and that changes are calculated based on commits made after the merge-base on the source branch. The post also details how merge conflicts occur when both branches modify the same file after the merge-base and provides an explanation for scenarios where Git appears to ignore file changes due to the comparison logic, even without explicit conflicts. It suggests using `git merge-base` to identify the merge-base commit and compare branch heads to understand merge outcomes.
  3. Improving Azure DevOps cherry-pickingIntroduced a new extension for Azure DevOps that enhances the cherry-pick functionality for pull requests. This extension allows users to select multiple target branches for cherry-picking commits from a pull request. For each selected branch, a new topic branch is created with the applied changes. Optionally, a pull request can be opened to the target branch. This addresses the cumbersome nature of manually cherry-picking to multiple branches and opening individual pull requests, particularly for large product teams like Office that manage numerous release branches.
  4. Pull Requests with RebaseIntroduces rebase and semi-linear merge strategies for pull requests in Azure Repos, complementing existing merge and squash options. Explains the technical implementation and visual representation of each strategy (merge, squash, rebase, semi-linear merge) and how they affect commit history. Details how branch policies can be configured to enforce a preferred integration strategy, including integration with build validation policies.
  5. New Year, New PR GoodiesIntroduced a personalized "My Pull Requests" view aggregating PRs across all projects and repos. Added highlights for updated PRs (new comments, votes, pushed changes) and a diff view of the latest code changes compared to the last viewed version. Enabled "out-of-the-box" email notifications for PR changes (individual reviewers initially). Added support for image attachments from the clipboard and other file types to comments. Displayed merge conflict details in the PR overview. Introduced a merge strategy policy to configure merge/squash behavior per branch. Enabled path exclusions for required reviewer policies.
  7. Pull request build policies for high quality codeIntroduced new options for Team System build policies for Git pull requests: 'Buddy Build' (doesn't require a new build when the target branch is updated, only an optional re-evaluation) and 'Build Expiration' (requires a new build if the existing one is older than a configured number of hours when the target branch is updated). These options aim to reduce developer friction while maintaining code quality.
  8. Squash: A Whole New Way to Merge Pull RequestsIntroduced a 'squash merge' option for pull requests in Visual Studio Team Services. This feature allows developers to merge changes from a topic branch into a target branch as a single commit, preserving a cleaner history by avoiding intermediate commits from the topic branch. The post explains the concept of squash merging with Git command-line examples and illustrates its application within the VSTS pull request merge dialog.
  9. Pull Request integration in IntelliJ and Android StudioIntroduces pull request integration into the Visual Studio Team Services plugin for IntelliJ and Android Studio. This allows users to create new pull requests, view their overall status, and see pull requests from team members needing feedback directly within their IDE.
  10. Pull Request Improvements in Visual Studio Team ServicesThis post introduces several improvements to the pull request experience in Visual Studio Team Services (VSTS): a personalized pull request hub with reorganized views (requested by me, assigned to me, assigned to team) and status rollups; streamlined discussion filtering to show only comments or comments on discussions; the ability to link related work items directly to pull requests and their merge commits; and an improved merge experience with customizable commit messages and the option to delete the source branch. It also announces that squash merging will be available soon.
  11. Conduct a Git pull request on Visual Studio OnlineThis post provides a detailed walkthrough of the Git pull request workflow in Visual Studio Online. It covers creating topic branches, publishing them, creating pull requests with titles, descriptions, and reviewers, conducting code reviews with line comments and general discussions, making changes on the source branch based on feedback, completing the pull request by merging, and deleting obsolete branches. It also addresses common Q&A scenarios such as notifications, viewing full file content, handling target branch updates, merging changes from the target branch to the source branch, and resolving merge conflicts.
  12. Understanding MergingThis post details the core mechanics of Git merging, explaining how changes are integrated between branches. It describes the identification of added files, the review of item history for changes, and the detection of conflicts when items have been modified in both source and target branches. It also highlights the possibility of namespace collisions for added items and the option to merge specific versions or all changes. The post mentions the availability of Source Control Explorer and the command-line Merge Command for performing merges, and the Merges Command for reviewing merge history.