Stacked PRs in the GitHub UI
This guide walks through the key UI components and workflows for working with Stacked PRs on GitHub.
Navigating Stacked PRs
Section titled “Navigating Stacked PRs”When a pull request is part of a stack, a stack navigator appears in the PR header. This component gives you an at-a-glance view of the entire stack and lets you jump between PRs.
The stack navigator shows:
- All PRs in the stack, listed in order from top to bottom
- Which PR you’re currently viewing (highlighted)
- Clickable links to navigate directly to any PR in the stack
- Link to Add to Stack, where you can create a new PR that targets the head of the topmost PR
- Unstack option to dissolve the association between PRs, turning them back into standard PRs
Creating a Stack from the UI
Section titled “Creating a Stack from the UI”You can create Stacked PRs entirely from the GitHub UI.
Step 1: Create the first PR normally
Section titled “Step 1: Create the first PR normally”Create a pull request as you normally would. The first PR in the stack targets main (or whatever you want as your trunk branch). There’s nothing special about this step.
Step 2: Create subsequent PRs and add them to the stack
Section titled “Step 2: Create subsequent PRs and add them to the stack”When you create the next PR, set its base branch to the first PR’s branch. You’ll see a checkbox or option to Create stack. Select this to link this PR to the previous one, starting a new stack.
Step 3: Confirm the stack
Section titled “Step 3: Confirm the stack”After creating the PR, you’ll see the stack navigator appear in the header, showing both PRs linked together.
Repeat this process for each additional PR in the stack — each one targets the branch of the PR before it.
Adding to an Existing Stack
Section titled “Adding to an Existing Stack”If a stack already exists and you want to add a new PR to it:
- Open a PR in the stack, click the stack icon in the header, and click Add.
- On the following page, the base branch is automatically set to the head of the topmost PR. Select the head branch for your new PR and click Create pull request.
- Select the checkbox for Add to existing stack and create your pull request.
The new PR will be added to the top of the stack, which you will see on the PRs page.
The Merge Box
Section titled “The Merge Box”The merge box for a Stacked PR works differently from a regular PR. It shows not just the current PR’s merge status, but the status of the entire stack.
Merge Requirements
Section titled “Merge Requirements”Before a PR in the stack can be merged, the following conditions must be met:
- All PRs below it must be approved and have passing checks
- The stack must be fully rebased with a linear history
- The current PR itself must meet all branch protection requirements for the stack base
Unstacking
Section titled “Unstacking”If you want to reorder or reorganize the PRs in a stack, you must first dissolve the stack and then re-create it. You can unstack PRs from the UI.
Dissolving the Entire Stack
Section titled “Dissolving the Entire Stack”To dissolve the stack entirely (turning all Stacked PRs back into independent PRs), use the unstack option on the stack itself.
After unstacking, each PR retains its current base branch but is no longer linked to the other PRs. The stack navigator and stack-related merge requirements disappear from all affected PRs.