Sometimes pull requests can get stuck during code review. In many cases, it’s not because the changes were unneeded, but because the conversation just appears to… well, stop.
I’ll walk through five common problems pull requests get trapped in and what you can do as a reviewer to help move things along.
The Forgotten Pull Request
Symptoms: There might have been some conversation on the pull request but now it’s just dead silence. Reading back you see that the last comment was from six months ago without clear next steps. The pull request is still open, waiting for someone, anyone, to help nudge it.
Try: Ask the author if the pull request is still needed and if they’re interested in working on the problem. What happens next is either the pull request is swiftly closed OR the author tidies it up for a fresh set of eyes and a new review. ✨
What is the problem? What does this do?
Symptoms: The pull request summary is a terse sentence. In other cases, the pull request doesn’t summarize and has too much context. For whatever the reason, as a PR reviewer you’re not quite sure why the PR exists or how to test it.
Try: There’s no need to be a detective 🕵️♀️. If something is confusing, go ahead and ask the author! Being clear on why a PR is needed and what is does, is not only good for the reviewer, but it helps provide context to future maintainers on why certain decisions were made.
Ideally we want to know:
- What problem(s) the PR is addressing.
- What does the PR change?
- How can we manually test it?
- What type of feedback is the PR author looking for?
- Are there any trade-offs to the solution we should be aware of?
PR Checks are failing
Symptoms: Newer contributors to a project might not realize that their pull request has failing checks. Maybe the linter is not happy with some whitespace, or a test is broken and the author isn’t sure on how to run the suite.
Try: Gently remind folks in a comment that checks have failed. If you have the time, point to documentation on how to run the tests and other contribution guidelines. It can also be helpful to troubleshoot environment issues with them or give them additional hints on how to clear up the issues. Using our best judgment, we can sometimes accept the PR in a less than perfect state and help fix the issues by asking and making changes on the branch directly, or in a follow up PR.
No Clear Next Steps
Symptoms: We see a PR where other participants have left some previous reviews. It isn’t clear what needs to happen next. The conversation might even still be active, but it’s going on and on and on and on… to the point where GitHub thinks it’s a good idea to start hiding part of the timeline:
Try: Ask the active participants what needs to happen for the PR to either merge or be closed. It might be as simple as someone taking the time to summarize what was discussed and what needs to happen next, for example: fix tests, address design feedback, and update documentation. At other times, a PR working through multiple concerns might need to be split out: like starting a new PR exploring expanding an API, or proposing a framework change in a different medium like chat or long-form writing.
Additional Reviews Needed
Symptoms: You’re not confidant of approving the PR on your own. The changes affect multiple areas. Maybe the PR needs other expertise like design or security feedback that you’re unable to provide. You’ve done a great job already by knowing what you know and what you don’t know.
Try: Leave a review clearly stating what you tested, what feedback you have, and what type of feedback you think the PR needs to land. Manual testing and other partial reviews are still a great help to other reviewers. If you know who’d be great at unblocking the review, ping them in a comment with context. If you’re not sure, leave a note on what type of reviewer expertise is needed and if you have time, help the author by asking other contributors on who’d be a good fit to review.
Give it a try!
If you notice a stuck pull request that fits one of the patterns here, try unsticking it! You don’t need to be the project expert to help move things along. Simple actions like asking good questions, manually testing, or asking for additional review help can make all the difference.