git request-pull

The pre-Github-PR way to ask for a merge.

🎯 What & why

Generates a human-readable summary asking someone to pull your branch. The pre-GitHub way kernel maintainers solicit merges over email.

🧠 Mental model

It's a formatted shortlog plus diffstat between two refs, paired with a URL telling the recipient where to fetch from. No network handshake, just text.

🛠️ Synopsis

git request-pull [-p] <start> <url> [<end>]

<start> : the commit the recipient already has (typically a tag like v6.1)
<url>   : the public URL/path the recipient should pull from
<end>   : optional; defaults to HEAD

Output goes to stdout. Pipe it into your mail client.

🎚️ Switches & options

Flag	What it does
`-p`	Include the patch (full diff) inline below the summary.
`<start>`	Required. The base commit/tag the maintainer already has.
`<url>`	Required. The fetchable URL of your repo (https/git/ssh/path).
`<end>`	Optional. The tip you want pulled. Defaults to HEAD.

💡 Use cases

Submitting a topic branch to a kernel subsystem maintainer.
Asking a co-maintainer to merge your fork without using a forge.
Generating a release-note style summary of what landed since a tag.
Auditing what would be sent before actually mailing it.

🧪 Examples

Standard pull request since v6.1

git request-pull v6.1 https://example.org/me/linux.git for-next

Include the diff inline

git request-pull -p v6.1 https://example.org/me/linux.git

End at a specific tag

git request-pull v6.1 git@github.com:me/repo.git my-topic-v2

Pipe to mailer

git request-pull v6.1 https://example.org/me.git | mail -s 'PULL: my-topic' maintainer@kernel.org

🎓 Recommendations

Push your branch first; request-pull doesn't verify the URL is reachable, but the recipient will.
Tag the tip with a signed tag and use the tag as <end>; maintainers prefer pulling tags over branches.
Keep <start> at a public ref the recipient definitely has, not your local commit.

🪤 Common pitfalls

If <url> is wrong or unreachable, request-pull still produces output. Garbage URL, garbage request.
Without -p, only the summary goes out. For tiny patches, recipients often want the diff inline.
The output isn't a complete email. You still need a To/Subject/From header from your mail tool.

🔗 Related modules

📝 Quiz

Hit each option, then Check answers. Score is recorded; Next is always open.