Stop managing large pull requests with GitHub’s new gh stack feature for smoother AI-driven workflows.
My lead insisted on reducing diff sizes, but massive pull requests often stalled with repetitive "is this really required?" comments, forcing delays. The issue stems from LLM agents generating frequent code changes, overwhelming traditional branching without proper automation.
Manually handling stacked branches involved constant rebasing and force-pushing, which created chaos. The gh stack CLI automates layer updates, ensuring base branch changes propagate upward automatically. This approach lets you split features into smaller, manageable PRs while merging them efficiently.
To use gh stack, start by installing the GitHub CLI and authenticating. While the UI remains in preview, the tool’s functionality is reliable. Here’s how to begin:
- Install the extension first:
gh extension install github/gh-stack- Begin a new layer:
gh stack init feature-base-layer
git add . && git commit -m "Implement core logic"- Add further layers branching from your current work:
gh stack add feature-extension-one
git add . && git commit -m "Add extended functionality"
Push changes and open all linked PRs simultaneously with:
gh stack submitUse gh stack add with slashes for precise references, like refactor/ui-cleanup. Avoid sync, which only refreshes existing PRs—always use submit to create them.
All Replies （3）
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Game changer. Does gh stack handle merge conflicts better than the standard GitHub UI? I'm thinking of trying it out, so I'll start by running gh extension install github/gh-stack to get set up.
Tried this for a month and it just added more overhead. How do you handle the setup? I found that installing the github/gh-stack extension via gh extension install github/gh-stack was the crucial first step to managing the complexity.
I'm also facing some challenges with this feature—it's been a bit of a journey so far. For modeling, I started with the GitHub CLI and installed the
gh-stackextension to manage my branches efficiently. I followed these steps: First, I installed the extension withgh extension install github/gh-stack. Then, I initialized my first layer withgh stack init feature-base-layer git add . && git commit -m "Implement core logic". This allowed me to create a base layer and automatically sync changes across dependent branches, which has been a game-changer for keeping my pull requests small and manageable. It's helped me avoid those massive diffs that cause so many headaches during reviews. What other tools or techniques have you found useful in your process?