GitHub made stacked pull requests generally available on October 6, 2026. A stacked pull request workflow divides a large code change into a chain of smaller, dependent pull requests that can be reviewed separately and merged in order. The feature is available on every github.com plan and is planned for a future GitHub Enterprise Server release. Source

What changes during rebases and merges

Approvals now remain in place when a stack is rebased after its base branch, such as main, moves forward, as long as the reviewed code did not otherwise change. This also applies in repositories configured to dismiss stale approvals. Replacement commits created by GitHub during a stack rebase are signed and preserve the original authorship. Automatic rebases after partial merges also sign replacements when branch rules require signatures or any original commit was signed. Source

People who can bypass repository rules can use that permission when merging the lowest unmerged pull request in a stack. A merge queue treats a stack as one merge group. When a repository uses merge commits, GitHub creates one merge commit for each pull request instead of one for the entire group. If the base branch of a branching stack is deleted, GitHub retargets the stack instead of closing its bottom pull request. Source

Auto-merge, navigation, and automation

Auto-merge for stacks is rolling out over the next few weeks. A user can select a group of pull requests, and the group merges after every pull request satisfies the repository’s merge requirements. It is a phased rollout at the time of the announcement. Source

Stack details remain visible in the pull request page header. Shift+J and Shift+K move between pull requests in a stack, while timeline events show when a pull request joined or left the stack. The pull_request webhook adds a stacked action when a pull request joins a stack. GitHub’s gh stack CLI extension now supports Git worktrees and includes faster initialization, checkout, and navigation. Source

Results GitHub reported from public preview

GitHub says repositories using stacks during public preview merged 9% more code than peer repositories. More than two-thirds of repositories in the top 1% by activity now use stacked pull requests, and GitHub reported a 5% improvement in their time to merge. These are comparative figures reported by GitHub from its own service data. Source