Pull Requests in GitKraken Desktop

Last updated: January 2026

A pull request (sometimes called merge requests) is a review workflow that lets you propose changes in one branch before merging it into another. GitKraken Desktop supports creating, managing, and reviewing pull requests with integrated Git services like GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, and Azure DevOps.

Creating a Pull Request

To create a pull request:

Drag one branch onto another and select Start a pull request
Or right-click the target branch and choose the same option
Or click the icon in the Left Panel PULL REQUESTS section

User initiates a pull request in GitKraken Desktop by dragging a local branch (PM-34-docs-review-pr-page) onto the remote origin/main. The Create Pull Request dialog then appears, pre-filled with repository and branch information, ready for title, description, and assignee input. — Start a pull request by dragging a branch

User clicks the plus button in the Pull Requests section of GitKraken Desktop’s Left Panel to open the Create Pull Request interface. The dialog appears with fields to select repositories, branches, title, description, and other PR options. — Create a pull request from the Left Panel

Note: If the Azure DevOps PR form isn’t populating, see Azure DevOps Integration.

Pull Request Templates

GitKraken Desktop supports PR templates on GitHub, GitLab, and Azure DevOps. When committed to the remote, the template appears during PR creation.

GitKraken Desktop interface displaying the Create Pull Request dialog with a dropdown field for selecting a pull request template. The template 'pull_request_template.md' is highlighted. — Pull request template field shown during creation

Tips:

Follow your provider’s documentation for file location
Ensure the template is on the currently checked out branch

Resources:

Assignees, Labels, Reviewers

Some integrations allow adding:

Assignees
Reviewers
Labels

GitKraken Desktop pull request creation screen showing fields for assigning reviewers, assignees, and labels. Two reviewers, two assignees, and two labels are selected. — Assign reviewers and labels during PR creation

Conflict warnings appear if your source and target branches differ:

GitKraken Create Pull Request screen displaying a warning banner indicating a merge conflict between the source and target branches. — Merge conflict warning in PR modal

Reminder: Push your branch before creating a pull request.

Draft Pull Requests (GitHub)

With the GitHub integration, select the draft checkbox to mark the pull request as a draft.

GitKraken interface showing the Create Pull Request form with the 'Submit as draft' checkbox enabled. — Enable draft pull request in GitHub

GitHub Pull Request View

Enable the GitHub integration to access GitHub PR view:

Select a PR in the Left Panel
Or click the PR icon in the Launchpad

GitKraken Desktop displaying the GitHub pull request view for PR #1993, which adds Arm64 support for Windows and Linux. — GitHub pull request view in the repo tab

Launchpad view in GitKraken Desktop showing a list of pull requests with an option highlighted to open the pull request panel. — Access PRs from the Launchpad

From this view, GitHub users can edit:

Title
Description
Reviewers
Assignees
Milestones
Labels

Click to review changes.

Suggest Changes

When you click to , this will allow you to write the code suggestion directly in GitKraken Desktop’s editor or gitkraken.dev.

User suggesting code changes within a pull request using GitKraken Desktop's review interface — Suggest code changes inside a pull request

All code suggestions are posted a comments in the GitHub pull request conversation with a link to review the code suggestion inside of gitkraken.dev or GitKraken Desktop.