mrge is built on the principle that small, incremental changes are easier to review, test, and merge than massive commits.

In a world where AI tools can generate large amounts of code quickly, keeping changes small and well-organized is even more critical for human reviewers.

By stacking pull requests, you can develop feature after feature without merging each one back into main first, while ensuring every increment is clear, reviewable, and testable.

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What are stacked PRs?

A “stacked PR” is simply a pull request that is based on another in-progress pull request, instead of being branched off your main code branch. Conceptually, imagine each branch in your workflow as a short step on top of the previous one:

main
└── feature_1
    └── feature_2
        └── feature_3

Each feature branch builds on the work of the previous one. This makes it easier to:

  • Keep pull requests small: Each PR includes only the delta from its parent.

  • Allow early feedback: Teammates can review feature_2 independently of feature_1.

  • Reduce merge conflicts: Once feature_1 merges, feature_2 simply rebases onto the new main.

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Why stacked PRs?

By splitting your changes into multiple PRs, reviewers can provide faster, more targeted feedback:

  1. Shorter review cycles: Instead of wading through 2k lines of code, teammates can review logical chunks.

  2. Easier backtracking: If feature_2 isn’t ready, you can still move forward with feature_1.

  3. Iterate rapidly: No waiting for merges to start the next piece of work.

This approach fosters a trunk-based development workflow:

  • main stays stable.

  • Short-lived branches build off main (or their parent branch).

  • Each stacked PR merges back to main once approved.

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How mrge fits in

mrge automates much of the busywork typically associated with stacked branches. Instead of manually rebasing, renaming branches, or struggling with merges, you can:

  • Create branches instantly with mg branch <branch_name>.

  • Visualize your stack via mg list.

  • Sync with remote changes in main using mg sync.

  • Re-parent or rename if you need to reshape your branch relationships.

Ultimately, mrge helps teams move faster by removing friction from your Git workflow and letting you focus on building features, not wrangling merges.

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