Comparing branches and commits on GitHub

Compare changes before merging

GitHub provides branch and commit comparison views that show the commits and file differences between two references. This is useful when checking what will enter a release branch or preparing a pull request.

Use Git locally for detailed investigation

The web interface is convenient for collaboration, while commands such as git diff, git log and git range-diff provide powerful local analysis.

Review the right base

Always confirm which branch is the base and which is the comparison branch. A correct diff depends on comparing the intended points in history.