Can I edit two files then make one commit using GitHub Web-based editor?

Question

GitHub has the nice feature of Web-based file editing. However, it seems that after editing one file I have to commit the changes for this file before continuing. Is there a way I can edit two or more files then make one commit for all the changes of them?

I think this would be better since too many unnecessary commits are annoying.

If GitHub [wants to go mainstream](http://readwrite.com/2013/11/18/github-tom-preston-warner#awesm=~owdUt7KDZm0Qal), they'd better implement the entire Git interface on the web for those who don't know bash. — Ciro Santilli OurBigBook.com, Feb 18 '14 at 12:44
Request on: Isaacs: https://github.com/isaacs/github/issues/1665 — Ciro Santilli OurBigBook.com, Sep 21 '19 at 08:01

score 68 · Accepted Answer · edited Dec 29 '20 at 04:10

68

There is a web-based workaround:

Create a temporary branch, switch to it;
Edit multiple files, commit each file separately;
Make pull request;
Under Merge pull request button, choose Squash and merge (if the repo allows it), then confirm merge;
Delete temporary branch.

I use this method on a PC which I don't want to install git on.

edited Dec 29 '20 at 04:10

chharvey

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answered Sep 26 '14 at 16:04

Victor Istomin

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It works great. Just one important thing, when you validate and merge the pull request, make sure to select **Confirm Squash and Merge**, and not Confirm Merge (default). https://help.github.com/articles/about-pull-request-merge-squashing/ – Mar Cnu May 20 '16 at 16:51
Can you expand on steps 3 and 4? I want to edit 2 files in my fork of a repo, then submit a PR with only one commit with the two edits. How can I make a pull request (against my own fork?) and merge it? I don't have write access to the original repo. – Dan Dascalescu Jul 06 '16 at 09:17
2

1. Create your fork and temporary branch. 2. Edit files on temp branch. 3.1. Squash commits to your master branch. 3.1.1. On temporary branch, hit "create pull request" and ensure that 'base' is your master. Create 'local' pull request. 4. Hit "merge pull request" and fill commit message. Hit green button "Confirm squash and merge". Now you have single commit with 2 edited files on your 'master'. 5. To propagate pull request to origin, create pull request and specify original repo as 'base'. When pull request is created, authors will be able to review and merge your changes. – Victor Istomin Jul 06 '16 at 22:10
However, I think you not need this trick with temporary branch it you want to commit to another repository. Just change files in your fork as you wish and fill a pull request to origin repository. Origin maintainer may merge your pull request and squash commits if needed. – Victor Istomin Jul 06 '16 at 22:14
@VictorIstomin - Kindly edit your solution to merge the third comment made by you. The steps are easy to follow and understand. It should be in the solution. – Abhineet Feb 21 '17 at 08:31
1

The question asked "Is there a way I can edit two or more files then make one commit" - the answer will result in multiple commits, plus a merge commit. Squashing instead of merging can work, but is not available when editing files in a pull request made from a repository one does not have write access to. – fwyzard Aug 25 '19 at 13:49

score 22 · Answer 2 · answered Mar 27 '22 at 15:39

22

The new and better approach is to use the GitHub integrated online VSCode editor.

Press　. (period) on your keyboard when viewing your repository. This launches an in-browser VSCode instance (on github.dev).
Make your changes across multiple files, just as you would do locally.
Use the sidebar on the left to select the Git menu, and commit/push through the GUI as normal. You can also create a Pull Request there if you don't have write permissions.

answered Mar 27 '22 at 15:39

FoxInFlame

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Couldn't find where to create a PR from here. Otherwise, this approach was amazing for multi-file editing in browser! – ShawnFeatherly Jan 31 '23 at 22:19

Mr-IDE · Answer 3 · 2020-07-02T13:21:50.033

Yes there is a way to edit 2 files, when you've already edited your first file in the web browser view of GitHub. It's based on the instructions here:

https://webapps.stackexchange.com/questions/95940/how-can-i-change-multiple-files-and-submit-them-in-one-pull-request-on-github

The summary and clarified steps are:

Edit your first file, by clicking the Edit icon in another user's repository. Save this edit in your first commit. GitHub will automatically create a new branch/fork for you, like "patch-1".
Do not create a Pull Request yet.
[This part is the most difficult, because it's not obvious] Go to the list of repositories in your profile, at github.com ➔ click icon at top-right ➔ Your Repositories. Then go to the forked repository that you've just made, and switch to the "patch-1" branch.
Continue making changes to another file, and commit it to your "patch-1" branch. When you are done, click the "Pull Requests" tab near the top, then click Compare & Pull Request or Create Pull Request. You should see your 2 commits in this Pull Request.
If you don't see a "Create Pull Request" button, open a URL like this in your web browser: https://github.com/TargetPerson/TargetGitRepo/compare/master...MyGithubUsername:patch-1
This will show a view to compare your changes to the original target branch in the other user's repository. Then press the Create Pull Request button.

At point 4 I found two "Pull requests" buttons, I had to click on the lower one and then on "New Pull Request" to reach a compare page. Then I selected "patch-1" branch and went on. — mmj, Nov 14 '20 at 18:02

score 3 · Answer 4 · edited Aug 25 '13 at 20:18

3

The GitHub Web Flow supports one file per commit. To add multiple files to a single commit, you will need to clone the repository locally, edit the files, then commit and push.

The command line would be like this:

cd to the directory
Stage all modified files with
```
git add <file-1> <file-2> <etc>
```
Commit with
```
git commit -m'<your-message>
```
or if you want to launch an external editor
```
git commit
```
Send the history/commit with
```
git push
```

edited Aug 25 '13 at 20:18

random

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answered Aug 25 '13 at 17:32

Jordan McCullough

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I've learned how to commit and push after cloning the repo to local. However, as stated in the question, I am concerning about the **Web-based editor**, since sometimes I just want to do things in my Google Chrome. It would be very nice if they support more than one files in the GitHub Web Flow. – shengbinmeng Aug 26 '13 at 13:41
Not what I was looking for, but at least the answer is clear: "The GitHub Web Flow supports one file per commit." – fwyzard Aug 25 '19 at 13:50

score 1 · Answer 5 · edited Jun 26 '18 at 21:01

Addendum to what @VictorIstomin and @MarCnu were saying:

If you want to edit a number of filenames instead of the contents of those files, simply follow the instructions that Victor laid out, but you won't have to "Confirm Squash and Merge". You can just hit "Confirm Merge" (which should be the only option, since you didn't actually edit file contents.

The question has been answered well, just wanted to clarify this for any future viewers who might be changing filenames, which is something I commonly do in GitHub.

score 0 · Answer 6 · answered May 23 '20 at 16:29

Let's assume the repo in question is https://github.com/repoUsername/repoName

Fork the repository by clicking the Fork button at the top of the repo page.

Edit as many files as you want via Web-based file editor in your fork of the repo. Commit each file individually.
Go to https://github.com/repoUsername/repoName/pulls and press the big green New pull request button.

On the next page click compare across forks link.

Then in Choose a Head Repository field select your fork

Create pull request button will appear. Click it.

Enter title and description of your pull request and click Create pull request button again.

score 0 · Answer 7 · answered May 27 '21 at 12:03

If you don't wish to create a temporary branch and merge the changes (which results in a bunch of pull requests in the repository that were just used to merge commits), you can upload multiple (modified) files and GitHub will create a single commit with them.

Note that, when uploading files, the files will be uploaded to the current folder visible on GitHub.

The disadvantage of this method is that, when you need to modify files that are in different directories, you will need to either upload all your project files (which will be slow) or create a skeleton directory of your project and place the modified files there (so that GitHub modifies the correct files and does not create a new file).

Be careful when using this method because GitHub will not show you your changes until after you have committed the files.

Can I edit two files then make one commit using GitHub Web-based editor?

7 Answers7