What does "draft" mean in programming?
draft is one of the most common terms in software development. This guide explains what it means, how it is used in practice, and why it matters, with real examples from the developer world.
Definition
A pull request marked as not ready for review or merge. Draft PRs are used to share early work, get feedback on direction, and trigger CI checks without requesting formal review. GitHub and GitLab both support draft PRs. When the work is ready, the author converts the draft to 'ready for review'.
Example
"I opened it as a draft because the tests are not written yet. I will mark it ready for review tomorrow."
Related terms
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