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This version of GitHub Enterprise was discontinued on 2023-07-06. No patch releases will be made, even for critical security issues. For better performance, improved security, and new features, upgrade to the latest version of GitHub Enterprise. For help with the upgrade, contact GitHub Enterprise support.

Configuring commit merging for pull requests

You can enforce, allow, or disable merging with a merge commit for all pull request merges on your GitHub Enterprise Server instance in your repository.

You can configure pull request merge options on your GitHub Enterprise Server instance to meet your workflow needs and preferences for managing Git history. For more information, see "Configuring pull request merges."

  1. On your GitHub Enterprise Server instance, navigate to the main page of the repository.

  2. Under your repository name, click Settings. If you cannot see the "Settings" tab, select the dropdown menu, then click Settings.

    Screenshot of a repository header showing the tabs. The "Settings" tab is highlighted by a dark orange outline.

  3. Under "Merge button", select Allow merge commits. This allows contributors to merge a pull request with a full history of commits.

If you select more than one merge method, collaborators can choose which type of merge commit to use when they merge a pull request. If there is a protected branch rule in your repository that requires a linear commit history, you must allow squash merging, rebase merging, or both. For more information, see "About protected branches."

Further reading