Editing a Contributor’s Pull Request When They’re Unresponsive

Sometimes you receive a pull request that’s almost perfect. The idea is solid, the implementation is good; but it needs a few tweaks. You request changes… and then the author goes silent.

Instead of letting a good PR stall, you can push fixes directly to the contributor’s PR branch (when permissions allow) and merge it while co-authoring the work.

Here’s the workflow I personally use.

The Problem

• A contributor opens a PR from their fork
• The PR needs minor fixes or improvements
• The author is unresponsive
• You want to merge it without recreating the PR

The Approach

The idea is straightforward:

1. Add the contributor’s fork as a remote
2. Fetch their branch
3. Check out their PR branch locally
4. Make changes
5. Push back to the contributor’s branch

GitHub will automatically update the existing PR.

Step-by-Step

1. Add the contributor’s fork as a remote

git remote add contributor https://github.com/username/repo.git

You only need to do this once.

2. Fetch the contributor’s branches

git fetch contributor

3. Check out the PR branch locally

Assuming the PR branch is called feature-x:

git checkout -b feature-x contributor/feature-x

Now you’re working directly on the PR’s branch.

4. Make your changes

Fix bugs, clean up code, update docs; whatever is needed.

git commit -am "Fix edge cases and improve handling"

5. Push back to the contributor’s branch

git push contributor feature-x

This updates the existing pull request automatically.

Merging the PR

Once pushed:

• The PR reflects your commits
• GitHub will list you as a co-author
• You can merge normally

I usually leave a comment explaining what was changed and why, especially if the author is inactive.

Why This Works Well

• No duplicate PRs
• Original PR stays intact
• Clean history with shared credit
• Faster merges without waiting indefinitely

Final Thoughts

Maintaining momentum matters. When contributors go quiet but their work is solid, this approach lets you move forward respectfully and transparently, while still crediting their contribution.

Just make sure you only do this when:

• The changes are clearly beneficial
• The contributor hasn’t responded after reasonable time
• You’re comfortable taking responsibility for the final result