What Is a Pull Request Walkthrough? Definition, Benefits & Examples
Pull requests are designed to help teams review code before changes are merged.
But anyone who reviews pull requests regularly knows that understanding the code is often the easy part.
Understanding the context behind the code is much harder.
Why was this change made?
What problem does it solve?
Which parts of the pull request deserve the most attention?
A pull request walkthrough helps answer those questions before the review starts. If you're exploring how AI can automate this process, see our complete guide to AI pull request walkthroughs.
In this guide, we'll explain what a pull request walkthrough is, why engineering teams use them, and how AI is making them easier to create than ever before.
1. What Is a Pull Request Walkthrough?
A pull request walkthrough is an explanation of the changes included in a pull request.
Instead of expecting reviewers to understand everything from the code diff alone, the author provides additional context about:
- What changed
- Why it changed
- Which files are most important
- What reviewers should focus on
- Any implementation decisions or tradeoffs
Traditionally, walkthroughs happened during meetings or screen-sharing sessions.
Today, many teams record short videos or use AI-generated walkthroughs to communicate the same information asynchronously. Here's how teams typically create pull request walkthrough videos in practice.
2. Why Pull Request Walkthroughs Matter
Most pull request delays happen because reviewers lack context.
A reviewer who understands the intent behind a change can provide feedback much faster than someone trying to reconstruct the story from commits and comments.
Pull request walkthroughs help teams:
- Reduce review delays
- Improve review quality
- Decrease back-and-forth comments
- Help Product Managers understand changes
- Create better engineering documentation
This is especially valuable for cross-functional teams where Product stakeholders need visibility without digging into implementation details. Learn how Product Managers can review pull requests without reading code.
3. What Should Be Included in a Pull Request Walkthrough?
An effective walkthrough doesn't explain every line of code.
Instead, it focuses on the information reviewers need most.
The Problem
What issue or requirement led to this change?
The Solution
How was the problem solved?
User Impact
What changes for users?
Key Decisions
Were there any important technical tradeoffs?
Areas Requiring Extra Attention
Are there risks, edge cases, or architectural implications reviewers should understand?
4. Pull Request Walkthrough Example
Imagine an engineer implements a new onboarding flow.
A traditional pull request might contain:
- 15 changed files
- 800 lines modified
- A short description
A walkthrough could instead explain:
"This PR introduces the new onboarding experience requested by Product. The primary changes are in the registration flow and user settings service. Reviewers should pay particular attention to the email verification logic because we changed the existing authentication flow."
In less than a minute, reviewers understand what matters.
5. Pull Request Walkthroughs vs PR Descriptions
Many teams assume PR descriptions already solve this problem.
They help, but they aren't the same thing.
Both approaches have their place in a modern review workflow. For a deeper analysis, see our guide on pull request walkthroughs vs PR descriptions.
6. Pull Request Walkthroughs vs Code Reviews
A common misconception is that walkthroughs replace reviews.
They don't.
A walkthrough explains the change.
A review evaluates the change.
Think of a walkthrough as the introduction to a review process.
The reviewer still examines:
- Code quality
- Security
- Performance
- Architecture
- Maintainability
The walkthrough simply helps them start with context.
7. Video Walkthroughs for Pull Requests
As remote and distributed teams become more common, video walkthroughs have become increasingly popular.
Instead of scheduling a meeting, an engineer records a short explanation showing:
- The feature
- The user flow
- The code changes
- Any important implementation details
Reviewers can watch when convenient and revisit the explanation later. This flexibility is one reason walkthroughs are becoming a key part of async pull request reviews across distributed engineering teams.
This creates a more scalable review process than live walkthrough meetings.
If you're new to the concept, start with our guide on what a pull request walkthrough is before diving into AI-powered workflows.
8. AI Pull Request Walkthroughs
The latest evolution is AI-generated walkthroughs.
Instead of requiring engineers to manually record explanations, an AI agent can:
- Read the pull request
- Understand the code changes
- Generate a narrative
- Create a walkthrough video
- Share it automatically with reviewers
This allows teams to provide context consistently without creating additional work for engineers.
Many organizations also use walkthroughs to turn pull requests into video documentation that supports onboarding and knowledge sharing.
9. When Should You Use a Pull Request Walkthrough?
Walkthroughs are especially valuable when:
- The pull request is large
- Multiple teams are involved
- Product stakeholders need visibility
- Architectural changes are introduced
- User-facing functionality changes significantly
Small bug fixes may not require one.
Complex changes almost always benefit from additional context.
Conclusion
A pull request walkthrough is one of the simplest ways to improve code review quality.
By explaining the intent behind a change before reviewers begin reading code, teams can reduce delays, improve collaboration, and create better documentation.
As AI agents become more capable, pull request walkthroughs are becoming easier to generate and more accessible to teams of all sizes.
The future of pull request reviews isn't just reviewing code.
It's communicating changes clearly.
