Proposing a change to a Git repository without learning Git

Checked November 2026 against GitHub's documentation and the Git website, linked below. I make Coffee, so read this with that in mind. Coffee isn't affiliated with GitHub or Git.

If the file is on GitHub, the easiest way is in your browser: open the file, click the pencil, make your edit and choose Propose changes. It's free and installs nothing, and GitHub creates the branch and pull request with you. If you keep a copy of the repository on your Mac and write in Coffee, its Propose change does a similar job from the editor, but it needs Git already set up and permission to push.

Branches and pull requests, in plain words

A repository is a project's folder with its whole history. One version of it counts as the official one, called the default branch, and it's usually named main.

A branch is a separate working copy of that version, where you can change things without touching the official one. GitHub's docs describe it as a contained area for experimenting safely.

A commit is one saved change, with a short message saying what it was.

A pull request is, in GitHub's words, a proposal to merge changes into a project. It gives people a page showing what changed, where they can comment on the whole thing or on single lines. GitLab calls the same idea a merge request.

Put together, the usual flow is this: make a branch, change something, open a pull request, answer any review, and then someone merges it into the default branch. Nothing reaches the official version until that last step, and that's why asking is safe.

The free ways

GitHub's web editor

This is the one to try first. GitHub's steps:

1. Open the file on GitHub and click the pencil icon.
2. Make your change, and click Preview to check it.
3. Click Commit changes, and write a short message.
4. Choose to commit to a new branch, then click Propose changes.
5. Fill in the title and description, and click Create pull request.

It also handles a repository you can't write to, which Coffee doesn't. GitHub offers to fork it, meaning it makes you your own copy, and opens the pull request from there. Protected branches are the exception worth knowing: GitHub says you can't edit or upload files in one through the web editor.

github.dev

Press . on a repository page and a browser version of VS Code opens. It's free to anyone signed in to GitHub. It suits a change across several files, as you can create a branch, commit and open a pull request from its Source Control view. It has no terminal, and your work sits in the browser's storage until you commit, so commit often.

GitHub Desktop

GitHub Desktop is a free, open source app for Mac and Windows. It can download a repository, create a branch, commit and push, with no command line. It's the one to choose if you work on files locally and want to see what's going on. It's also useful for setting up what Coffee needs below.

What Coffee's Propose change does

Open a note that's inside a repository on your Mac, and choose Propose change from the ··· menu. Say what you changed, and press Propose. Then Coffee:

1. Saves the note.
2. Fetches the default branch from the remote.
3. Makes a commit on top of it that holds your note, with your words as the message.
4. Pushes it to a new branch named like coffee/fix-the-intro-20261106-1430.
5. Opens the pull request if it can, or gives you a button to open the page that does.

Your current branch, your other changed files and anything you'd staged all stay as they were. Later edits go to the same proposal with Send update. Press Start over once a proposal is merged, or when you want a new one, as further edits would otherwise keep going to the old branch. Start over doesn't delete the branch from the host.

What it needs

Coffee saves you from the commands. You still need Git itself, and this is where "without learning Git" has limits. Someone has to do this setup once:

• Git on the Mac. Coffee looks for it from Homebrew, or from Apple's developer tools. The menu item doesn't appear without it. Git's site lists the options, including xcode-select --install.
• A copy of the repository on your Mac, cloned with a remote called origin. Coffee doesn't clone for you. GitHub Desktop can do it.
• Your name and email set in Git. Coffee tells you if they're missing.
• Permission to push to that repository, and sign-in that already works. Coffee has nowhere to enter a password or token. It uses whatever Git already has, and it won't wait on a prompt. Without access, you see that the repository refused it.

GitHub CLI is optional. If gh is installed from Homebrew and signed in, Coffee opens the pull request itself and shows review comments in the panel, where you can read but not reply. Without it, you get an Open for review button that goes to GitHub's page for opening one. GitLab gets the same kind of link to a new merge request. On other hosts, Coffee pushes the branch and tells you to open the pull request there.

Its limits

• One note at a time. Only that note's file is sent. A new image in attachments/ doesn't go with it, so the link would be broken on the branch. Renaming a note sends a new file and leaves the old one in place.
• No forks. You need push access to origin. For a project you can't write to, use the web editor.
• Your copy is what gets sent. Coffee fetches the latest default branch but doesn't merge your note with it. If someone else changed that file after your copy was last updated, your proposal would appear to undo their work. Check the Files changed page before asking for review.
• It doesn't update your copy. Coffee never pulls. After your proposal is merged, your note on the Mac still counts as an uncommitted change, and Git may refuse to pull until you discard it. Once you're sure it was merged, git restore on that file and then git pull will bring you up to date.
• Not for private notes. The menu item doesn't appear on a locked note.
• No editing together. Coffee has no collaborative editing. Other people's changes reach you through Git or a synced folder.

Which to use

If you change something on GitHub now and then, stay with the web editor. There's no reason to buy anything for that. Coffee's version makes sense if you already write in Coffee, the repository is already on your Mac, and someone has set up Git. Then proposing a change takes one sentence, and you never leave the note.

Questions

Can I propose a change on GitHub without installing anything?

Yes. Open the file, click the pencil, edit it, and choose Propose changes. GitHub's web editor is free, and it can fork a repository you can't write to.

What's the difference between a branch and a pull request?

A branch is a separate copy where the change lives. A pull request is the page asking for it to be merged into the official version, where people can review it.

Does Coffee's Propose change need GitHub CLI or a token?

No token, and GitHub CLI is optional. Without gh, Coffee pushes the branch and gives you a button for GitHub's page. It does need Git installed, with sign-in already working.

Can Coffee propose changes to someone else's repository?

Only if you can push to it. Coffee doesn't fork. For a repository you can't write to, GitHub's web editor is the way.

Does Propose change touch my current branch?

No. It commits through a temporary index, so your current branch, your working files and anything you've staged stay as they were.

Does Coffee merge the change?

No. Someone merges it on GitHub or your Git host, and Coffee doesn't pull the result back to your Mac.