Maiao Brings Gerrit-Style Stacked Pull Requests to Mainstream Git Platforms

Maiao has emerged as a critical bridge for developers seeking a more granular code review process without abandoning their existing git hosting infrastructure. The open-source command-line tool implements a Gerrit-style, stacked pull request workflow, allowing engineers to decompose massive feature updates into a series of small, reviewable commits.

At its core, Maiao provides a `git review` command that automates the creation of one pull request (PR) or merge request (MR) per commit. These requests are automatically stacked with parent-child dependencies, ensuring that reviewers can follow the logical progression of a feature. To track these changes across iterations, the tool utilizes Change-IDs via a Gerrit commit-msg hook and supports `git commit --fixup` for streamlined review cycles. The project is currently maintained as a community fork under the runetes organization following the inactivity of the original Adevinta repository.

The Shift Toward Stacked Diffs

This approach implements the "stacked diffs" methodology, a workflow popularized by Jackson Gabbard and utilized by organizations such as Google through Gerrit. The primary goal is to eliminate the "mega-PR"—the oversized pull request that often becomes a bottleneck in the development pipeline. By encouraging atomic changes, teams can ensure that each piece of code is easier to digest, faster to verify, and simpler to merge without introducing regressions.

Broad Platform Integration

Unlike proprietary tools that lock teams into a specific ecosystem, Maiao is designed for broad compatibility. It supports a wide array of providers, including GitHub, GitLab, Gitea, Forgejo, Bitbucket Cloud, and Cursor Origin. Furthermore, the tool does not ignore the evolution of the platforms it supports; it integrates with native stacking features where they exist, such as GitHub Stacks and GitLab's auto-detected stacks, to provide a seamless experience.

Impact on Engineering Velocity

By bringing this rigorous workflow to mainstream platforms, Maiao lowers the barrier for teams to adopt atomic commit habits. The consequence for the industry is a potential shift toward higher code quality and faster review cycles. When reviewers are presented with small, focused changes rather than monolithic updates, the likelihood of catching bugs increases while the time spent per review decreases, ultimately resulting in a cleaner and more legible project history.

Future Outlook

As more teams move toward distributed and asynchronous development, the demand for tools that facilitate granular reviews is expected to grow. Observers will be watching to see if Maiao's community-led maintenance under runetes leads to further provider integrations or if mainstream platforms eventually absorb these stacking capabilities natively, rendering third-party CLI wrappers less essential.