(Or, why we need write access to your GitHub repository when we work together.)
We would like to work collaboratively in a low-friction, low-risk way. GitHub encourages this kind of collaboration in a safe, industry-standard way, but in order to collaborate efficiently we need limited write access to the repository. Without this, we are left with work-arounds that are less secure and more difficult for both us and your development team.
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It saves you time by reducing the manual steps your team needs to take in order to incorporate our code into the repository.
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It let's you understand what changes we're making and why by in-line code suggested edits so people can see the proposed change and we can provide a justification.
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It provides an audit trail, showing exactly who submitted what code and when.
- Allows us to create new branches: a branch is like a folder containing a copy of the original code, where we can work separately from the original code
What we would do to protect the integrity of the existing code and allow your team to continue work uninterrupted:
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We would only work in our own branch(es). Working in our own branch means we do not impede or otherwise affect your other developers doing their usual work. Additionally, we would be happy to highlight some GitHub features that enforce security around branches.
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Your team can choose when to incorporate our changes. We would open a pull request when we have new code ready. Your team can decide when to review the pull request, and accept it right there in GitHub when you are ready (no need to copy files via email or Google Drive). The code does not become part of your website/application until you approve the pull request.