Help - how to compare branches?

[davaya]

Topic Area: Question

In order to compare two branches (as if creating a pull request without actually doing so), Google AI says;

Using GitHub's Web Interface:

• Navigate to your repository on GitHub.
• Select the "Code" tab.
• Click on the "Branches" dropdown: and choose the branch you want to compare from.
• Click on "Compare": (usually located next to the branch name or in the "Contribute" button).
• Select the target branch: you want to compare to.
• GitHub will display a comparison page, including a "Files changed" tab that visually presents the differences between the two branches, often with options for unified or split diff views.

However, after selecting a branch from the Branches dropdown (e.g. https://github.com/octocat/Spoon-Knife/tree/change-the-title) I see no "Compare" option "next to the branch name" nor a "Contribute" button:

What is the step after selecting a branch ('change-the-title') to get the "files changed" comparison page, as in a PR, with another branch (e.g., 'test-branch')?

EDIT:
Copilot suggests manually editing the repo URL:

To compare branches on GitHub, follow these steps:

• Navigate to your repository's URL and append /compare to the path. For example: https://github.com/your-username/your-repo/compare.

This works, but manually editing URLs is a surprisingly primitive and unintuitive UX. Is there a Compare button somewhere that links to the comparison page, and if not, would it be too difficult to add to the web page, and to the documentation, which describes adding and deleting branches but says nothing about comparing?

[Harshul1484]

Use GitHub’s Compare URL directly
You can manually construct the comparison URL:
https://github.com///compare/...

Replace:
with the GitHub username or org (e.g., octocat)
with the repository name (e.g., Spoon-Knife)

with the branch you want to compare to (often main) with the branch you want to compare from

[Edited by @queenofcorgis to add the below]

We have a good example here in the docs for comparing branches and commits as well:

For more information, read Comparing branches in the GitHub Docs.

[davaya]

Thanks; is this documented anywhere? As I mentioned in the EDIT, Copilot suggested that and it works. But GitHub makes it hard to find.

[Harshul1484]

i dont think gitHub provide a "Compare" button in the main UI after selecting a branch

you can try via pull request tab without actually creating a PR
Go to your repository.
Click the Pull Requests.
Click the New pull request.
On the comparison page, use the dropdowns to:
Set the base branch
Set the compare branch

[YasH-Bodhe]

You're absolutely right — while the /compare URL trick works, it's not intuitive for users who prefer to use the GitHub UI without manually editing URLs.

Currently, GitHub doesn’t provide a clearly visible “Compare” button directly on the branch dropdown or branch page, which can be confusing especially for new users. The expected UX flow (select branch → compare) feels incomplete without a visible or contextual “Compare with another branch” option.

A couple of suggestions that might help others:

Navigate manually to:
https://github.com/[user]/[repo]/compare/[base].../[compare]
Example: octocat/Spoon-Knife@main...change-the-title

Or use the "Pull requests" tab → Click "New pull request" → Then choose branches to compare — even if you don’t intend to create a PR, this gives you the diff view.

That said, I agree — it’d be a great improvement to have a dedicated “Compare” button on the branch page or dropdown. Maybe worth submitting as a feature request or feedback to GitHub? The UX could definitely benefit from it.