Pull Request - Files Changed count shows '0'

[Mukil88]

🏷️ Discussion Type

Bug

Body

Hi team,
Pull Request displays “0 files changed”, even though the source branch clearly has 149 modified files.
The PR UI shows 0 files changed.
Opening the branch directly shows the correct number of changed files.
Creating a new branch and opening a new PR results in the same behavior. This appears to be a PR diff calculation issue.

Files changed count shows as '0'.

But, when I access the branch, I can see the "Files Changed" count.

I have created a new branch from this branch and face the same issue.
Could you help investigate why the "Files changed" count is not showing correctly in PR?

Thank you.

[github-actions[bot]]

💬 Your Product Feedback Has Been Submitted 🎉

Thank you for taking the time to share your insights with us! Your feedback is invaluable as we build a better GitHub experience for all our users.

Here's what you can expect moving forward ⏩

• Your input will be carefully reviewed and cataloged by members of our product teams. 
  • Due to the high volume of submissions, we may not always be able to provide individual responses.
  • Rest assured, your feedback will help chart our course for product improvements.
• Other users may engage with your post, sharing their own perspectives or experiences. 
• GitHub staff may reach out for further clarification or insight. 
  • We may 'Answer' your discussion if there is a current solution, workaround, or roadmap/changelog post related to the feedback.

Where to look to see what's shipping 👀

• Read the Changelog for real-time updates on the latest GitHub features, enhancements, and calls for feedback.
• Explore our Product Roadmap, which details upcoming major releases and initiatives.

What you can do in the meantime 💻

• Upvote and comment on other user feedback Discussions that resonate with you.
• Add more information at any point! Useful details include: use cases, relevant labels, desired outcomes, and any accompanying screenshots.

As a member of the GitHub community, your participation is essential. While we can't promise that every suggestion will be implemented, we want to emphasize that your feedback is instrumental in guiding our decisions and priorities.

Thank you once again for your contribution to making GitHub even better! We're grateful for your ongoing support and collaboration in shaping the future of our platform. ⭐

[Mukil88]

Update: It's only that specific branch behaves in that way. Has anyone faced this earlier or know what caused this? Thanks!
I have created a new branch and new pr which works fine.

Following that, I created a new branch from the problematic branch, same issue. "Files changed" is again 0.

[maheerCodes]

hey @Mukil88 👋.

this is a known class of issue with how github computes the PR diff vs the branch compare view ,,, they actually use different calculations under the hood, so "0 files changed" on the PR while the compare view correctly shows 149 is a sign the PR's cached merge-base/diff is stale or stuck, not that anything is actually wrong with your branch.

most common cause.
the PR diff is calculated against a merge base (the common ancestor commit between your branch and master),cached at PR creation time. if master has moved forward a lot since then, OR if the merge base computation itself got stuck/timed out (which can happen with large diffs like 149 files / 31 commits), github sometimes shows "0 files changed" / "no changes to show" even though the actual diff is non-empty.

things to try :

• push an empty commit to the PR branch ,,, git commit --allow-empty -m "trigger diff recalc" then push. this often forces github to recompute the merge-base/diff cache.
• update the branch from master via the "Update branch" button on the PR (if available) ,,, this refreshes the merge base entirely.
• close and reopen the PR ,,, sometimes forces a fresh diff calculation without losing the conversation/commits.
• check if master and your branch share a common history ,,, if the branch was created in an unusual way (e.g. orphan branch, force-pushed history rewrite, or squash-merged ancestor), the merge base can become ambiguous and the diff calc can fail silently,

your test PR #10 (1 commit, files changed: 1) working correctly while #7 and #11 (31 commits each, both showing 0) fail is a useful clue ,,, it really does look like it's specific to that branch's history/commit count rather than a general bug, possibly related to the merge-base getting confused by the number of commmits or how that branch diverged from master.

if none of that works.
try squashing the 31 commits into one on a fresh branch off current master (interactive rebase or just creating a new branch with a single squashed commit containing all 149 file changes), then opening a new PR from that. this sidesteps whatever is confusing the merge-base calculation entirely.

since this is clearly a github-side calculation bug (the compare view proves the diff data exists), id also flag this with a direct link to this discussion in a new bug report if it persists ,,, the product feedback bot reply doesnt guarantee an engineer looks at it. good luck ❤️