I’m preparing a small .gitignore fix for Unreal Engine, but before creating a PR, I wanted to clarify which branch contributors should use.
The current instructions seem to disagree:
-
The repository README recommends
ue5-mainfor UE5 contributions. -
The Contributing to Unreal Engine guide instructs contributors to create their branch from
releaseand targetrelease.
Which guidance should we follow? Does the preferred branch depend on whether the contribution is a bug fix, a tooling change, or a new feature?
There is also a related concern with existing PRs. #13114 and #13934 contain small .gitignore fixes, but their comparisons now show thousands of commits. Both PR timelines record release being force-pushed on 21 January 2026.
Is resetting release an expected part of the release process? If so, what is the recommended way to maintain an open PR targeting that branch when this happens?
It would help first-time contributors if the README and contribution guide agreed on which branch to start from and target.