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Workflows

Quick reference for common Git workflows and branching strategies.

Git Flow​

Setup​

# Initialize git flow
git flow init

# Or manually create branches
git checkout -b develop
git push -u origin develop

Feature Development​

# Start feature
git flow feature start feature-name
# Or manually:
git checkout -b feature/feature-name develop

# Work on feature
git add .
git commit -m "Add feature functionality"

# Finish feature
git flow feature finish feature-name
# Or manually:
git checkout develop
git merge feature/feature-name
git branch -d feature/feature-name

Release Management​

# Start release
git flow release start 1.0.0
# Or manually:
git checkout -b release/1.0.0 develop

# Finish release
git flow release finish 1.0.0
# Or manually:
git checkout main
git merge release/1.0.0
git tag -a 1.0.0 -m "Release 1.0.0"
git checkout develop
git merge release/1.0.0
git branch -d release/1.0.0

Hotfix Process​

# Start hotfix
git flow hotfix start hotfix-name
# Or manually:
git checkout -b hotfix/hotfix-name main

# Finish hotfix
git flow hotfix finish hotfix-name
# Or manually:
git checkout main
git merge hotfix/hotfix-name
git tag -a 1.0.1 -m "Hotfix 1.0.1"
git checkout develop
git merge hotfix/hotfix-name
git branch -d hotfix/hotfix-name

GitHub Flow​

Simple Feature Development​

# Create feature branch
git checkout -b feature/new-feature

# Work and commit
git add .
git commit -m "Add new feature"
git push -u origin feature/new-feature

# Create pull request on GitHub
# After review and approval, merge via GitHub

# Clean up locally
git checkout main
git pull origin main
git branch -d feature/new-feature

Hotfix in GitHub Flow​

# Create hotfix branch from main
git checkout main
git pull origin main
git checkout -b hotfix/urgent-fix

# Fix and commit
git add .
git commit -m "Fix urgent issue"
git push -u origin hotfix/urgent-fix

# Create pull request
# After approval, merge via GitHub

# Clean up
git checkout main
git pull origin main
git branch -d hotfix/urgent-fix

Forking Workflow​

Initial Setup​

# Fork repository on GitHub
# Clone your fork
git clone https://github.com/your-username/project.git
cd project

# Add upstream remote
git remote add upstream https://github.com/original-owner/project.git
git remote -v

Staying in Sync​

# Fetch upstream changes
git fetch upstream

# Merge upstream changes
git checkout main
git merge upstream/main

# Push to your fork
git push origin main

Contributing Changes​

# Create feature branch
git checkout -b feature/contribution

# Work and commit
git add .
git commit -m "Add contribution"

# Push to your fork
git push -u origin feature/contribution

# Create pull request from your fork to upstream
# After merge, sync your fork
git checkout main
git pull upstream main
git push origin main
git branch -d feature/contribution

Centralized Workflow​

Daily Workflow​

# Start day - get latest changes
git pull origin main

# Work on feature
git add .
git commit -m "Add feature"

# Before pushing, ensure you're up to date
git pull origin main

# Resolve conflicts if any
git add .
git commit -m "Resolve merge conflicts"

# Push changes
git push origin main

Handling Conflicts​

# Pull latest changes
git pull origin main

# If conflicts, resolve them
# Edit conflicted files
git add .
git commit -m "Resolve conflicts"

# Push resolved changes
git push origin main

Feature Branch Workflow​

Team Development​

# Create feature branch
git checkout -b feature/user-authentication

# Work on feature
git add .
git commit -m "Implement user login"
git push -u origin feature/user-authentication

# Regular sync with main
git checkout main
git pull origin main
git checkout feature/user-authentication
git merge main  # or git rebase main

# Push updates
git push origin feature/user-authentication

# When ready, create pull request
# After review, merge to main

Code Review Process​

# Create feature branch
git checkout -b feature/code-review

# Work and commit
git add .
git commit -m "Implement feature"

# Push for review
git push -u origin feature/code-review

# Address review comments
git add .
git commit -m "Address review comments"
git push origin feature/code-review

# After approval, merge
git checkout main
git pull origin main
git merge feature/code-review
git push origin main
git branch -d feature/code-review

Release Workflows​

Semantic Versioning​

# Major version (breaking changes)
git tag -a v2.0.0 -m "Release v2.0.0 - Breaking changes"

# Minor version (new features)
git tag -a v1.1.0 -m "Release v1.1.0 - New features"

# Patch version (bug fixes)
git tag -a v1.0.1 -m "Release v1.0.1 - Bug fixes"

# Push tags
git push --tags

Release Branch Strategy​

# Create release branch
git checkout -b release/1.0.0 develop

# Final testing and bug fixes
git add .
git commit -m "Fix release issues"

# Merge to main
git checkout main
git merge release/1.0.0
git tag -a 1.0.0 -m "Release 1.0.0"

# Merge back to develop
git checkout develop
git merge release/1.0.0

# Clean up
git branch -d release/1.0.0
git push origin main develop --tags

CI/CD Integration​

GitHub Actions Integration​

# Create feature branch
git checkout -b feature/ci-integration

# Work and commit
git add .
git commit -m "Add CI configuration"

# Push triggers CI
git push -u origin feature/ci-integration

# CI runs tests automatically
# After CI passes and review, merge

Pre-commit Hooks​

# Install pre-commit hooks
pre-commit install

# Commit triggers hooks
git commit -m "Add new feature"
# Hooks run automatically

# If hooks fail, fix issues
git add .
git commit -m "Fix linting issues"

Emergency Workflows​

Hotfix Deployment​

# Create hotfix branch
git checkout main
git pull origin main
git checkout -b hotfix/security-fix

# Fix critical issue
git add .
git commit -m "Fix security vulnerability"

# Test thoroughly
git push -u origin hotfix/security-fix

# Fast-track review and merge
git checkout main
git merge hotfix/security-fix
git tag -a 1.0.1 -m "Security hotfix 1.0.1"
git push origin main --tags

# Deploy immediately
# Merge back to develop
git checkout develop
git merge hotfix/security-fix
git push origin develop

Rollback Strategy​

# Identify problematic commit
git log --oneline

# Create rollback branch
git checkout -b rollback/revert-bad-commit

# Revert the commit
git revert <bad-commit-hash>

# Push rollback
git push -u origin rollback/revert-bad-commit

# Fast-track merge
git checkout main
git merge rollback/revert-bad-commit
git push origin main

Best Practices​

Commit Messages​

# Good commit messages
git commit -m "Add user authentication feature"
git commit -m "Fix login validation bug"
git commit -m "Update documentation for API changes"

# Follow conventional commits
git commit -m "feat: add user authentication"
git commit -m "fix: resolve login validation issue"
git commit -m "docs: update API documentation"

Branch Naming​

# Good branch names
git checkout -b feature/user-auth
git checkout -b bugfix/login-error
git checkout -b hotfix/security-patch
git checkout -b release/v1.2.0

# Team prefixes
git checkout -b john/feature/user-auth
git checkout -b jane/bugfix/login-error

Regular Maintenance​

# Clean up merged branches
git branch --merged main | grep -v main | xargs -n 1 git branch -d

# Update main regularly
git checkout main
git pull origin main

# Sync develop with main
git checkout develop
git merge main
git push origin develop