Git Workflows: Branching Strategies That Don't Cause Fights

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# Start feature
git checkout main
git pull origin main
git checkout -b feature/add-login

# Work...
git add .
git commit -m "Add login page"
git push origin feature/add-login

# Open PR, merge, deploy

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# Start feature
git checkout develop
git checkout -b feature/user-profile

# Complete feature
git checkout develop
git merge feature/user-profile

# Prepare release
git checkout -b release/1.2.0
# Bug fixes, version bumps

# Release
git checkout main
git merge release/1.2.0
git tag v1.2.0
git checkout develop
git merge release/1.2.0

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# Short-lived branch
git checkout main
git pull
git checkout -b quick-fix

# Work for a few hours max
git add .
git commit -m "Fix checkout button alignment"
git push origin quick-fix

# Merge same day
gh pr create --fill
gh pr merge --squash

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# Feature branches
feature/user-authentication
feature/JIRA-123-payment-integration

# Bug fixes
fix/login-redirect-loop
bugfix/JIRA-456-null-pointer

# Hotfixes (production emergencies)
hotfix/security-patch-xss
hotfix/v1.2.1

# Releases
release/1.2.0
release/2024-q1

# Experiments
experiment/new-algorithm
spike/redis-caching

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# Format
<type>(<scope>): <description>

# Types
feat:     New feature
fix:      Bug fix
docs:     Documentation
style:    Formatting (no code change)
refactor: Code restructure (no behavior change)
test:     Adding tests
chore:    Maintenance

# Examples
feat(auth): add OAuth2 login support
fix(checkout): prevent double-charge on retry
docs(api): update endpoint documentation
refactor(db): extract query builder
chore(deps): upgrade lodash to 4.17.21

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# Auto-generate changelogs
npx conventional-changelog -p angular -i CHANGELOG.md -s

# Semantic versioning
feat: → minor version bump (1.1.0 → 1.2.0)
fix:  → patch version bump (1.1.0 → 1.1.1)
BREAKING CHANGE: → major version bump (1.1.0 → 2.0.0)

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<!-- .github/pull_request_template.md -->
## Description
Brief description of changes

## Type of Change
- [ ] Bug fix
- [ ] New feature
- [ ] Breaking change
- [ ] Documentation

## Testing
- [ ] Unit tests pass
- [ ] Integration tests pass
- [ ] Manual testing done

## Checklist
- [ ] Code follows style guidelines
- [ ] Self-review completed
- [ ] Documentation updated
- [ ] No new warnings

## Screenshots (if applicable)

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# Bad: 50 files, 2000 lines
# - Hard to review
# - High chance of bugs
# - Merge conflicts guaranteed

# Good: 5 files, 200 lines
# - Easy to review
# - Quick to merge
# - Low conflict risk

# If feature is big, split it:
# PR 1: Database schema
# PR 2: API endpoints
# PR 3: Frontend components
# PR 4: Integration

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## Functionality
- [ ] Code does what PR claims
- [ ] Edge cases handled
- [ ] Error handling appropriate

## Code Quality
- [ ] Readable and maintainable
- [ ] No obvious bugs
- [ ] No security issues
- [ ] No performance issues

## Testing
- [ ] Tests cover new code
- [ ] Tests are meaningful
- [ ] No flaky tests added

## Documentation
- [ ] Public APIs documented
- [ ] Complex logic explained
- [ ] README updated if needed

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# Be specific
❌ "This is wrong"
✅ "This will throw if `user` is null. Add a null check on line 42."

# Explain why
❌ "Use a map here"
✅ "A Map would be O(1) lookup vs O(n) for this array. Important since we iterate 10k+ items."

# Offer solutions
❌ "This is inefficient"
✅ "Consider memoizing this calculation. Here's an example: [code]"

# Distinguish severity
🔴 Blocker: "This SQL injection must be fixed"
🟡 Suggestion: "Consider extracting this to a helper"
🟢 Nitpick: "Typo in variable name (optional to fix)"

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git merge feature/login --no-ff

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git merge feature/login --squash
git commit -m "feat: add login functionality"

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git checkout feature/login
git rebase main
git checkout main
git merge feature/login --ff-only

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# During merge
git merge feature/other
# CONFLICT in file.js

# See what's conflicted
git status

# Open and fix manually, or:
git checkout --theirs file.js  # Take their version
git checkout --ours file.js    # Take our version

# Mark resolved
git add file.js
git commit

# Abort if stuck
git merge --abort

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# Rebase frequently
git fetch origin
git rebase origin/main

# Keep branches short-lived
# Communicate about shared files

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# GitHub branch protection
branches:
  - name: main
    protection:
      required_pull_request_reviews:
        required_approving_review_count: 1
        dismiss_stale_reviews: true
      required_status_checks:
        strict: true
        contexts:
          - "ci/tests"
          - "ci/lint"
      enforce_admins: true
      restrictions:
        users: []
        teams: ["maintainers"]

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# .github/workflows/pr.yml
name: PR Checks

on:
  pull_request:
    branches: [main, develop]

jobs:
  test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - run: npm ci
      - run: npm test
      
  lint:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - run: npm ci
      - run: npm run lint
      
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - run: npm ci
      - run: npm run build

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# Bad: feature branch lives for weeks
# - Diverges from main
# - Massive merge conflicts
# - Integration hell

# Good: merge frequently, use feature flags

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# NEVER on main/develop
git push --force origin main  # 💀

# OK on your own feature branch (before review)
git push --force origin feature/my-work

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# Set up protection
gh api repos/{owner}/{repo}/branches/main/protection -X PUT \
  -f required_pull_request_reviews='{"required_approving_review_count":1}'