Git Workflow
Overview
This skill provides comprehensive git workflow best practices, branching strategies, and collaboration patterns. Use it to ensure consistent, professional git usage across your projects.
When to Use This Skill
- Creating commits with proper messages
- Establishing branching strategies (Git Flow, GitHub Flow, Trunk-Based)
- Handling pull requests and code reviews
- Managing releases and hotfixes
- Resolving merge conflicts
- Setting up git hooks and automation
Core Workflows
Commit Message Guidelines
Follow the Conventional Commits specification for clear, semantic commit messages:
Format:
<type>(<scope>): <subject>
<body>
<footer>Types:
feat: New featurefix: Bug fixdocs: Documentation changesstyle: Formatting, missing semicolons, etc.refactor: Code restructuring without behavior changesperf: Performance improvementstest: Adding or updating testschore: Build process, dependencies, toolingci: CI/CD pipeline changes
Examples:
feat(auth): add JWT token refresh mechanism
Implement automatic token refresh before expiration.
Tokens are refreshed 5 minutes before expiry.
Closes #123fix(api): handle null responses in user service
Add defensive null checks to prevent NPE when
external API returns unexpected null values.
Fixes #456Branching Strategies
Git Flow (Traditional)
Best for: Scheduled releases, multiple version support
Branches:
main: Production-ready codedevelop: Integration branch for featuresfeature/*: New featuresrelease/*: Release preparationhotfix/*: Emergency production fixes
Workflow:
# Start new feature
git checkout develop
git checkout -b feature/user-authentication
# Finish feature
git checkout develop
git merge feature/user-authentication
git branch -d feature/user-authentication
# Create release
git checkout -b release/1.2.0
# Bump version, final testing
git checkout main
git merge release/1.2.0
git tag -a v1.2.0 -m "Release 1.2.0"
git checkout develop
git merge release/1.2.0GitHub Flow (Simplified)
Best for: Continuous deployment, web applications
Branches:
main: Always deployablefeature/*: All changes
Workflow:
# Start work
git checkout -b feature/add-dark-mode
# Make changes, commit often
git commit -m "feat(ui): add dark mode toggle"
# Push and create PR
git push origin feature/add-dark-mode
# Create pull request on GitHub
# After review and CI passes, merge to main
# Deploy from mainTrunk-Based Development
Best for: High-frequency releases, mature CI/CD
Key principles:
- All work on
mainor very short-lived feature branches (<1 day) - Feature flags for incomplete features
- Rigorous automated testing
Pull Request Best Practices
PR Description Template:
## Summary
Brief description of changes
## Type of Change
- [ ] Bug fix
- [ ] New feature
- [ ] Breaking change
- [ ] Documentation update
## Testing Done
- [ ] Unit tests added/updated
- [ ] Integration tests pass
- [ ] Manual testing completed
## Screenshots (if applicable)
## Related Issues
Closes #123Review Checklist:
- Code follows project conventions
- Tests cover new functionality
- Documentation is updated
- No sensitive data committed
- CI/CD pipeline passes
- Performance impact considered
Handling Merge Conflicts
Process:
# Update your branch with latest main
git checkout feature/my-feature
git fetch origin
git merge origin/main
# If conflicts occur
# 1. Open conflicted files
# 2. Look for conflict markers: <<<<<<< ======= >>>>>>>
# 3. Resolve manually, keeping appropriate changes
# 4. Remove conflict markers
# 5. Test the resolved code
git add <resolved-files>
git commit -m "chore: resolve merge conflicts with main"Conflict Resolution Tips:
- Communicate with the other developer if unsure
- Prefer rebasing for cleaner history (if branch not shared)
- Use
git mergetoolfor complex conflicts - Always test after resolution
Git Hooks and Automation
Common hooks to consider:
pre-commit:
# Run linters, formatters
npm run lint
npm run format
# Run fast tests
npm run test:unitcommit-msg:
# Validate commit message format
# Ensure conventional commits compliancepre-push:
# Run full test suite
npm run test
# Run build
npm run buildAdvanced Patterns
Rebasing vs Merging
Use Rebase When:
- Working on personal feature branch
- Want linear history
- Need to incorporate upstream changes
git fetch origin
git rebase origin/mainUse Merge When:
- Working on shared branches
- Want to preserve complete history
- Merging pull requests
git merge origin/mainCherry-Picking
Use to apply specific commits to another branch:
# Find commit hash
git log
# Apply to current branch
git cherry-pick <commit-hash>Interactive Rebase
Clean up commit history before pushing:
# Rebase last 3 commits
git rebase -i HEAD~3
# Options: pick, reword, squash, fixup, dropCommon Scenarios
Undo Last Commit (Not Pushed)
git reset --soft HEAD~1 # Keep changes staged
git reset HEAD~1 # Keep changes unstaged
git reset --hard HEAD~1 # Discard changesUndo Pushed Commit
# Create new commit that reverses changes
git revert <commit-hash>
git push origin mainStash Changes
# Save work in progress
git stash save "WIP: feature description"
# List stashes
git stash list
# Apply stash
git stash apply stash@{0}
# Apply and remove
git stash popUpdate Commit Message
# Last commit (not pushed)
git commit --amend -m "new message"
# Older commit
git rebase -i HEAD~n # Use 'reword'Resources
references/
This skill includes reference documentation for deeper dives:
- git-best-practices.md: Comprehensive git guidelines
- branching-models.md: Detailed branching strategy comparisons
- conflict-resolution.md: Advanced merge conflict patterns
Quick Reference
Daily Commands:
git status # Check status
git add <file> # Stage file
git commit -m "message" # Commit with message
git push origin <branch> # Push to remote
git pull origin <branch> # Pull from remote
git checkout -b <branch> # Create and switch branch
git merge <branch> # Merge branchInspection:
git log --oneline --graph # Visual commit history
git diff # See unstaged changes
git diff --staged # See staged changes
git show <commit> # Show commit details
git blame <file> # See who changed each lineCleanup:
git branch -d <branch> # Delete local branch
git push origin :<branch> # Delete remote branch
git clean -fd # Remove untracked files
git gc # Garbage collection