git-workflows

name	git-workflows
description	Git version control workflows, branching strategies, and conflict resolution. Use when managing branches, resolving merge conflicts, understanding git history, or following team git conventions.

Git Workflows Guide

Expert guidance for Git version control workflows, branching strategies, and conflict resolution.

Core Principles

1. Atomic commits - One logical change per commit
2. Clear history - Meaningful commit messages that explain why
3. Branch hygiene - Keep branches focused and short-lived
4. Safe operations - Understand destructive commands before using
5. Collaboration-friendly - Follow team conventions consistently

Detailed Reference Material

• examples.md - Common workflows, including Feature Branch, Trunk-Based, Conflict Resolution, and fixup/autosquash examples.
• reference.md - Branch naming conventions, conflict strategies, command reference tables, and fixup/autosquash strategy.

Quick Summary

Branch Naming

Use prefixes like feat/, fix/, docs/, refactor/ to categorize your branches.

Workflow Checklist

Before starting work:

• Pull latest from main
• Create appropriately named branch
• Understand the task scope

During work:

• Commit frequently with clear messages
• Keep changes focused on one concern
• Rebase on main periodically for long branches

Before PR:

• Rebase on latest main
• Squash fixup commits
• Run tests and linting
• Write clear PR description

Fixup + Autosquash

Use this when follow-up fixes belong to earlier commits and you want clean, atomic history:

git commit --fixup=<target-commit-hash>
GIT_SEQUENCE_EDITOR=: git rebase -i --autosquash <oldest-target-hash>^

Then verify with:

git log --oneline -n 20
git status --short

Useful Git Commands

Inspection Commands

# View commit history
git log --oneline -20
git log --graph --all --oneline

# See what changed
git diff                      # Working vs staged
git diff --cached            # Staged vs last commit
git diff main..feature       # Between branches

# Find who changed what
git blame <file>
git log -p -- <file>         # History of a file

Safety Guidelines

1. Never force push to main/master
2. Check if others are using the branch before force pushing
3. Use --force-with-lease instead of --force when possible
4. Communicate with team first

See Also

• Commit messages: See commit-messages for conventional commit format
• Code review: See code-review for PR review guidelines