Understanding Git and Gitflow
“When i see a door with a push sign, i pull first to avoid conflicts!” —
Soundar Velliangiri
Version Control
Version control is a system that records changes to a file or set of files over time so that you can recall specific versions later.
Git
Git is a distributed version control system that tracks modifications to files in a folder or code changes. It is typically used by a group of programmers to work together on a project and organize their work so that it does not conflict with each other's work.
Git Manual 101
Here are some basic Git commands that are commonly used in a project.
git init : initialize a new Git repository and begins tracking an existing directory
git clone : creates a local copy of a project that already exists remotely
git branch : shows the branches being worked on locally
git add : stages a change
git commit : saves the snapshot to the project history and completes the change-tracking process
git status : shows the status of changes as untracked, modified, or staged
git push : updates the remote repository with any commits made locally to a branch.
git pull : updates the local line of development with updates from its remote counterpart.
git merge : merges lines of development together.
Other useful Git commands
git fetch : download objects and refs from another repository
git remote : manage set of tracked repositories
To learn more about Git commands, here is a full reference guide from Git.
Working With Gitflow Workflow
“A Git Workflow is a recipe or recommendation for how to use Git to accomplish work in a consistent and productive manner.” — Attlassian.com
Gitflow is one of the popular Git workflows that helps with continuous software development and implementing DevOps practices. This workflow establishes a rigorous branching model based on the project release. As a result, it provides a solid foundation for managing bigger projects.
The Gitflow Workflow actually has its own extension on Git, the git-flow toolset. But in this article, I will only discuss how to work with Gitflow Workflow without the git-flow extensions.
The overall flow of Gitflow is:
- A
masterbranch stores the official release history - A
developbranch is created frommaster - A
releasebranch is created fromdevelop Featurebranches are created fromdevelop- When a
featureis complete it is merged into thedevelopbranch - When the
releasebranch is done it is merged intodevelopandmaster - If an issue in
masteris detected ahotfixbranch is created frommaster - Once the
hotfixis complete it is merged to bothdevelopandmaster - If a feature is rejected, a
coldfixbranch is created by reverting thedevelopbranch
Master and Develop Branch
Gitflow workflow uses two branches to record the history of the project. The master branch contains the official release history, and the develop branch acts as a feature integration branch.
Feature Branch
Each new feature should reside in its own branch, which can be pushed to the central repository for backup/collaboration. When a feature is complete, it gets merged back into develop
Finishing a feature branch
When we’re done with the development work on the feature, we then merge the feature_branch into develop
git checkout develop
git merge <feature_branch>Release Branches
Once develop has acquired enough features for a release (or a predetermined release date is approaching), you fork a release branch off of develop. Creating this branch starts the next release cycle, so no new features can be added after this point—only bug fixes, documentation generation, and other release-oriented tasks should go in this branch.
Hotfix Branches
Maintenance or “hotfix” branches are used to quickly patch production releases. Hotfix branches are a lot like release branches and feature branches except they're based on master instead of develop.
Coldfix Branches
Coldfix branch created to delete all changes of all product backlog item branches. This can happen if the product owner rejects any or all of the product backlog items implemented for release.
