Git Workflow Best Practices for Teams

Effective Git workflows are essential for team collaboration. Let’s explore proven strategies.

Branching Strategies

Git Flow

gitGraph
    commit id: "Initial"
    branch develop
    checkout develop
    commit id: "Feature A"
    branch feature/login
    commit id: "Add login"
    commit id: "Add auth"
    checkout develop
    merge feature/login
    branch release/1.0
    commit id: "Version bump"
    checkout main
    merge release/1.0 tag: "v1.0"
    checkout develop
    merge release/1.0

Best for: Large projects with scheduled releases

GitHub Flow

gitGraph
    commit id: "Initial"
    branch feature/new-ui
    commit id: "Update UI"
    commit id: "Add tests"
    checkout main
    merge feature/new-ui id: "PR #42"
    commit id: "Deploy"

Best for: Continuous deployment, smaller teams

Commit Message Conventions

Conventional Commits

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

[optional body]

[optional footer]

Types:

• feat: New feature
• fix: Bug fix
• docs: Documentation
• style: Formatting
• refactor: Code restructuring
• test: Adding tests
• chore: Maintenance

Examples:

# Feature
git commit -m "feat(auth): add OAuth2 login support"

# Bug fix
git commit -m "fix(api): resolve null pointer in user service"

# Breaking change
git commit -m "feat(api)!: change user endpoint response format

BREAKING CHANGE: User object now includes nested profile"

Branch Naming Conventions

Pull Request Best Practices

PR Template

## Description
Brief description of changes

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

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

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

Code Review Guidelines

1. Review promptly - Aim for < 24 hours
2. Be constructive - Suggest improvements, not just problems
3. Keep PRs small - < 400 lines of change
4. Use suggestions - GitHub’s suggestion feature is powerful

```suggestion
const user = await fetchUser(id);
if (!user) throw new NotFoundError();

## Keeping History Clean

### Interactive Rebase

```bash
# Squash last 3 commits
git rebase -i HEAD~3

# In editor:
pick abc1234 First commit
squash def5678 Second commit
squash ghi9012 Third commit

Amending Commits

# Fix last commit message
git commit --amend -m "New message"

# Add forgotten files to last commit
git add forgotten-file.ts
git commit --amend --no-edit

Useful Git Aliases

Add to ~/.gitconfig:

[alias]
    co = checkout
    br = branch
    ci = commit
    st = status
    lg = log --oneline --graph --decorate
    undo = reset HEAD~1 --soft
    amend = commit --amend --no-edit
    pr = pull --rebase
    sync = !git fetch origin && git rebase origin/main

Handling Merge Conflicts

# 1. Update your branch
git fetch origin
git rebase origin/main

# 2. If conflicts occur
# Edit conflicted files

# 3. Mark as resolved
git add <resolved-files>

# 4. Continue rebase
git rebase --continue

Protected Branches

Configure in GitHub/GitLab:

• ✅ Require pull request reviews
• ✅ Require status checks to pass
• ✅ Require linear history
• ✅ Restrict force pushes
• ✅ Require signed commits

Summary

Follow these practices for smoother collaboration! 🎯