Workflow selection suggestions

Workflow Selection Recommendations

Git offers multiple workflow models, each suited for different team sizes and project requirements. Choosing the appropriate workflow can significantly improve collaboration efficiency and reduce code conflicts. Below are several common workflows and their applicable scenarios.

Centralized Workflow

The centralized workflow is the simplest Git workflow, ideal for small teams or developers new to Git. All developers share a central repository and commit changes directly to the main branch (typically master or main).

// Example: Clone the repository and commit changes
git clone https://github.com/example/repo.git
cd repo
echo "New feature" >> feature.txt
git add feature.txt
git commit -m "Add new feature"
git push origin main

Advantages:

• Simple and easy to use, low learning curve
• Suitable for linear development in small projects

Disadvantages:

• Prone to conflicts in multi-person collaboration
• Lack of branch isolation may lead to unstable code entering the main branch

Feature Branch Workflow

The feature branch workflow isolates development environments by creating independent branches for each new feature or fix. After completing a feature, developers merge changes into the main branch via Pull Request (PR) or Merge Request (MR).

// Example: Create and merge a feature branch
git checkout -b feature/login
// After development...
git add .
git commit -m "Implement login feature"
git push origin feature/login
// Create a PR on the Git platform to merge into main

Advantages:

• Isolated development, reducing main branch pollution
• Facilitates code review
• Suitable for medium-sized teams

Disadvantages:

• Requires maintaining multiple branches
• Conflicts may still need resolution during merging

Git Flow Workflow

Git Flow is a strict branching model proposed by Vincent Driessen, defining several long-lived branches:

• master: Production code
• develop: Integration branch for development
• feature/*: Feature development branches
• release/*: Pre-release branches
• hotfix/*: Emergency fix branches

// Example: Typical Git Flow process
git checkout -b feature/user-profile develop
// Develop the feature...
git flow feature finish user-profile
git flow release start 1.2.0
// After testing...
git flow release finish 1.2.0

Advantages:

• Strict version control
• Suitable for large projects with fixed release cycles
• Clear division of branch responsibilities

Disadvantages:

• Complex process, steep learning curve
• High maintenance cost due to numerous branches

Forking Workflow

The Forking workflow is common in open-source projects. Each developer forks the main repository to their own account, develops locally, and submits a PR to the main repository.

// Example: Forking workflow operations
// Fork the repository on GitHub
git clone https://github.com/yourname/repo.git
git remote add upstream https://github.com/original/repo.git
// After development...
git push origin feature
// Create a PR on GitHub

Advantages:

• Maintainers have full control over code merging
• Contributors don't need access to the main repository
• Suitable for distributed teams and open-source projects

Disadvantages:

• Syncing upstream changes is cumbersome
• Requires more repository management operations

Selection Criteria

Project Size:

• Small projects: Centralized or feature branch workflow
• Medium projects: Feature branch or simplified Git Flow
• Large projects: Full Git Flow or Forking workflow

Team Structure:

• Centralized teams: Feature branch workflow
• Distributed teams: Forking workflow
• Multi-environment deployments: Git Flow

Release Frequency:

• Continuous delivery: Feature branch workflow
• Regular releases: Git Flow
• Frequent emergency fixes: Consider hotfix branches

Hybrid Workflow Practices

Many teams combine different workflows based on actual needs. For example, using feature branches for development but adopting Git Flow's release management for production:

// Main development process uses feature branches
git checkout -b feature/checkout
// Create a release branch for deployment
git flow release start 1.3.0
// After testing passes
git flow release finish 1.3.0

Tool Support

Modern Git platforms offer workflow assistance features:

• GitHub: PR templates, branch protection rules
• GitLab: MR approvals, pipeline integration
• Bitbucket: Branch permissions, merge checks

# Example: GitHub branch protection rules
# .github/branch-protection.yml
main:
  required_status_checks:
    strict: true
    contexts: [ci/tests]
  enforce_admins: false
  required_pull_request_reviews:
    required_approving_review_count: 1

Common Issue Solutions

Branch Pollution:

• Regularly clean up merged branches
• Use git remote prune origin to delete remote branches that no longer exist

Merge Conflicts:

• Frequently rebase changes from the main branch
• Use graphical tools to resolve conflicts

// Regularly sync with the main branch
git checkout feature/awesome
git fetch origin
git rebase origin/main
// After resolving conflicts...
git rebase --continue

Messy History:

• Use --no-ff for merging temporary branches
• Sign important commits for verification

git merge --no-ff feature/important
git commit -S -m "Merge important feature"