Git Flow — Skill

Purpose

Enforce consistent git practices across all phases — planning, implementation, and validation.

When to Use

• Creating or naming a branch
• Writing a commit message
• Merging work back to a base branch
• Planning implementation steps that involve git operations

Branching Conventions

1. Avoid direct commits to main when possible. Prefer feature/fix branches for isolated work.
2. Branch naming: feature/<short-kebab-description> for features, fix/<short-kebab-description> for fixes.
3. Branch from main.
4. One logical task per branch. Do not mix unrelated changes.

Commit Conventions

1. Format: type(scope): subject
   • type: feat, fix, refactor, test, docs, chore
   • scope: module or component name (e.g., router, handler, timeout)
   • subject: imperative mood, lowercase, no period, under 72 characters
2. One logical change per commit. Every commit must leave the codebase runnable.
3. Include traceability: Add Fulfills: REQ-XX-NNN in the commit body when the commit completes a requirement.
4. Push after every commit. The remote is backup and audit trail.

Merge Conventions

1. Merge with --no-ff to preserve feature branch history.
2. Delete the feature branch after a successful merge.
3. Verify tests pass before merging.

Pre-Commit Self-Check

1. Run git diff --staged and review every changed line.
2. Confirm no debug prints, commented-out code, or TODOs remain.
3. Confirm the commit message accurately describes the change.
4. Confirm the code runs without errors.

Quality Checklist

• Branch name follows feature/<name> or fix/<name> convention
• Each commit has one logical change
• Commit messages follow type(scope): subject format
• Commit body includes Fulfills: REQ-XX-NNN where applicable
• All commits pushed to remote
• Feature branch merged with --no-ff
• Feature branch deleted after merge