mgd34msu Git Workflows
Automated git documentation, branch management, and release automation.
Quick Start
Generate PR description:
Create a PR description for the current branch compared to main
Write commit message:
Generate a commit message for my staged changes
Update changelog:
Update the changelog based on commits since the last release
Capabilities
1. PR Description Generation
Create comprehensive pull request descriptions from branch diffs.
Analysis Process
# 1. Get branch info
git branch --show-current
git log main..HEAD --oneline
# 2. Get full diff
git diff main...HEAD
# 3. Get changed files
git diff main...HEAD --name-status
# 4. Get commit messages
git log main..HEAD --pretty=format:"%s%n%b"
PR Description Template
## Summary
{1-3 sentences describing what this PR does and why}
## Changes
### Added
- {New features or files}
### Changed
- {Modifications to existing functionality}
### Fixed
- {Bug fixes}
## Testing
- [ ] Unit tests pass
- [ ] Manual testing completed
- [ ] {Specific test scenarios}
## Related Issues
- Closes #{issue_number}
- Related to #{issue_number}
## Checklist
- [ ] Code follows project style guidelines
- [ ] Self-review completed
- [ ] Tests added/updated
- [ ] Documentation updated
See templates/pr-description.md for more templates.
2. Commit Message Generation
Create meaningful commit messages from staged changes.
Conventional Commits Format
<type>(<scope>): <subject>
<body>
<footer>
Types:
| Type | When to Use |
|---|---|
feat |
New feature |
fix |
Bug fix |
docs |
Documentation only |
style |
Formatting, no code change |
refactor |
Code restructuring |
perf |
Performance improvement |
test |
Adding/updating tests |
chore |
Maintenance tasks |
ci |
CI/CD changes |
build |
Build system changes |
Example Messages
feat(auth): add OAuth2 authentication support
- Add Google OAuth provider integration
- Create session management middleware
- Add user profile endpoint
Closes #123
fix(api): correct pagination offset calculation
The offset was being calculated as page * limit instead of
(page - 1) * limit, causing the first item to be skipped.
Fixes #456
3. Branch Naming Conventions
Enforce consistent branch naming patterns.
Naming Patterns
| Pattern | Example | Use Case |
|---|---|---|
feature/<ticket>-<description> |
feature/PROJ-123-user-auth |
New features |
fix/<ticket>-<description> |
fix/PROJ-456-login-error |
Bug fixes |
hotfix/<ticket>-<description> |
hotfix/PROJ-789-security-patch |
Production fixes |
release/<version> |
release/1.2.0 |
Release branches |
chore/<description> |
chore/update-dependencies |
Maintenance |
Validation Script
#!/bin/bash
# .git/hooks/pre-push
branch=$(git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD)
pattern="^(feature|fix|hotfix|release|chore)/[a-z0-9-]+$"
if [[ ! $branch =~ $pattern ]]; then
echo "Branch name '$branch' doesn't match pattern: $pattern"
echo "Examples: feature/PROJ-123-add-login, fix/PROJ-456-null-check"
exit 1
fi
See references/branch-strategies.md for strategy comparison.
4. Changelog Automation
Automatically update CHANGELOG.md from commits.
Generation Process
# Get commits since last tag
git log $(git describe --tags --abbrev=0)..HEAD --pretty=format:"%s|%h|%an" > commits.txt
# Parse conventional commits
# feat: -> Added
# fix: -> Fixed
# docs: -> Documentation
# BREAKING CHANGE: -> Breaking Changes
Keep a Changelog Format
# Changelog
## [Unreleased]
### Added
- New user authentication flow (#123) - @developer
### Changed
- Updated dependencies to latest versions
### Fixed
- Fixed race condition in queue processing (#124)
### Security
- Updated vulnerable dependency xyz to 2.0.0
## [1.2.0] - 2024-01-15
### Added
- Initial release features...
[Unreleased]: https://github.com/owner/repo/compare/v1.2.0...HEAD
[1.2.0]: https://github.com/owner/repo/releases/tag/v1.2.0
Automation Tools
# conventional-changelog
npx conventional-changelog-cli -p angular -i CHANGELOG.md -s
# standard-version
npx standard-version
# semantic-release (fully automated)
npx semantic-release
5. Version Bumping from Commits
Determine semantic version from commit history.
Semver Detection
| Commit Type | Version Bump |
|---|---|
BREAKING CHANGE: |
Major (1.0.0 -> 2.0.0) |
feat: |
Minor (1.0.0 -> 1.1.0) |
fix:, perf: |
Patch (1.0.0 -> 1.0.1) |
Detection Script
#!/bin/bash
# determine-version.sh
last_tag=$(git describe --tags --abbrev=0 2>/dev/null || echo "v0.0.0")
current=${last_tag#v}
# Check for breaking changes
if git log $last_tag..HEAD --pretty=format:"%s%b" | grep -q "BREAKING CHANGE"; then
echo "major"
elif git log $last_tag..HEAD --pretty=format:"%s" | grep -qE "^feat(\(.+\))?:"; then
echo "minor"
else
echo "patch"
fi
npm version Integration
# Automatic version bump based on commits
bump=$(./determine-version.sh)
npm version $bump -m "chore(release): %s"
git push --follow-tags
6. Git Hooks
Pre-commit and commit-msg validation.
Pre-commit Hook
#!/bin/bash
# .git/hooks/pre-commit
# Run linting
npm run lint --silent || {
echo "Linting failed. Fix errors before committing."
exit 1
}
# Run type checking
npm run type-check --silent || {
echo "Type checking failed. Fix errors before committing."
exit 1
}
# Check for debug statements
if git diff --cached | grep -E "console\.(log|debug)|debugger"; then
echo "Remove debug statements before committing."
exit 1
fi
# Check for secrets
if git diff --cached | grep -E "(password|api_key|secret)\s*=\s*['\"][^'\"]+['\"]"; then
echo "Potential secrets detected. Review before committing."
exit 1
fi
Commit-msg Hook
#!/bin/bash
# .git/hooks/commit-msg
commit_msg=$(cat "$1")
pattern="^(feat|fix|docs|style|refactor|perf|test|chore|ci|build)(\(.+\))?: .{1,72}"
if [[ ! $commit_msg =~ $pattern ]]; then
echo "Invalid commit message format!"
echo "Expected: <type>(<scope>): <subject>"
echo "Example: feat(auth): add login endpoint"
echo ""
echo "Types: feat, fix, docs, style, refactor, perf, test, chore, ci, build"
exit 1
fi
See references/git-hooks.md for more hook examples.
7. Merge Conflict Resolution
Guide for resolving merge conflicts.
Common Conflict Patterns
Same line edited:
<<<<<<< HEAD
const config = { timeout: 5000 };
=======
const config = { timeout: 10000 };
>>>>>>> feature/new-timeout
Resolution options:
- Keep ours:
git checkout --ours <file> - Keep theirs:
git checkout --theirs <file> - Manual merge: Edit file and remove markers
Resolution Workflow
# 1. Start merge
git merge feature-branch
# 2. See conflicted files
git status
# 3. Open in merge tool
git mergetool
# 4. After resolving
git add <resolved-files>
git commit
Prevention Strategies
- Rebase frequently:
git pull --rebase - Small, focused branches
- Clear code ownership
- Modular file structure
8. Rebase and Squash Guidance
Clean up commit history before merging.
Interactive Rebase
# Squash last 5 commits
git rebase -i HEAD~5
# In editor:
pick abc1234 First commit
squash def5678 Second commit
squash ghi9012 Third commit
fixup jkl3456 WIP commit (discard message)
reword mno7890 Final commit (edit message)
Rebase onto Main
# Update feature branch with main
git checkout feature-branch
git fetch origin
git rebase origin/main
# If conflicts, resolve then:
git rebase --continue
# Or abort:
git rebase --abort
Squash Merge
# Merge with squash (combines all commits)
git checkout main
git merge --squash feature-branch
git commit -m "feat: add user authentication (#123)"
9. Git Bisect Assistance
Find the commit that introduced a bug.
Bisect Workflow
# Start bisect
git bisect start
# Mark current as bad
git bisect bad
# Mark known good commit
git bisect good v1.0.0
# Git checks out middle commit
# Test and mark:
git bisect good # if works
git bisect bad # if broken
# Repeat until found
# Git will output: "abc1234 is the first bad commit"
# End bisect
git bisect reset
Automated Bisect
# Run test script automatically
git bisect start HEAD v1.0.0
git bisect run npm test
# Or custom script
git bisect run ./check-bug.sh
10. Stale Branch Cleanup
Identify and remove stale branches.
List Stale Branches
# Branches merged into main
git branch --merged main
# Remote branches not updated in 30 days
git for-each-ref --sort=committerdate refs/remotes/ \
--format='%(committerdate:relative) %(refname:short)' |
grep -E "months? ago"
# Branches with no remote
git branch -vv | grep ': gone]'
Cleanup Script
#!/bin/bash
# cleanup-branches.sh
# Delete merged local branches (except main/develop)
git branch --merged main |
grep -vE "^\*|main|develop" |
xargs -r git branch -d
# Prune remote tracking branches
git fetch --prune
# Delete local branches without remote
git branch -vv |
grep ': gone]' |
awk '{print $1}' |
xargs -r git branch -D
11. Branch Strategies
Choose the right branching strategy.
GitFlow
main ─────────────────────────────────────────
\ /
develop ───────────────────────
\ / \ /
feature/a feature/b
Best for: Large teams, scheduled releases
Trunk-Based Development
main ──●──●──●──●──●──●──●──●──●──
│ │ │ │
short-lived branches (< 1 day)
Best for: Small teams, continuous deployment
GitHub Flow
main ─────────────────────────────
\ / \ /
feature/a feature/b
Best for: Web applications, simple workflow
See references/branch-strategies.md for detailed comparison.
Release Workflow
Release Checklist
## Release v{version}
### Pre-Release
- [ ] All PRs for release merged
- [ ] CI green on main
- [ ] Version bumped
- [ ] CHANGELOG.md updated
- [ ] Documentation updated
### Release
- [ ] Tag created: git tag -a v{version} -m "Release v{version}"
- [ ] Tag pushed: git push --tags
- [ ] GitHub release created
- [ ] Package published
### Post-Release
- [ ] Announcement posted
- [ ] Documentation site updated
- [ ] Stakeholders notified
GitHub Release Command
# Create release with notes
gh release create v1.3.0 \
--title "v1.3.0" \
--notes-file RELEASE_NOTES.md \
--target main
# Auto-generate notes from PRs
gh release create v1.3.0 --generate-notes
Hook Integration
PreToolUse Hook - Commit Message Validation
Before commits, validate message format:
{
"hooks": {
"PreToolUse": [{
"matcher": "Bash",
"command": "validate-commit.sh",
"condition": "contains(input, 'git commit')"
}]
}
}
Script example:
#!/bin/bash
# validate-commit.sh
# Extract commit message from command
message=$(echo "$INPUT" | grep -oP '(?<=-m ")[^"]+')
pattern="^(feat|fix|docs|style|refactor|perf|test|chore|ci|build)(\(.+\))?: .{1,72}"
if [[ ! $message =~ $pattern ]]; then
echo "BLOCK: Invalid commit message format"
echo "Expected: <type>(<scope>): <subject>"
echo "Got: $message"
exit 1
fi
echo "Commit message format valid"
Hook response pattern:
interface CommitValidationResponse {
valid: boolean;
message?: string;
suggestions?: string[];
}
PostToolUse Hook - Auto-Changelog
After commits, suggest changelog updates:
{
"hooks": {
"PostToolUse": [{
"matcher": "Bash",
"command": "suggest-changelog.sh",
"condition": "contains(output, 'create mode') || contains(output, 'insertions')"
}]
}
}
CI/CD Integration
GitHub Actions
name: Release
on:
push:
tags:
- 'v*'
jobs:
release:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v4
with:
fetch-depth: 0
- name: Generate changelog
run: |
npx conventional-changelog-cli -p angular -r 2 > RELEASE_NOTES.md
- name: Create Release
uses: softprops/action-gh-release@v1
with:
body_path: RELEASE_NOTES.md
draft: false
prerelease: ${{ contains(github.ref, 'alpha') || contains(github.ref, 'beta') }}
env:
GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
- name: Publish to npm
run: npm publish
env:
NODE_AUTH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.NPM_TOKEN }}
Automated Version Bump
name: Version Bump
on:
push:
branches: [main]
jobs:
version:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v4
with:
fetch-depth: 0
- name: Bump version
run: |
git config user.name github-actions
git config user.email github-actions@github.com
npx standard-version
git push --follow-tags
Pre-commit with Husky
# Install husky
npm install --save-dev husky
npx husky init
# Add pre-commit hook
echo "npm run lint && npm test" > .husky/pre-commit
# Add commit-msg hook
echo 'npx commitlint --edit "$1"' > .husky/commit-msg
Templates
- templates/pr-description.md - PR description templates
- templates/release-notes.md - Release notes templates
- templates/commit-message.md - Commit message examples
Reference Files
- references/conventional-commits.md - Commit message conventions
- references/branch-strategies.md - Branch strategy comparison
- references/git-hooks.md - Git hook examples and patterns