Setup Canary

Canary Branch Workflow

Follow this guide to use the canary branch for testing before merging to main. The canary branch is a pre-main integration branch where changes are tested together before full deployment.

What is Canary Branch?

The canary branch is a testing branch that sits between feature branches and main:

• Feature branches merge into canary for integration testing
• When canary is stable, it merges into main
• main is always deployable and reflects production

feature/xyz → canary → main

Canary Workflow

Step 1: Create Feature Branch

git checkout -b feat/my-feature
# Make your changes
git add -A
git commit -m "feat(skills): add new feature

Testing new capability before main.

Co-Authored-By: martyy-code <nesalia.inc@gmail.com>"

Step 2: Push to Remote

git push -u origin HEAD

Step 3: Create PR to Canary

gh pr create --title "feat(skills): add new feature" --body "## Summary
- New feature for testing

## Test Plan
- [ ] Unit tests pass
- [ ] Integration tests pass
- [ ] Manual testing completed

Co-Authored-By: martyy-code <nesalia.inc@gmail.com>" --base canary

Step 4: Merge to Canary

After PR approval, merge to canary:

gh pr merge --squash --delete-branch

Step 5: Verify on Canary

# Switch to canary and pull latest
git checkout canary && git pull

# Deploy canary or run tests
./scripts/deploy-canary.sh
# or
npm run test:integration

Step 6: Monitor and Validate

# Check canary build status
gh run list --branch canary

# View canary logs
kubectl logs -l environment=canary

Step 7: Merge Canary to Main

Once canary is stable:

# From main, merge canary
git checkout main && git pull
git merge origin/canary

# Push main
git push

Branch Protection Rules

Canary vs Main

Integration with CI/CD

Canary triggers CI pipelines to validate integration:

# .github/workflows/canary-ci.yml
name: Canary CI

on:
  push:
    branches: [canary]

jobs:
  test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - checkout
      - run: npm ci
      - run: npm test
      - run: npm run build

Quick Reference

Create feature branch:    git checkout -b feat/my-feature
Push feature:             git push -u origin HEAD
Create PR to canary:      gh pr create --base canary
Merge to canary:          gh pr merge --squash
Verify canary:            git checkout canary && git pull
Merge canary to main:     git checkout main && git merge origin/canary && git push

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Direct push to canary: Always use PR for canary merges
2. Skip testing on canary: Never merge canary to main without validation
3. Outdated canary: Keep canary synced with main regularly
4. Bypass CI: Don't merge if CI is failing on canary
5. Merge conflicts: Resolve conflicts on feature branch before PR

Related Skills