Git Workflow

Git Workflow

Core Rules

1. Always sync remotes first:

   git fetch --all --prune
   

2. Always detect default branch dynamically (fallback main, then master):

   default_branch="$(git symbolic-ref refs/remotes/origin/HEAD 2>/dev/null | sed 's@^refs/remotes/origin/@@')"
   [ -z "$default_branch" ] && default_branch="$(git branch -r --list 'origin/main' | head -n1 | sed 's@^ *origin/@@')"
   [ -z "$default_branch" ] && default_branch=master
   

3. Ask for confirmation before destructive operations:
   • git push --force-with-lease
   • git reset --hard
   • deleting branches/tags
4. Never use plain --force; use --force-with-lease.
5. Prefer origin/<default-branch> as rebase target.

Branch and Commit Conventions

• Branch prefixes:
  • feature/<name>
  • fix/<name>
  • hotfix/<name>
  • release/<name>
  • chore/<name>
• Commit prefixes:
  • feat:, fix:, perf:, refactor:, docs:, test:, chore:, release:

Bundled Helpers

Use these scripts from this skill directory:

• scripts/detect-active-branches.sh [--base <branch>] [--window <n>]
• scripts/generate-mr-url.sh [source-branch] [target-branch]

generate-mr-url.sh supports generic GitLab remotes (not only git.tec-do.com).

Workflow A: Create Branch

1. Ensure repo is up to date:

   git fetch --all --prune
   

2. Pick base branch:
   • default: origin/<default-branch>
   • use user-provided base if specified
3. Normalize branch name:
   • If no prefix, infer one from intent (feature, fix, chore, release, hotfix)
   • Convert spaces/underscores to -
4. Create and checkout:

   git checkout -b <prefix>/<slug> origin/<base-branch>
   

5. If user asks to publish branch, push:

   git push -u origin <branch>
   

6. Show MR URL:

   bash scripts/generate-mr-url.sh <branch> <default-branch>
   

Workflow B: Commit, Push, and MR

1. Branch safety decision

1. Detect current branch:

   current_branch="$(git branch --show-current)"
   

2. If current branch is protected/integration (main, master, develop, dev, staging) or user requested new branch:
   • create a new branch from origin/<default-branch> and continue there.
3. If current branch is feature/fix style, verify it is not stale:

   git cherry "origin/$default_branch" HEAD
   

   • If all commits are already upstream (only - lines), treat as stale and create a fresh branch.

2. Rebase onto latest default branch

1. Stash if worktree is dirty:

   git stash push -u -m "git-workflow-auto-stash"
   

2. Rebase:

   git rebase "origin/$default_branch"
   

3. If conflicts occur, ask user to resolve and continue:

   git rebase --continue
   

4. Restore stash if created:

   git stash pop
   

3. Stage and commit

1. Review status:

   git status --short
   

2. If user did not ask for partial staging, stage all:

   git add -A
   

3. Propose conventional commit title based on diff intent.
4. Ask for confirmation/edits on commit message.
5. Commit:

   git commit -m "<type>: <summary>"
   

4. Push

1. If rebase happened, default to:

   git push --force-with-lease origin <current-branch>
   

   Ask for confirmation first.
2. Otherwise:

   git push -u origin <current-branch>
   

3. Always print MR URL:

   bash scripts/generate-mr-url.sh <current-branch> <default-branch>
   

5. Create MR when requested

If user explicitly requested MR creation:

1. Prefer glab mr create when authenticated.
2. Build title/body from commits:

   git log "origin/$default_branch"..HEAD --pretty=format:'- %s' --reverse
   

3. Create MR:

   glab mr create \
     --target-branch "$default_branch" \
     --source-branch "$(git branch --show-current)" \
     --title "<title>" \
     --description "<description>"
   

4. If glab is unavailable, return URL from generate-mr-url.sh.

Workflow C: Sync Active Feature/Fix Branches

1. Save current branch:

   origin_branch="$(git branch --show-current)"
   

2. Detect candidates:

   bash scripts/detect-active-branches.sh --base "$default_branch"
   

3. Show candidate list and ask user which branches to sync.
4. For each selected branch:
   • git checkout <branch>
   • git rebase "origin/$default_branch"
   • Resolve conflicts with user if needed
   • confirm then git push --force-with-lease origin <branch>
   • print MR URL via helper script
5. Return to original branch.

Workflow D: Consolidate Integration Branch

Use for requests like "rebuild dev from active features".

1. Ask for target integration branch (default dev).
2. Detect active branches using helper script.
3. Ask user to confirm branch list and base feature branch.
4. Rebase each feature branch on origin/<default-branch> first.
5. Checkout target branch and hard reset to base feature branch:

   git checkout <target-branch>
   git reset --hard <base-feature-branch>
   

   Ask confirmation before reset.
6. Merge remaining feature branches one by one:

   git merge --no-ff <feature-branch>
   

7. Ask before push, then push and provide MR URL.

Autonomy Principle

Make reasonable defaults automatically (prefix selection, staging, commit type, target branch). Ask only when:

• action is destructive
• user intent is ambiguous
• required information cannot be inferred