Thenerdygeek Intellij Workflow Orchestrator Git Workflow

Git Workflow Best Practices

Tool Availability

All git operations use run_command with standard git CLI commands. The changelist_shelve tool provides IDE-native IntelliJ changelist shelving.

run_command blocks destructive remote operations (push, fetch, pull, clone, reset --hard, clean -f, rebase, merge, and any command referencing origin/ or upstream/).

Before Any Git Operation

1. Use run_command("git status") to understand current state (branch, uncommitted changes)
2. Use run_command("git branch -a") to see available branches — NEVER assume "main" or "master" exists

Comparing Branches

To check if changes exist between branches:

1. run_command("git branch -a") — find the actual branch names
2. run_command("git merge-base <ref1> <ref2>") — find divergence point
3. run_command("git diff <target-branch>") — see actual differences
4. For a specific file: run_command("git diff <target-branch> -- src/main/Foo.kt")

NEVER use run_command("git diff origin/...") — this references remote refs which are blocked.

Checking if a Ticket's Changes Are on a Branch

1. run_command("git log --oneline -30") — search commit messages for the ticket key
2. run_command("git show <hash>") — view the specific commit's changes
3. run_command("git diff <base-branch> -- <changed-file>") — compare with base

Reviewing File History

1. run_command("git log --oneline --follow -- src/main/Foo.kt") — all commits that touched this file (follows renames)
2. run_command("git blame src/main/Foo.kt -L 40,60") — who changed specific lines
3. run_command("git show HEAD~5:src/main/Foo.kt") — file content 5 commits ago

Viewing a File at a Different Branch

Use run_command("git show <branch>:src/main/Foo.kt") — NOT run_command("git checkout <branch>"). NEVER switch branches. NEVER checkout. Read file content at any ref without modifying working tree.

Understanding Branch Divergence

1. run_command("git merge-base feature-branch develop") — find common ancestor
2. run_command("git log --oneline develop -20") — recent commits on the target branch
3. run_command("git diff develop") — full diff between current branch and target

Shelving Changes (IntelliJ Changelists)

Use changelist_shelve to shelve IntelliJ changelists (IDE-native, not git stash):

• Shelve uncommitted changes before switching context
• Unshelve when returning to the task
• Prefer this over git stash when working inside IntelliJ

PR-Related Tasks

For PR-related git tasks, use Bitbucket tools (deferred — activate via tool_search first):

• bitbucket_pr(action="get_pr_diff") for diffs
• bitbucket_pr(action="get_pr_changes") for changed files
• bitbucket_pr(action="get_pr_commits") for commit history
• bitbucket_pr(action="create_pr") to create PRs

CI Context

Before confirming a branch is ready to merge, check build status (deferred — activate via tool_search first):

• bamboo_builds(action="build_status") for Bamboo CI
• bitbucket_repo(action="get_build_statuses") for Bitbucket pipelines

Destructive Operations

If the user asks to rebase, merge, or force-push, explain that these operations are blocked for safety. Offer to help prepare the command for the user to run manually.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Don't assume the base branch is "main" — enterprise repos often use "develop", "master", or custom names
• Don't use run_command("git diff origin/main") — use run_command("git diff main") instead
• Don't checkout other branches to read files — use run_command("git show <ref>:<path>") instead
• Don't run git log with huge output — use -20 or --oneline to limit
• Don't forget --follow for file history — include it in git log --follow -- <file>
• Don't reference remote refs (origin/, upstream/) — they are blocked for safety

Source: thenerdygeek/intellij-workflow-orchestrator — distributed by TomeVault.