Quick Start Guide - Your First 5 Minutes

Quick Start Guide - Your First 5 Minutes

Goal: Create a feature branch, make a commit, and open a pull request using the DevOps Automation Pack

Time: 5 minutes

Difficulty: Beginner

What You'll Do

In this guide, you'll use three powerful commands to automate your Git workflow:

1. Create a feature branch with proper naming
2. Make a smart conventional commit
3. Generate a professional pull request

By the end, you'll have completed a full development cycle using automation.

Prerequisites Check

Before starting, make sure:

• DevOps Automation Pack is installed (see INSTALLATION.md)
• You're in a Git repository (cd into your project)
• You have some uncommitted changes to work with
• Git is configured with your name and email

Don't have a test project? Create one:

mkdir ~/test-devops-pack
cd ~/test-devops-pack
git init
git config user.name "Your Name"
git config user.email "[email protected]"
echo "# Test Project" > README.md

Step 1: Create a Feature Branch (30 seconds)

Instead of manually creating branches, use the branch creator:

/branch-create

What happens:

The command will ask you:

• Feature type? (feature, bugfix, hotfix, etc.)
• Brief description? (what you're building)

Example interaction:

? Select branch type: feature
? Brief description: add user authentication

 Created and switched to: feature/add-user-authentication

Expected result:

You're now on a new branch with a properly formatted name following team conventions.

Verify:

git branch

You should see * feature/add-user-authentication (or your branch name).

Step 2: Make Changes and Smart Commit (2 minutes)

Let's make a simple change and commit it intelligently.

Make a change:

echo "Added authentication system" >> README.md

Create a smart commit:

Instead of writing your own commit message, let AI do it:

/commit-smart

What happens:

The command will:

1. Analyze your changes (sees you modified README.md)
2. Review your recent commit messages for style
3. Generate a conventional commit message
4. Show you the proposed commit

Example output:

 Analyzing changes...
 Found 1 modified file: README.md
 Reviewed commit history for style

Suggested commit message:
─────────────────────────────────────
docs: document authentication system addition

- Update README with authentication feature
- Follow conventional commits format

─────────────────────────────────────

Create this commit? (y/n):

Review and confirm:

Type y and press Enter.

Expected result:

 Commit created: a3f8d92
 Message follows conventional commits standard
 Ready to push

Next step: Create a pull request with /pr-create

Verify:

git log -1

You'll see your beautifully formatted conventional commit!

Tip: The shortcut /gc does the same thing (gc = Git Commit)

Step 3: Create a Pull Request (2 minutes)

Now let's open a pull request using automation.

Push your branch:

First, push to remote (if you have one configured):

git push -u origin feature/add-user-authentication

Don't have a remote? That's fine - you can still see the PR template generation.

Generate pull request:

/pr-create

What happens:

The command will:

1. Detect your current branch
2. Analyze commits in this branch
3. Generate a professional PR description
4. Create the PR (if you're on GitHub/GitLab)

Example output:

 Analyzing branch: feature/add-user-authentication
 Found 1 commit
 Detected base branch: main

Generated Pull Request:
─────────────────────────────────────
Title: Add user authentication

## Summary
This PR adds documentation for the new authentication system.

## Changes
- Updated README.md with authentication details
- Follows conventional commits standard

## Testing
- [ ] Documentation is clear
- [ ] Links work correctly

## Type of Change
- [x] Documentation update
- [ ] New feature
- [ ] Bug fix

─────────────────────────────────────

Create this PR? (y/n):

Review and create:

Type y to create the pull request.

Expected result:

 Pull request created!
 URL: https://github.com/yourname/repo/pull/42

Next steps:
- Request reviewers
- Wait for CI/CD checks
- Merge when approved

If no remote configured:

The command will show you the PR template and instructions:

 Pull request template generated
 Save this to use when creating PR manually

Copy the template above and paste it when creating your PR on GitHub/GitLab.

Tip: The shortcut /gpr does the same thing (gpr = Git Pull Request)

Step 4: View Your Workflow (30 seconds)

Let's see what you just accomplished:

git log --oneline --graph --all

You'll see:

* a3f8d92 (HEAD -> feature/add-user-authentication) docs: document authentication system addition
* b2e7c81 (main) Initial commit

A clean, professional commit history with:

• Properly named feature branch
• Conventional commit message
• Professional pull request description

All created in under 5 minutes!

What You Just Learned

In 5 minutes, you used the DevOps Automation Pack to:

1. Create feature branches with proper naming conventions
2. Generate smart commits following conventional commits standard
3. Open pull requests with professional descriptions

Manual vs Automated

Without the pack:

• Manually type branch names (easy to mess up)
• Write commit messages from scratch (time-consuming)
• Format PR descriptions (often incomplete)
• Total time: 10-15 minutes per feature

With the pack:

• Quick guided workflows
• AI-generated messages
• Professional templates
• Total time: 5 minutes

Time saved: 50-70% on every feature!

What's Next?

Now that you've mastered the basics, explore more commands:

Try These Next:

1. Optimize a Dockerfile:

/docker-optimize

Analyzes your Dockerfile and suggests optimizations (can save 80%+ image size!)

2. Generate a CI/CD Pipeline:

/github-actions-create

Creates a GitHub Actions workflow with testing, linting, and deployment.

3. Create Kubernetes Manifests:

/k8s-manifest-generate

Generates production-ready K8s manifests with best practices.

4. Build a Terraform Module:

/terraform-module-create

Creates reusable infrastructure-as-code modules.

Explore All 25 Plugins:

/help | grep devops

See complete list with descriptions and shortcuts.

Read Real-World Examples:

See docs/USE_CASES.md for:

• Junior dev setting up first CI/CD
• Team migrating to Docker
• Startup deploying to Kubernetes
• And 4 more scenarios

Get Advanced:

See docs/000-docs/157-DR-FAQS-troubleshooting.md for:

• Common issues and fixes
• Advanced configurations
• Performance tips

Quick Reference

Most Used Commands:

Get Help:

• Command help: /commit-smart --help
• All commands: /help
• Support: mandy@intentsolutions.io

Troubleshooting Your First Workflow

Problem: "Git not configured"

Solution:

git config --global user.name "Your Name"
git config --global user.email "[email protected]"

Problem: "Not in a Git repository"

Solution:

cd /path/to/your/project
# OR create a test project:
git init

Problem: "No changes to commit"

Solution: Make some changes first:

echo "test" >> README.md
git add README.md
/commit-smart

Problem: "Push failed - no remote"

Solution: Either:

1. Add a remote: git remote add origin <url>
2. Or skip the push step - you can still create PR template

Congratulations!

You've completed your first workflow with the DevOps Automation Pack.

What you've achieved:

• Created a properly named feature branch
• Made a conventional commit with AI assistance
• Generated a professional pull request
• Saved 10+ minutes of manual work

Keep going! Every command saves you time and enforces best practices.

Questions? Email mandy@intentsolutions.io

Document Version: 1.0.0 Pack Version: 1.0.0 Last Updated: October 10, 2025