Branching Strategy

We follow a modified GitFlow workflow that emphasizes simplicity and continuous delivery.

Main Branches

main Branch

• Production-ready code
• Protected branch
• Requires pull request and review
• Tagged with version numbers
• Automated deployments to production

develop Branch

• Integration branch
• Latest development changes
• Automated deployments to staging
• CI runs all tests

Feature Development

Feature Branches

# Create feature branch
git checkout develop
git checkout -b feature/payment-method-wave
 
# Keep updated with develop
git fetch origin
git rebase origin/develop
 
# Push changes
git push origin feature/payment-method-wave

Bug Fix Branches

# Create bug fix branch
git checkout develop
git checkout -b fix/transaction-timeout
 
# After testing
git push origin fix/transaction-timeout

Release Process

Release Branches

# Create release branch
git checkout develop
git checkout -b release/1.2.0
 
# Version bump and final testing
npm version minor
git push origin release/1.2.0

Hotfix Branches

# Create hotfix branch
git checkout main
git checkout -b hotfix/1.2.1
 
# Fix critical bug
npm version patch
git push origin hotfix/1.2.1

Branch Protection Rules

1. main Branch

   • Require pull request reviews
   • Require status checks to pass
   • No direct pushes
   • Linear history (rebase merging)

2. develop Branch

   • Require status checks to pass
   • Allow rebase merging
   • Automated test suite must pass

Merge Strategy

1. Feature to Develop

   git checkout develop
   git pull origin develop
   git merge --no-ff feature/payment-method-wave
   git push origin develop

2. Release to Main

   git checkout main
   git pull origin main
   git merge --no-ff release/1.2.0
   git tag -a v1.2.0 -m "Version 1.2.0"
   git push origin main --tags

Best Practices

1. Branch Naming

   • feature/* - New features
   • fix/* - Bug fixes
   • release/* - Release preparation
   • hotfix/* - Emergency fixes
   • Use descriptive names

2. Commit Messages

   # Format
   <type>(<scope>): <description>
    
   # Examples
   feat(payments): add Wave payment method
   fix(webhooks): handle timeout errors
   docs(api): update authentication guide

3. Code Review

   • Create detailed pull requests
   • Add relevant labels
   • Link related issues
   • Request specific reviewers

Next Steps

• Code Reviews
• Versioning
• Contributing Guidelines