Git Workflow for Team Collaboration

Why Use Git?

Git is a distributed version control system that tracks changes in your code. It enables collaboration, maintains history, and provides a safety net for your project.

Git Fundamentals

Basic Git Commands

# Initialize a repository
git init

# Clone a repository
git clone https://github.com/username/repo.git

# Check status
git status

# Stage changes
git add .                    # Add all changes
git add filename.cs          # Add specific file

# Commit changes
git commit -m "Your commit message"

# Push to remote
git push origin main

# Pull from remote
git pull origin main

# Create a branch
git branch feature-name

# Switch to branch
git checkout feature-name
# or
git switch feature-name

# Create and switch branch
git checkout -b feature-name

# Merge branch
git merge feature-name

# View branches
git branch
git branch -a  # All branches including remote

# Delete branch
git branch -d feature-name

Git Workflow Strategies

1. Git Flow

# Git Flow Branches
main          # Production-ready code
develop       # Integration branch
feature/*     # New features
release/*     # Release preparation
hotfix/*      # Emergency fixes

# Git Flow Commands
git flow init
git flow feature start feature-name
git flow feature finish feature-name
git flow release start 1.0.0
git flow release finish 1.0.0
git flow hotfix start hotfix-name
git flow hotfix finish hotfix-name

2. GitHub Flow

# GitHub Flow (Simpler)
main          # Production-ready code
feature/*     # New features (branch from main)

# Workflow Steps
1. Create a branch from main
2. Make changes and commit
3. Push to GitHub
4. Create Pull Request
5. Review and merge
6. Delete the branch

Best Practices

Commit Messages

# Good Commit Messages
feat: Add user authentication
fix: Resolve login bug
docs: Update API documentation
style: Format code according to standards
refactor: Restructure service layer
test: Add unit tests for payment service
chore: Update dependencies

# Bad Commit Messages (Avoid)
Fixed bug
Updated code
Changes
Work in progress

Branch Naming Conventions

# Feature branches
feature/user-authentication
feature/payment-integration
feature/dark-mode

# Bug fix branches
bugfix/login-error
bugfix/display-issue

# Hotfix branches
hotfix/security-patch
hotfix/critical-bug

# Release branches
release/v1.0.0
release/v2.0.0-beta

Pull Request Best Practices

# Pull Request Template
## Description
Brief description of the changes

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

## Testing
- [ ] Unit tests added
- [ ] Integration tests added
- [ ] Manual testing performed

## Checklist
- [ ] Code follows style guidelines
- [ ] Self-review completed
- [ ] Comments added for complex code
- [ ] Documentation updated

Common Git Workflows

1. Feature Development

# Start a new feature
git checkout main
git pull origin main
git checkout -b feature/new-feature

# Work on the feature
# ... make changes ...
git add .
git commit -m "feat: Add new feature"

# Push the branch
git push origin feature/new-feature

# Create Pull Request on GitHub
# After review and approval, merge

# Clean up local branch
git checkout main
git pull origin main
git branch -d feature/new-feature

2. Bug Fix

# Start a bug fix
git checkout main
git pull origin main
git checkout -b bugfix/issue-123

# Fix the bug
# ... fix code ...
git add .
git commit -m "fix: Resolve issue #123"

# Push and create PR
git push origin bugfix/issue-123

3. Emergency Hotfix

# Start from main (or production branch)
git checkout main
git pull origin main
git checkout -b hotfix/critical-bug

# Fix urgently
# ... fix code ...
git add .
git commit -m "hotfix: Critical security patch"

# Merge directly to main
git checkout main
git merge hotfix/critical-bug
git push origin main

# Also merge to develop
git checkout develop
git merge hotfix/critical-bug
git push origin develop

Resolving Conflicts

# When conflicts occur during merge
git merge feature/branch

# Resolve conflicts manually in files
# Then mark as resolved
git add resolved-file.cs

# Continue merge
git commit -m "Merge: Resolve conflicts"

# Alternative: Abort merge
git merge --abort

# View conflicts
git diff
git diff --name-only --diff-filter=U

Git Hooks

# .git/hooks/pre-commit (Example)
#!/bin/sh
# Run code formatting before commit
dotnet format --verify-no-changes
if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
    echo "Code formatting issues found. Run 'dotnet format' to fix."
    exit 1
fi

# Run tests before commit
dotnet test
if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
    echo "Tests failed. Commit aborted."
    exit 1
fi

Useful Git Aliases

# Add to ~/.gitconfig
[alias]
    co = checkout
    br = branch
    ci = commit
    st = status
    unstage = reset HEAD --
    last = log -1 HEAD
    tree = log --graph --oneline --decorate --all
    uncommit = reset --soft HEAD^
    amend = commit --amend --no-edit
    pushf = push --force-with-lease