15. Team Workflows

15.1 GitHub Flow (Simple, fast, CI-driven)

Best for: web apps, SaaS, continuous deployment.

main
 ├── feature/login        ← branch off main
 │     ↓ (PR + review)
 └── merge to main → deploy

Steps:

1. Branch off main with a descriptive name
2. Commit early and often
3. Open a Pull Request (PR) when ready for review (or as draft for early feedback)
4. CI runs tests, reviewer approves
5. Merge to main — triggers automatic deployment

Key rules: main is always deployable. No long-lived branches.

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15.2 Gitflow (Structured release cycles)

Best for: versioned products, mobile apps, enterprise software.

main (production)
develop (integration)
 ├── feature/x  ← branch from develop, merge back to develop
 ├── release/2.1 ← branch from develop, merge to main + develop
 └── hotfix/x   ← branch from main, merge to main + develop

Branch	Purpose
main	Production-ready only
develop	Integration branch
feature/*	New features (branch from develop)
release/*	Prep for release — only bug fixes, docs
hotfix/*	Emergency fix on production

# Feature
git switch -c feature/login develop
# ... work ...
git switch develop
git merge --no-ff feature/login

# Release
git switch -c release/2.1 develop
# bump version, fix last bugs
git switch main ; git merge --no-ff release/2.1 ; git tag -a v2.1.0
git switch develop ; git merge --no-ff release/2.1

# Hotfix
git switch -c hotfix/payment main
# fix bug
git switch main ; git merge --no-ff hotfix/payment ; git tag -a v2.1.1
git switch develop ; git merge --no-ff hotfix/payment

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15.3 Trunk-Based Development (TBD)

Best for: experienced teams with strong CI/CD, Google/Facebook style.

main (trunk)  ← everyone commits here directly or via very short-lived branches

Rules:

• Branches live ≤ 1-2 days (or commit directly to main)
• Feature flags hide incomplete features in production
• CI must be fast and run on every commit
• No long-lived branches — they're the enemy of TBD

# Short-lived branch style
git switch -c feature/header-cta
# finish in <2 days
git rebase main          # keep up-to-date
git push origin feature/header-cta
# immediate PR + merge

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Workflow Comparison

	GitHub Flow	Gitflow	Trunk-Based
Release cadence	Continuous	Scheduled	Continuous
Branch lifetime	Days	Weeks	Hours
Complexity	Low	High	Low
Best for	Web apps	Versioned releases	Experienced teams

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