Git Workflow

Complete git workflow patterns: GitHub Flow branching, atomic commits, and recovery operations. Essential for maintaining clean, reviewable history.

Branch Naming Convention

# Feature branches (link to issue)
issue/<number>-<brief-description>
issue/123-add-user-auth

# When no issue exists
feature/<description>
fix/<description>
hotfix/<description>

Branch Rules:

1. main is always deployable
2. Branch from main, PR back to main
3. Branches live < 1-3 days
4. Delete branch after merge

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Atomic Commit Checklist

[ ] Does ONE logical thing
[ ] Leaves codebase working (tests pass)
[ ] Message doesn't need "and" in title
[ ] Can be reverted independently
[ ] Title < 50 chars, body wraps at 72

Interactive Staging

# Stage changes hunk-by-hunk
git add -p

# Options:
# y - stage this hunk
# n - skip this hunk
# s - split into smaller hunks
# e - manually edit the hunk
# q - quit

# Review what's staged
git diff --staged    # What will be committed
git diff             # What won't be committed

Commit Patterns

# Separate concerns
git add -p && git commit -m "refactor: Extract database pool"
git add -p && git commit -m "feat(#456): Add query caching"

# Never combine unrelated changes
# BAD:  "feat: Add auth and fix formatting"
# GOOD: Two separate commits

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Recovery Quick Reference

The Safety Net

# ALWAYS check reflog first - it has everything
git reflog

# Shows ALL recent HEAD movements
# Even "deleted" commits live here for 90 days

Common Recovery Scenarios

Scenario	Not Pushed	Already Pushed
Undo commit	git reset --soft HEAD~1	git revert HEAD
Wrong branch	cherry-pick + reset	cherry-pick + revert
Lost commits	git reset --hard HEAD@{N}	N/A
Bad rebase	git rebase --abort or reflog	reflog + force-with-lease

Quick Recovery Commands

# Undo last commit, keep changes staged
git reset --soft HEAD~1

# Find lost commits
git reflog | grep "your message"

# Recover to previous state
git reset --hard HEAD@{1}

# Safe force push (feature branches only)
git push --force-with-lease

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Standard Workflow

# 1. Start fresh
git checkout main && git pull origin main
git checkout -b issue/123-my-feature

# 2. Work with atomic commits
git add -p
git commit -m "feat(#123): Add User model"

# 3. Stay updated
git fetch origin && git rebase origin/main

# 4. Push and PR
git push -u origin issue/123-my-feature
gh pr create --fill

# 5. Cleanup after merge
git checkout main && git pull
git branch -d issue/123-my-feature

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Anti-Patterns

Avoid:
- Long-lived branches (> 1 week)
- Merging main into feature (use rebase)
- Direct commits to main
- Force push to shared branches
- Commits that need "and" in message
- Committing broken code

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Best Practices Summary

1. Branch from main - Always start fresh
2. Stage interactively - Use git add -p
3. One thing per commit - If you say "and", split it
4. Rebase, don't merge - Keep history clean
5. Check reflog first - When something goes wrong
6. Force-with-lease - Safer than force push
7. Delete after merge - No stale branches

Related Skills

• ork:commit - Create commits with conventional format and pre-commit validation
• git-recovery - Quick recovery from common git mistakes using reflog operations
• stacked-prs - Multi-PR development for large features with dependent PRs
• ork:create-pr - Comprehensive PR creation with proper formatting

Key Decisions

Decision	Choice	Rationale
Branching model	GitHub Flow	Simple single-branch workflow, main is always deployable
Merge strategy	Rebase over merge	Keeps history clean and linear, easier to bisect
Branch naming	issue/-	Links work to tracking, enables automation
Commit granularity	Atomic (one thing)	Independent revert, clear history, easier review
Force push	--force-with-lease only	Prevents overwriting others' work on shared branches

Rules

Each category has individual rule files in rules/ loaded on-demand:

Category	Rule	Impact	Key Pattern
Branch Protection	rules/branch-protection.md	CRITICAL	Protected branches, required PR workflow
Merge Strategy	rules/merge-strategy.md	HIGH	Rebase-first, conflict resolution, force-with-lease
History Hygiene	rules/history-hygiene.md	HIGH	Squash WIP, fixup commits, clean history
Recovery	rules/recovery-reflog.md	CRITICAL	Reflog recovery for lost commits and branches
Recovery	rules/recovery-reset.md	CRITICAL	Safe vs dangerous reset modes
Recovery	rules/recovery-stash.md	HIGH	Stash management and dropped stash recovery
Stacked PRs	rules/stacked-pr-workflow.md	HIGH	Stack planning, PR creation, dependency tracking
Stacked PRs	rules/stacked-pr-rebase.md	HIGH	Rebase management, force-with-lease, retargeting
Monorepo	rules/monorepo-context.md	MEDIUM	--add-dir, per-service CLAUDE.md, workspace detection

Total: 9 rules across 6 categories

References

• GitHub Flow Guide
• Interactive Staging
• Reflog Recovery
• Recovery Decision Tree

Checklists

• Branch Checklist - Pre-flight checks before creating branches
• Pre-Commit Checklist - Validation before committing