Branch Workflow Patterns

Reference patterns for branch naming, validation, and protection.

Branch Naming Convention

code

{type}/{ticket-id}-{description}

Branch Types

Type	Description	Example
`feature`	New functionality	`feature/AUTH-123-oauth-login`
`fix`	Bug fixes	`fix/AUTH-456-token-expiry`
`chore`	Maintenance tasks	`chore/DEP-789-update-deps`
`docs`	Documentation	`docs/README-updates`
`refactor`	Code restructure	`refactor/API-101-cleanup`
`test`	Test additions	`test/AUTH-202-unit-tests`

Description Guidelines

•Use lowercase with hyphens
•Keep short but descriptive
•No spaces or special characters

Protected Branches

These branches are PROTECTED - never commit directly:

Branch	Purpose
`main`	Production code
`master`	Production code (legacy)
`production`	Production deployment
`staging`	Pre-production testing
`develop`	Development integration

Branch Validation

Check Current Branch

bash

git branch --show-current

Validate Not Protected

javascript

const PROTECTED = ['main', 'master', 'production', 'staging', 'develop'];
const current = getCurrentBranch();
if (PROTECTED.includes(current.toLowerCase())) {
  throw new Error(`Cannot operate on protected branch: ${current}`);
}

Extract Ticket ID

javascript

// Pattern: type/TICKET-123-description
const match = branchName.match(/^[a-z]+\/([A-Z]+-\d+)/);
const ticketId = match ? match[1] : null;

PR Target Rules

Source Branch	Target Branch
`feature/*`	`staging` or `develop`
`fix/*`	`staging` or `develop`
`chore/*`	`staging` or `develop`
`staging`	`production` or `main`

NEVER target main/master directly from feature branches.

Branch Lifecycle

•Create: Branch from staging/develop
•Develop: Make changes, commit frequently
•Push: Push to remote
•PR: Create PR targeting staging
•Review: Address feedback
•Merge: Squash or merge to staging
•Delete: Remove merged branch

Commands Reference

Create Branch

bash

git checkout staging
git pull origin staging
git checkout -b feature/TICKET-123-description

Check Remote Tracking

bash

git branch -vv

Push New Branch

bash

git push -u origin feature/TICKET-123-description

Delete Merged Branch

bash

# Local
git branch -d feature/TICKET-123-description

# Remote
git push origin --delete feature/TICKET-123-description

Anti-Patterns

•Committing directly to main/master
•Branches without ticket IDs (when applicable)
•Long-lived feature branches (merge frequently)
•Branches with spaces or special characters
•Multiple developers on same branch without coordination