Git Workflow

What I do

• Create and manage Git branches for feature development
• Stage, commit, and amend changes with proper messages
• Resolve merge conflicts and rebase branches
• Create and manage pull requests via GitHub CLI
• Sync with remote repositories (push, pull, fetch)
• Inspect history and diagnose issues

When to use me

Use me when working with Git, especially when:

• Creating feature branches or hotfixes
• Committing changes with descriptive messages
• Resolving merge or rebase conflicts
• Managing pull requests and code reviews
• Syncing work with teammates
• Investigating issues in commit history

Common commands

• git status - Show working tree status
• git diff - Show unstaged changes
• git diff --staged - Show staged changes
• git add . - Stage all changes
• git commit -m "message" - Commit staged changes
• git commit --amend - Modify last commit
• git branch feature-name - Create branch
• git checkout -b feature-name - Create and checkout branch
• git checkout main - Switch to main branch
• git merge feature-name - Merge branch
• git rebase main - Rebase current branch onto main
• git push -u origin feature-name - Push branch with upstream
• git pull --rebase - Pull with rebase
• git log --oneline -10 - Show last 10 commits
• git log -p --follow file - Show file history

Branching strategies

• Feature branches: feature/feature-name
• Bugfix branches: bugfix/issue-description
• Hotfix branches: hotfix/critical-fix
• Release branches: release/version-number
• Delete branch after merge: git branch -d feature-name

Commit message conventions

• Use imperative mood: "Add feature" not "Added feature"
• Keep first line under 50 characters
• Leave blank line between summary and body
• Reference issues: Closes #123 or Refs #456
• Explain "why" not "what" in body

Conflict resolution

• Run git status to find conflicts
• Open files with conflict markers (<<<<<<<, =======, >>>>>>>)
• Resolve by keeping desired code
• Mark resolved with git add file
• Complete merge/rebase
• Test thoroughly before committing

GitHub CLI patterns

• gh pr create - Create pull request
• gh pr list - List pull requests
• gh pr view 123 - View PR details
• gh pr merge 123 - Merge PR
• gh issue list - List issues
• gh repo clone org/repo - Clone repository

Rebasing vs merging

• Rebase: cleaner linear history, avoid for shared branches
• Merge: preserve branch history, safer for collaboration
• Interactive rebase: git rebase -i HEAD~3 to edit commits
• Squash: combine multiple commits into one

Safety checks

• Check git status before destructive commands
• Never force push to shared branches (main, master)
• Use --dry-run flag with caution
• Backup branches with tags before major operations
• Verify with git reflog if you lose commits

Interactive operations

• git add -p - Stage changes interactively (hunks)
• git commit -v - Show diff when committing
• git rebase -i - Interactive rebase to edit/squash commits
• git clean -fd - Remove untracked files and directories (use with caution)
• git restore file - Discard changes in working directory