Comprehensive Guide to Git Branching Model and Workflow for Enterprise Development

1. Development Branch Model Classification

The typical branch hierarchy in the described department includes four main branches: dev (development), test (testing), uat (pre‑release), and release (production). Small teams may only use dev and master .

2. Core Development Process

Requirement review

Development scheduling

Code implementation

Smoke testing (self‑validation)

Merge to test branch and deploy to test environment

Test‑environment testing and bug fixing

Merge to UAT branch and deploy to UAT

UAT testing and bug fixing

Product acceptance

Merge to release branch and deploy to production

Customer acceptance

Project closure

3. Specific Operations

3.1 Pulling Code

git clone https://code.xxx.com/xxx/xxx.git

3.2 Creating a Feature Branch from Release/UAT

git fetch origin release:release

git checkout release

git checkout -b feat-0131-jie

If the release branch already exists locally, update it first:

# small tip: you can tab‑complete branch names
git checkout release

git pull origin release

git checkout -b feat-0229-jie

Branch naming convention

Use a format such as type‑date/ID‑author , e.g., feat for new features, fix for bug fixes, doc for documentation, refactor for refactoring, test for tests, and chore for auxiliary tasks.

3.3 Committing and Merging

Commit with a message that mirrors the branch name, e.g., feat: 0131‑Add billing period or fix: ZenTao3387‑Duplicate request :

git add .

git commit -m "commit description"

Before merging, ensure each branch contains only one logical change. Merge into the appropriate environment branch (dev, test, uat, release) and never merge higher‑level branches back into lower‑level ones.

Online merge (recommended)

git push origin feat-0131-jie

Open a merge request on the remote repository, target the appropriate environment branch, resolve conflicts online, and complete the merge.

Local merge (requires push permission)

# switch to the target environment branch
git fetch origin test:test

git checkout test

# merge feature branch and resolve conflicts locally
git merge feat-0131-jie

# push the updated environment branch
git push origin test

Online merges reduce local conflict risk, improve code review, and enhance traceability.

3.4 Deleting Finished Branches

git branch -d <branch-name>
# force delete if needed
git branch -D <branch-name>

4. Common Issues

4.1 Why re‑test bugs after fixing in UAT?

UAT simulates production; re‑testing ensures the fix does not introduce new issues before promotion.

4.2 Reverting an Incorrect Merge that was Pushed

git checkout release

git log --merges

git revert -m 1 <merge‑commit‑ID>

git push -f origin release

4.3 Stashing Uncommitted Changes to Switch Branches

git stash

git checkout feat-a-jie
# after work
git checkout feat-b-jie

git stash pop

5. Advanced Commands

5.1 cherry‑pick

Select specific commits to apply onto the current branch:

# view recent commits
git log
# switch to target branch
git checkout test
# apply a commit
git cherry-pick <commitHash>

5.2 rebase

Rewrite history by moving a branch’s commits onto another branch’s tip, creating a linear history. Never rebase a shared branch.

6. Popular Git Workflow Models

Git Flow

GitHub Flow

GitLab Flow (the workflow described in this article)

Adopting a consistent workflow improves collaboration, reduces conflicts, and supports continuous integration and delivery.

7. Conclusion

Git has evolved for nearly two decades, spawning countless tools and conventions. The practices presented here are a pragmatic subset suitable for newcomers and small teams, emphasizing clear branch structures, naming conventions, and disciplined merge strategies to boost productivity and code quality.