Master Git Workflows: Git Flow, GitHub Flow, GitLab Flow & Advanced Tips

Common Enterprise Workflows

Typical Git workflows used in companies are introduced with visual diagrams.

Git Flow : main branch, stable branch, develop branch, feature branch, patch branch, hotfix branch.

GitHub Flow : create a branch, add commits, open a PR, discuss and review, deploy, merge.

GitLab Flow : production branch, environment branch, release branch.

Daily Best Practices

Prefer the command line over graphical interfaces for speed and efficiency.

Write clear commit messages: separate subject and body, keep the subject under 50 characters, wrap body lines at 72 characters, and omit a trailing period in the subject.

Use a .gitignore template to exclude unnecessary files.

Never develop directly on the main branch; create a new branch for each feature or bug‑fix.

Use release branches and tags for version management (e.g., release/1.32, tags A‑big‑feature, B‑small‑feature, C‑bugfix).

Common Commands Summary

Only six commands are needed for everyday work.

# 工作区 -> 暂存区
git add <file/dir>

# 暂存区 -> 本地仓库
git commit -m "some info"

# 本地仓库 -> 远程仓库
git push origin master  # push master to origin

# 工作区 <- 暂存区
git checkout -- <file>

# 暂存区 <- 本地仓库
git reset HEAD <file>

# 本地仓库 <- 远程仓库
git clone <git_url>
git fetch upstream master
git pull upstream master
git pull --rebase upstream master

# 工作区 <- 本地仓库
git reset <commit>
git reset --mixed <commit>
git reset --soft <commit>
git reset --hard <commit>

Merge vs. Rebase

When to use merge : preserve the complete history as a factual record; avoid rewriting history that has already been shared.

When to use rebase : keep a clean linear history on local branches before they are pushed; avoid duplicate commits caused by merges.

# Example merge commit graph
* 62a322d (HEAD->master) Merge branch 'hotfix3' into master
|\
| * 6fa8f4a (hotfix3) 3rd commit in hotfix3
* | 548d681 3rd commit in master
|/
* 6ba4a08 2nd commit
* 22afcc1 1st commit

# Example rebase interactive commands
git rebase -i HEAD~5
# edit, reword, squash, fixup, drop etc.

Rewriting History

Amend the latest commit: git commit --amend or git commit --amend -m "new message".

Drop or edit specific commits with git rebase -i (pick, reword, edit, squash, fixup, exec, drop).

Use git revert to create a new commit that undoes a previous change.

Cherry‑pick individual commits: git cherry-pick -x <commit>.

Rewrite author information globally with git filter-branch.

git filter-branch --commit-filter '
  if [ "$GIT_AUTHOR_EMAIL" == "[email protected]" ]; then
    GIT_AUTHOR_NAME="escape";
    GIT_AUTHOR_EMAIL="[email protected]";
    git commit-tree "$@";
  else
    git commit-tree "$@";
  fi' HEAD

Hooks and Automation

Git provides client‑side and server‑side hook scripts located in .git/hooks. Sample hooks have a .sample suffix and must be renamed to become active. Hooks can be written in any language as long as they exit with the appropriate status code.

Popular hook frameworks: pre-commit – installs and runs checks before commits or pushes. pre-commit-hooks – a collection of ready‑made Python hooks (e.g., trailing‑whitespace, flake8).

# Install pre‑commit
pip install pre-commit
# Enable a hook for push
pre-commit install -f --hook-type pre-push
# Example .pre-commit-config.yaml
repos:
- repo: https://github.com/pre-commit/pre-commit-hooks
  rev: v2.9.2
  hooks:
    - id: trailing-whitespace
    - id: flake8

Efficient Cloning

For large repositories, use shallow clones to fetch only the latest snapshot:

git clone http://example.com/repo.git --depth=1

To clone a specific tag without full history:

git init myproject
git remote add origin http://example.com/repo.git
git -c protocol.version=2 fetch origin 15.0.1 --depth=1
git checkout FETCH_HEAD

Skip downloading LFS objects during clone when they are not needed:

GIT_LFS_SKIP_SMUDGE=1 git clone http://example.com/repo.git

Handling Work Interruptions

Use git stash to save uncommitted changes on a stack and restore them later:

# Save current changes
git stash
# Include untracked files
git stash -u
# List stashes
git stash list
# Apply a stash
git stash apply stash@{0}
# Pop (apply and drop) the latest stash
git stash pop
# Drop a specific stash
git stash drop stash@{0}
# Clear all stashes
git stash clear

Alternatively, push your work to a remote branch for backup before switching contexts.

Additional Useful Commands

Reset to a previous commit: git reset --hard <commit>.

Force‑push after a rewrite: git push origin master -f.

Delete a local branch: git branch -D <branch_name>.

View reflog to recover lost commits: git reflog then git cherry-pick the desired commit.

Original article link: https://www.escapelife.site/posts/f6ffe82b.html