Git Workflow Skill

Instructions

When using Git:

1. Commit Messages

Format:

type(scope): short description

Longer description if needed. Explain what and why, not how (code shows how).

Closes #123

Types:

• feat : New feature

• fix : Bug fix

• docs : Documentation only

• style : Formatting, no code change

• refactor : Code change without feature/fix

• perf : Performance improvement

• test : Adding/fixing tests

• chore : Build, CI, dependencies

Examples:

git commit -m "feat(auth): add password reset functionality" git commit -m "fix(cart): resolve quantity update issue" git commit -m "docs(readme): update installation instructions" git commit -m "refactor(api): simplify error handling"

2. Branch Naming

Format: type/description

Features

git checkout -b feature/user-authentication git checkout -b feature/payment-gateway

Bugs

git checkout -b fix/login-redirect git checkout -b bugfix/cart-total

Hotfixes

git checkout -b hotfix/security-patch

Releases

git checkout -b release/v2.0.0

3. Common Workflows

Feature Development:

Start from latest main

git checkout main git pull origin main

Create feature branch

git checkout -b feature/new-feature

Work and commit

git add . git commit -m "feat: implement new feature"

Keep up to date

git fetch origin git rebase origin/main

Push and create PR

git push -u origin feature/new-feature

Quick Fix:

git checkout main git pull git checkout -b fix/quick-fix

Make changes

git add . git commit -m "fix: resolve issue" git push -u origin fix/quick-fix

4. Useful Commands

Status and logs

git status git log --oneline -10 git log --graph --oneline --all

Stashing

git stash git stash list git stash pop git stash apply stash@{0}

Undoing changes

git checkout -- file.txt # Discard changes git reset HEAD file.txt # Unstage git reset --soft HEAD1 # Undo commit, keep changes git reset --hard HEAD1 # Undo commit, discard changes

Interactive rebase (clean up commits)

git rebase -i HEAD~3

Cherry pick

git cherry-pick <commit-hash>

View differences

git diff # Unstaged changes git diff --staged # Staged changes git diff main..feature-branch # Between branches

5. Pull Request Template

Summary

Brief description of changes.

Type of Change

• Bug fix
• New feature
• Breaking change
• Documentation update

Changes Made

• Change 1
• Change 2
• Change 3

Testing

• Tested locally
• Added/updated tests
• All tests passing

Screenshots (if applicable)

Checklist

• Code follows project style
• Self-reviewed the code
• Commented complex logic
• Updated documentation
• No new warnings

6. Resolving Conflicts

During merge/rebase

git status # See conflicted files

Edit files to resolve conflicts

Look for: <<<<<<< HEAD, =======, >>>>>>> branch

After resolving

git add <resolved-files> git rebase --continue # If rebasing git merge --continue # If merging

Abort if needed

git rebase --abort git merge --abort

7. Tagging Releases

Create annotated tag

git tag -a v1.0.0 -m "Release version 1.0.0"

Push tags

git push origin v1.0.0 git push origin --tags

List tags

git tag -l "v1.*"

Delete tag

git tag -d v1.0.0 git push origin --delete v1.0.0

8. Git Aliases

Add to ~/.gitconfig

[alias] st = status co = checkout br = branch ci = commit lg = log --oneline --graph --all last = log -1 HEAD unstage = reset HEAD -- amend = commit --amend --no-edit

9. .gitignore Essentials

Dependencies

node_modules/ vendor/

Build output

dist/ build/ *.min.js *.min.css

Environment

.env .env.local *.local

IDE

.idea/ .vscode/ *.swp

OS

.DS_Store Thumbs.db

Logs

.log npm-debug.log

WordPress specific

wp-config.php wp-content/uploads/ wp-content/upgrade/

10. Best Practices

• Commit early, commit often

• Write meaningful commit messages

• Keep commits focused (one change per commit)

• Pull before push

• Never commit secrets/credentials

• Use branches for features

• Review before merging

• Keep main/master deployable

• Delete merged branches

• Use .gitignore properly