branch-strategy

Trunk-Based Development emphasizes short-lived branches for continuous integration, Git Flow uses distinct feature, release, and hotfix branches for structured release cycles, and GitHub Flow relies on a single main branch with feature branches for continuous deployment. This Skill contrasts these models to help you select the right branching strategy for your team's release cadence.

To name Git branches effectively, use structured prefixes like feature/, fix/, and hotfix/ followed by descriptive identifiers. This Skill enforces consistent naming conventions across your repository to ensure maintainable code integration and predictable release cycles.

Implement semantic versioning by assigning MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH tags to releases, incrementing based on backward-compatible bug fixes, new features, or breaking changes. This Skill details release management best practices and pre-release checklists to ensure predictable software releases.

For teams struggling with merge conflicts, adopting a consistent branching strategy like Trunk-Based Development or GitHub Flow with short-lived branches reduces integration bottlenecks. This Skill provides guidelines to streamline your development lifecycle and enforce branch protection rules.

Use Git Flow when managing structured release cycles with multiple supported versions and hotfixes, whereas Trunk-Based Development suits continuous integration and deployment. This Skill provides model comparisons to guide your selection based on project scale and release predictability.