git-workflow

Branching strategies determine how teams organize code changes. GitHub Flow uses single main branch with short-lived feature branches for simplicity; Trunk-Based requires frequent commits to main with feature flags; GitFlow maintains separate develop and release branches for complex workflows. Choose based on release cadence and team size.

PR workflows use automated checks and review processes to maintain quality gates. Implement CI/CD automation with GitHub Actions or GitLab CI to run tests, linters, and security scans before merge. Add PR templates and approval requirements to standardize review and prevent merging broken code.

Conventional commits standardize commit messages (feat:, fix:, breaking:) to enable automated parsing. Semantic versioning translates these commits into version bumps (major.minor.patch). Together they automate changelog generation and release versioning, reducing manual coordination.

Yes, release automation uses CI/CD pipelines to detect conventional commits, calculate version numbers via semantic versioning, and deploy automatically. GitHub Actions and GitLab CI can trigger on merge events to publish releases without manual steps.

Merge conflicts occur when multiple branches modify the same code. Prevention relies on clear branching strategies and frequent integration; resolution involves reviewing conflicted sections, choosing versions, and testing before completing the merge. Stacked-diffs workflows reduce conflict scope.

PR reviews involve human code inspection and approval; automated quality gates run tests, security scans, and linting without human input. Both protect code quality—reviews catch design issues, gates catch bugs and regressions early, reducing review burden.