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1--- 1---
2title: I think I was completely wrong about Git workflows 2title: I think I was completely wrong about Git workflows
3url: i-was-wrong-about-git-workflows.html 3url: i-was-wrong-about-git-workflows.html
4date: 2023-05-23 4date: 2023-05-23T12:00:00+02:00
5draft: false 5draft: false
6type: posts
7tags: []
6--- 8---
7 9
8I have been using some approximation of [Git Flow](https://jeffkreeftmeijer.com/git-flow/) for years now and never really questioned it to be honest. When I create a repo I create develop branch and set it as default one and then merge to master from there. Seems reasonable enough. 10I have been using some approximation of [Git Flow](https://jeffkreeftmeijer.com/git-flow/)
11for years now and never really questioned it to be honest. When I create a repo
12I create develop branch and set it as default one and then merge to master
13from there. Seems reasonable enough.
9 14
10One thing that I have learned is that long living branches are the devil. They always end up making a huge mess when they need to be merged eventually into master. So by that reason, what is the develop branch if not the longest living feature branch. And from my personal experience there was never a situation where I wasn’t sweating bullets when I had to merge develop back to master. 15One thing that I have learned is that long living branches are the devil.
16They always end up making a huge mess when they need to be merged eventually
17into master. So by that reason, what is the develop branch if not the longest
18living feature branch. And from my personal experience there was never a
19situation where I wasn’t sweating bullets when I had to merge develop back
20to master.
11 21
12This realisation started to give me pause. So why the hell am I doing this, and is there a better way. Well the solution was always there. And it comes in a form of [git tags](https://git-scm.com/book/en/v2/Git-Basics-Tagging). 22This realisation started to give me pause. So why the hell am I doing this,
23and is there a better way. Well the solution was always there. And it comes
24in a form of [git tags](https://git-scm.com/book/en/v2/Git-Basics-Tagging).
13 25
14So what are git tags? Git tags are references to specific points in a Git repository's history. They are used to mark important milestones, such as releases or significant commits, making it easier to identify and access specific versions of a project. 26So what are git tags? Git tags are references to specific points in a Git
27repository's history. They are used to mark important milestones, such as
28releases or significant commits, making it easier to identify and access
29specific versions of a project.
15 30
16Somehow we have all hijacked the meaning of the master branch that it has to be the most releasable version of code. And this is also where the confusing about versioning the software kicks in. Because master branch implicitly says that we are dealing with the rolling release type of a software. And by having a develop branch we are hacking around this confusion. With a separation of develop and master we lock functionalities into place and forcing a stable vs development version of the software. 31Somehow we have all hijacked the meaning of the master branch that it has
32to be the most releasable version of code. And this is also where the confusing
33about versioning the software kicks in. Because master branch implicitly says
34that we are dealing with the rolling release type of a software. And by having
35a develop branch we are hacking around this confusion. With a separation of
36develop and master we lock functionalities into place and forcing a stable
37vs development version of the software.
17 38
18But if that is true and the long living branches are the devil then why have develop at all. I think that most of this comes to how continuous integration is being done. There usually is no granular access to tags and CD software deploys what is present on a specific branch, may that be master for production and develop for staging. This is a gross simplification and by having this in place we have completely removed tagging as a viable option to create a fix point in software cycle that says, this is the production ready code. 39But if that is true and the long living branches are the devil then why have
40develop at all. I think that most of this comes to how continuous integration
41is being done. There usually is no granular access to tags and CD software
42deploys what is present on a specific branch, may that be master for production
43and develop for staging. This is a gross simplification and by having this
44in place we have completely removed tagging as a viable option to create a
45fix point in software cycle that says, this is the production ready code.
19 46
20One cool thing about tags are that you can checkout a specific tag. So they behave very similarly as branches in that regard. And you don’t have the overhead of having two mainstream branches. 47One cool thing about tags are that you can checkout a specific tag. So they
48behave very similarly as branches in that regard. And you don’t have the
49overhead of having two mainstream branches.
21 50
22So what is the solution? One approach is to use development workflow, where all changes are made on the smaller branches and continuously merged into master. Where the software is ready to be pushed to production you tag the master branch. This approach eliminates the need for long-lived branches and simplifies the development process. It also encourages developers to make small, incremental changes that can be tested and deployed quickly. However, this approach may not be suitable for all projects or teams that heavily rely on automated deployment based on branch names only. 51So what is the solution? One approach is to use development workflow, where
52all changes are made on the smaller branches and continuously merged into
53master. Where the software is ready to be pushed to production you tag the
54master branch. This approach eliminates the need for long-lived branches and
55simplifies the development process. It also encourages developers to make
56small, incremental changes that can be tested and deployed quickly. However,
57this approach may not be suitable for all projects or teams that heavily rely
58on automated deployment based on branch names only.
23 59
24This also requires that developers always keep production in mind. No more living on an island of the develop branch. All your actions and code need to be ready to meet production standards on a much smaller timescale. 60This also requires that developers always keep production in mind. No more
61living on an island of the develop branch. All your actions and code need to
62be ready to meet production standards on a much smaller timescale.
25 63
26I think that we have complicated the workflow in an honest attempt to make things more streamlined but in the process of doing this, we have inadvertently made our lives much more complicated. 64I think that we have complicated the workflow in an honest attempt to make
65things more streamlined but in the process of doing this, we have inadvertently
66made our lives much more complicated.
67
68In conclusion, it's important to re-evaluate our workflows from time to time
69to see if they still make sense and if there are better alternatives available.
70Long-living branches can be problematic, and using tags to mark important
71milestones can simplify the development process.
27 72
28In conclusion, it's important to re-evaluate our workflows from time to time to see if they still make sense and if there are better alternatives available. Long-living branches can be problematic, and using tags to mark important milestones can simplify the development process.