Version Control Best Practices

When using version control for a web project at Yoobee School of Design, you should:

• Back up elsewhere (especially when getting started with Git)
• Avoid working directly on the master branch. Use a separate branch called “dev” for merging features and bug fixes into. When the dev branch is fully tested and stable, it can be merged into the master branch.
• Make commits of small logical complete units
• Commit early and often, perfect later, publish once
• Write good commit messages
• Test thoroughly before committing
• Use a branching strategy to prevent mixing up different lines of development
• Follow a style guide of an existing project or create one for a new project
• Review the CONTRIBUTING.MD file associated with an existing project or create one for a new project
• Look at existing pull requests and issues to make sure that you aren’t duplicating effort

Collaborative version control

• Agree on workflow
• Keep to your own unit of work
• Decide who is allowed to publish to the master repository
• Use a branching strategy to prevent mixing up different lines of development
• Keep to a naming convention for branches. For example: “name/feature/short-description” would be a naming convention for a following branch called “bob/contact-us/contact-form”
• Engage in peer review for prospective changes
• Consider using a pull request template