GitFlow Workflow

GitFlow is a structured branching model for teams that ship software on a defined schedule. It uses multiple long-lived branches with strict rules about what merges where. Dominant for a decade in enterprise and mobile development.

01.The Five Branch Types

Permanent branches: main (always production-ready, tagged on releases), develop (integration branch where features merge). Temporary branches: feature/* (branch off develop, merge back to develop), release/* (branch off develop for final prep — bugfixes only, merges to both main and develop), hotfix/* (branch off main for emergency fixes, merges to main and develop).

Branch Visualization

main

feature

HEAD

02.GitFlow: Pros and Cons

Pros: clear isolation between production and development, supports multiple version maintenance, well-suited for scheduled releases and mobile apps. Cons: complex with many long-lived branches, merge conflicts accumulate, slow release cycle, overhead for most web projects. Best for: versioned libraries, mobile apps, enterprise software with defined release windows. Not recommended for: web apps with continuous deployment.

Commit Timeline

a1b2c3d

init

b2c3d4e

feat

c3d4e5f

fix

d4e5f6a

HEAD

Commands

commands — click to reveal output

git checkout -b develop main

Create the permanent develop integration branch

git checkout -b feature/user-auth develop

Start a feature from develop (never from main)

git checkout develop && git merge --no-ff feature/user-auth

Merge feature back to develop (always with --no-ff)

git branch -d feature/user-auth

Delete the feature branch after merge

git checkout -b release/1.2.0 develop

Start a release branch from develop

git checkout main && git merge --no-ff release/1.2.0

Merge release to main when ready to ship

git tag -a v1.2.0 -m "Release 1.2.0"

Tag the release on main

git checkout develop && git merge --no-ff release/1.2.0

Also merge release back to develop (sync any last-minute fixes)

KNOWLEDGE CHECK

In GitFlow, where should feature branches merge to?

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