What is Git Flow?

Git Flow is a branching model in Git proposed by Vincent Driessen. It defines a strict set of rules for organizing branches and managing the project lifecycle.

Main branches:

• master: Contains production-ready code, always stable.
• develop: The base branch for developing new features.

Supporting branches:

• feature/...: For developing individual features. Branches off from develop, merged back into develop. They are asynchronous to each other.
• release/...: For preparing a new release. Branches off from develop, merged into develop and master. Fixes bugs related to the release.
• hotfix/...: For quick fixes of critical errors in production. Branches off from master, merged into develop and master.

Branch lifecycle for feature:

1. git checkout develop
   

2. git pull
   

3. git checkout -b feature/my-new-feature
   

4. Development and commits.

5. git checkout develop
   

6. git pull
   

7. git merge feature/my-new-feature
   

8. git branch -d feature/my-new-feature
   

Advantages:

• Clear structure and organization of work.
• Reduces conflicts during merging.
• Easy to understand for new team members.

Disadvantages:

• Can be overly complex for small projects or teams.
• Requires adherence to strict rules.