vcs

Version Control Standards

Guidance for implementing version control requirements including branching strategies, commit conventions, and Git workflow configuration.

Tooling

Available Tools: If using Claude Code, the gh plugin provides Git workflow commands (/gh:commit, /gh:pr, /gh:sync). The commit-commands plugin offers commit automation (/commit, /commit-push-pr).

Branching Strategy

Branch Types (MUST)

Projects MUST use a defined branching strategy with these branch types:

Branch Protection (MUST)

Protected branches (main, develop) MUST require:

• Pull request reviews before merge
• Status checks passing
• No direct commits
• Linear history (recommended)

Branch Naming (MUST)

Branch names MUST follow the pattern: type/description-with-dashes

Good:

feature/user-authentication
bugfix/login-timeout-error
hotfix/security-patch-cve-2024
release/v2.1.0

Bad:

my-branch
fix
Feature_UserAuth

Commit Message Standards

Conventional Commits (MUST)

Projects MUST use Conventional Commits format:

<type>(<scope>): <subject>

[optional body]

[optional footer(s)]

Commit Types (MUST)

Message Requirements (MUST)

Commit messages MUST:

• Use imperative mood ("Add feature" not "Added feature")
• Keep subject line under 72 characters
• Separate subject from body with blank line
• Reference issues when applicable

Breaking Changes (MUST)

Breaking changes MUST be indicated with:

• ! after type/scope: feat(api)!: change response format
• BREAKING CHANGE: footer in body

Commit Message Examples

Good:

feat(auth): add OAuth2 support for GitHub login

Implements OAuth2 flow for GitHub authentication.
Adds new configuration options for client credentials.

Closes #123

Bad:

fixed stuff
WIP
updates

Pull Request Process

PR Requirements (MUST)

Pull requests MUST include:

• Descriptive title following commit convention
• Summary of changes
• Testing instructions
• Link to related issues

PR Template

## Summary

Brief description of changes

## Changes

- Change 1
- Change 2

## Testing

How to test these changes

## Related Issues

Closes #123

Review Requirements (MUST)

Git Configuration

Required Git Hooks (SHOULD)

Projects SHOULD configure pre-commit hooks:

# .pre-commit-config.yaml
repos:
  - repo: https://github.com/pre-commit/pre-commit-hooks
    rev: v4.5.0
    hooks:
      - id: trailing-whitespace
      - id: end-of-file-fixer
      - id: check-yaml
      - id: check-added-large-files

  - repo: https://github.com/compilerla/conventional-pre-commit
    rev: v3.0.0
    hooks:
      - id: conventional-pre-commit
        stages: [commit-msg]

Git Attributes (MUST)

Projects MUST define .gitattributes for consistent line endings:

* text=auto eol=lf
*.bat text eol=crlf
*.cmd text eol=crlf
*.ps1 text eol=crlf

Git Ignore (MUST)

Projects MUST maintain comprehensive .gitignore covering:

• Build artifacts
• IDE/editor files
• OS-specific files
• Dependency directories
• Environment files with secrets

Merge Strategy

Merge Methods (MUST)

Define allowed merge methods per branch:

Squash Merge (SHOULD)

Squash merges SHOULD be used for feature branches to maintain clean history.

Rebase Strategy (SHOULD)

Feature branches SHOULD be rebased on target before merge to resolve conflicts.

Implementation Checklist

• Define branching strategy
• Configure branch protection rules
• Set up commit message validation
• Create PR template
• Configure pre-commit hooks
• Define .gitattributes
• Create comprehensive .gitignore
• Document merge strategy

Compliance Verification

# Check branch protection (GitHub CLI)
gh api repos/{owner}/{repo}/branches/main/protection

# Validate commit message format
echo "feat(api): add endpoint" | commitlint

# Verify pre-commit hooks installed
pre-commit run --all-files

# Check gitattributes
git check-attr -a README.md

Additional Resources

Reference Files

• references/git-workflow.md - Detailed Git workflow guide
• references/commit-examples.md - Commit message examples

Examples

• examples/.pre-commit-config.yaml - Pre-commit configuration
• examples/.gitattributes - Git attributes template
• examples/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md - PR template