GitLab Flow is a branching model designed to streamline workflows in software development, particularly for teams using GitLab. It emphasizes collaboration, code quality, and continuous delivery.

Key Concepts

  • Main Branch: The primary development branch (e.g., main) where stable code resides.
  • Develop Branch: Used for active development, merging feature branches here before final testing.
  • Feature Branches: Created for specific tasks, e.g., feature/user_authentication.
  • Merge Request (MR): A tool for code review and discussion before merging.

Workflow Steps

  1. Create a Feature Branch
    🛠️ git checkout -b feature/your_branch_name
  2. Develop and Test
    🔍 Write code, run tests, and ensure it meets requirements.
  3. Open a Merge Request
    📝 Submit your changes for review.
  4. Merge to Develop
    🧩 Once approved, merge into develop.
  5. Merge to Main
    🚀 After passing CI/CD, merge into main for production.

Best Practices

  • 📌 Keep branches short-lived to avoid conflicts.
  • 🤝 Use MRs for all merges to ensure code quality.
  • 🔄 Automate testing with GitLab CI/CD pipelines.

Common Issues

  • ❓ Merge conflicts: Resolve them before merging.
  • ⚠️ Stale branches: Delete them after merging.

Expand Your Knowledge

For a deeper dive into GitLab CI/CD, check out our GitLab CI/CD Tutorial.

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