---
config:
  theme: mc
---
gitGraph
    commit id: "commits"
    checkout main
    commit id: "v1.11.0 PROD"
    branch release/1.12.0
    checkout release/1.12.0
    commit id: "start 1.12.0 DEV"
    branch feature/MTO-001
    checkout feature/MTO-001
    commit id: "MTO-001 work"
    commit id: "MTO-001 done"
    checkout release/1.12.0
    merge feature/MTO-001
    branch feature/MTO-002
    checkout feature/MTO-002
    commit id: "MTO-002 work"
    commit id: "MTO-002 done"
    checkout release/1.12.0
    merge feature/MTO-002
    checkout main
    merge release/1.12.0 tag: "v1.12.0 PROD"
    branch release/1.13.0
    checkout release/1.13.0
    commit id: "start 1.13.0 DEV"
    merge release/1.12.0 id: "forward merge"
    branch hotfix/MTO-003
    checkout hotfix/MTO-003
    commit id: "hotfix bug"
    checkout main
    merge hotfix/MTO-003 id: "hotfix to main"
    checkout release/1.13.0
    merge hotfix/MTO-003 id: "hotfix forward"
    checkout main
    merge release/1.13.0 tag: "v1.13.0 PROD"

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Git Flow Instructions (GitLab)

1. Branch Types

• main → Always production-ready, protected branch in GitLab.
• release/X.Y.Z → One per planned release. Deployed to DEV for testing.
• feature/MTO-### → Feature branches created from the active release branch.
• hotfix/MTO-### → Urgent bugfix branches from main.

2. Starting a New Release

1. From main, create the new release branch:

git checkout main
git pull
git checkout -b release/X.Y.Z
git push -u origin release/X.Y.Z

2. Deploy release/X.Y.Z to DEV.
3. Protect the release branch in GitLab to avoid accidental deletion.

3. Developing Features

1. Create your feature branch from the active release branch:

git checkout release/X.Y.Z
git pull
git checkout -b feature/MTO-123

2. When done, squash commits locally if needed and create a Merge Request in GitLab targeting the release branch.
3. Merge the MR using GitLab’s merge interface, do not squash merge release → release merges.
4. Delete the feature branch after merge.

4. Testing a Release in DEV

• All merged features in release/X.Y.Z are deployed to DEV.
• QA tests against DEV.
• If bugs are found → fix them directly in the release branch.

5. Releasing to Production

1. Merge the tested release into main using a Merge Request:

git checkout main
git pull
git merge --no-ff release/X.Y.Z
git tag vX.Y.Z
git push origin main --tags

2. Deploy main to PROD.
3. Protect main in GitLab to enforce PRs for all merges.

6. Creating the Next Release

1. From main, create the next release branch:

git checkout main
git pull
git checkout -b release/X.Y+1.Z
git push -u origin release/X.Y+1.Z

2. Forward-merge changes from the previous release if needed:

git checkout release/X.Y+1.Z
git merge release/X.Y.Z
git push

7. Hotfixes

1. Create a hotfix from main:

git checkout main
git pull
git checkout -b hotfix/MTO-456

2. After fix:

git checkout main
git merge --no-ff hotfix/MTO-456
git tag vX.Y.Z+1
git push origin main --tags

# Forward hotfix into active release branch
git checkout release/X.Y.Z
git merge --no-ff hotfix/MTO-456
git push

8. Rules & Constraints

• Never delete a release branch until all future releases include its changes.
• Do not squash merge release → release merges — keep them linear.
• Squash merge feature → release merges if you want cleaner history.
• Always merge forward from older → newer release branches before new work.
• Use GitLab branch protection to enforce workflow rules on main and release/* branches.