Git Best Practices

Guidelines for effective version control.

Commit Practices

Write Good Commit Messages

Format:

Short summary (50 chars max)

Longer description if needed. Wrap at 72 characters.
Explain why, not what (the code shows what).

Good examples:

• Add user authentication with JWT
• Fix memory leak in image processing
• Refactor database connection handling

Bad examples:

• Fixed stuff
• WIP
• asdf

Commit Often

• Small, focused commits
• One logical change per commit
• Easier to review and revert

Branching Practices

Use Descriptive Branch Names

feature/add-user-search
bugfix/fix-login-timeout
hotfix/patch-sql-injection

Keep Branches Short-Lived

• Merge feature branches quickly
• Delete merged branches
• Avoid long-running branches

Always Branch from Main

git checkout main
git pull
git checkout -b feature/new-feature

Before Committing

Review Your Changes

git diff
git diff --staged
git status

Don't Commit

• Secrets or credentials
• IDE/editor config files
• Build artifacts
• Node modules / dependencies

Use .gitignore:

.env
node_modules/
*.log
.DS_Store

Working with Others

Pull Before Push

git pull --rebase
git push

Never Force Push Shared Branches

# DON'T do this on main/develop!
git push --force

Communicate About Rebases

If you must rebase a shared branch, let your team know.

Useful Git Configurations

# Helpful aliases
git config --global alias.co checkout
git config --global alias.st status
git config --global alias.lg "log --oneline --graph --all"

# Better defaults
git config --global pull.rebase true
git config --global push.autoSetupRemote true

Summary

Do	Don't
Commit often	Make huge commits
Write clear messages	Use "WIP" or "fix"
Pull before push	Force push shared branches
Delete merged branches	Keep old branches
Use .gitignore	Commit secrets

Exercise: Check Your Practices

Review the repository status and log: