---
source_keys:
  - nvie-gitflow-post
  - atlassian-gitflow-tutorial
  - gitflow-cheatsheet
---

# Branch patterns

Which pattern is in play decides the base branch, the branch name prefix, and whether merges are
allowed to fast-forward. Default to GitHub Flow — simpler, and what CI/CD-oriented repos expect.
Fall back to Gitflow only when the config says so or the repo already carries `develop` or
`release/*` branches.

## GitHub Flow

- Base: `main`
- Feature branches: `feature/<feature-name>` or `fix/<bug-name>`
- Merge: fast-forward where possible, to keep history linear
- Delete the branch after merge

## Gitflow

- Base: `main` (production) plus `develop` (integration)
- Feature branches: `feature/<feature-name>`, cut from `develop`
- Release branches: `release/X.Y.Z`, cut from `develop`, merged to both `main` and `develop`
- Hotfix branches: `hotfix/X.Y.Z`, cut from `main`, merged to both `main` and `develop`
- Merge: always `--no-ff`, so the branch structure survives in the history

The two are not mixable. A `--no-ff` merge into a GitHub Flow repo leaves merge commits nobody
expects; a fast-forward merge of a Gitflow release branch erases the release boundary.