Gitflow

Skill hughedward/gitflow-skills/skills/gitflow

gitflow-skills - Git Flow workflow for Claude Code & OpenClaw. No extra tools needed, pure Git implementation.

Install

npx -y skills add hughedward/gitflow-skills --skill gitflow

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Git Flow branching model - a philosophy for versioned releases, implemented with pure git commands (no tools required)

SKILL.md

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Git Flow

Note on Branch Names: Examples use default Git Flow naming (main, develop, feature/*, release/*, hotfix/*). If your .gitflow config uses custom names (e.g., dev instead of develop), substitute accordingly.

Philosophy: Branching Model, NOT a Tool

Git Flow is a branching strategy protocol - a set of conventions for how to organize your branches. It is NOT dependent on any specific tool.

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Git Flow 理念  →  用原生 git实现  ✓                      │
│  Git Flow 工具  →  可选，非必须  (optional)              │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Core Branch Structure

Branch	Purpose	Lifetime
`main`/`master`	Production-ready code	Indefinite
`develop`	Integration branch for features	Indefinite
`feature/*`	Develop new features	Short-term
`release/*`	Prepare production release	Short-term
`hotfix/*`	Fix critical production bugs	Short-term

Why Pure Git?

The git-flow-avh CLI tool is just a wrapper around native git commands. Understanding the underlying git commands gives you:

No dependencies - works anywhere git is installed
Full control - understand and customize each operation
Debugging - know exactly what's happening
Portability - not tied to a specific tool

Quick Start

For new repository setup: See "Initialize Repository" below

For daily workflow: Use the workflow decision tree to determine which operation to perform

Workflow Decision Tree

Need to work on Git Flow repository?
│
├─ New feature? → Feature Workflow
├─ Prepare release? → Release Workflow
├─ Fix production bug? → Hotfix Workflow
└─ New repository? → Initialize Repository

Initialize Repository

Set up a new repository with Git Flow branches:

Pure Git Method (Recommended)

# 1. Ensure you're on main/master
git checkout main

# 2. Create develop branch from main
git checkout -b develop

# 3. Push both branches to remote
git push -u origin main
git push -u origin develop

Using Helper Script

bash scripts/setup_gitflow.sh

Optional: git-flow-avh Tool

If you have git-flow-avh installed:

git flow init      # Interactive setup
git flow init -d   # Use defaults

After initialization, you should be on the develop branch.

Feature Workflow

Use feature branches for developing new features for upcoming releases.

Start a Feature

Pure Git	git-flow Tool (Optional)
`bash<br>git checkout develop<br>git checkout -b feature/<name><br>`	`bash<br>git flow feature start <name><br>`

Example (Pure Git):

git checkout develop
git checkout -b feature/user-authentication

This creates feature/user-authentication from develop.

Finish a Feature

Pure Git	git-flow Tool (Optional)
`bash<br>git checkout develop<br>git merge --no-ff feature/<name><br>git branch -d feature/<name><br>`	`bash<br>git flow feature finish <name><br>`

Example (Pure Git):

git checkout develop
git merge --no-ff feature/user-authentication
git branch -d feature/user-authentication

This:

Merges feature/user-authentication to develop using --no-ff
Deletes the feature branch
Switches back to develop

Note: --no-ff (no fast-forward) preserves feature history in the graph.

Publish a Feature (Team Collaboration)

Pure Git	git-flow Tool (Optional)
`bash<br>git push -u origin feature/<name><br>`	`bash<br>git flow feature publish <name><br>`

Checkout remote feature:

git fetch origin
git checkout feature/<name>

Pull latest changes:

git pull origin feature/<name>

Release Workflow

Use release branches when preparing for a new production release. This allows bug fixes and version bumping.

Start a Release

Pure Git	git-flow Tool (Optional)
`bash<br>git checkout develop<br>git checkout -b release/<version><br>`	`bash<br>git flow release start <version><br>`

Example (Pure Git):

git checkout develop
git checkout -b release/1.2.0

This creates release/1.2.0 from develop.

Publish a Release

git push -u origin release/<version>

Finish a Release

Pure Git	git-flow Tool (Optional)
`bash<br># Merge to main and tag<br>git checkout main<br>git merge --no-ff release/<version><br>git tag -a <version> -m "Release <version>"<br><br># Merge back to develop<br>git checkout develop<br>git merge --no-ff release/<version><br><br># Cleanup<br>git branch -d release/<version><br>`	`bash<br>git flow release finish <version><br>`

Example (Pure Git):

# Merge to main and tag
git checkout main
git merge --no-ff release/1.2.0
git tag -a 1.2.0 -m "Release version 1.2.0"

# Merge back to develop
git checkout develop
git merge --no-ff release/1.2.0

# Cleanup
git branch -d release/1.2.0

This:

Merges release/1.2.0 to main using --no-ff
Tags the merge with version name
Merges release/1.2.0 back to develop using --no-ff
Deletes the release branch
Switches back to develop

Push tags to remote:

git push origin main
git push origin develop
git push origin <version>  # Push the tag

Hotfix Workflow

Use hotfix branches to fix critical production bugs immediately.

Start a Hotfix

Pure Git	git-flow Tool (Optional)
`bash<br>git checkout main<br>git checkout -b hotfix/<version><br>`	`bash<br>git flow hotfix start <version><br>`

Example (Pure Git):

git checkout main
git checkout -b hotfix/1.2.1

This creates hotfix/1.2.1 from main/master.

Finish a Hotfix

Pure Git	git-flow Tool (Optional)
`bash<br># Merge to main and tag<br>git checkout main<br>git merge --no-ff hotfix/<version><br>git tag -a <version> -m "Hotfix <version>"<br><br># Merge back to develop<br>git checkout develop<br>git merge --no-ff hotfix/<version><br><br># Cleanup<br>git branch -d hotfix/<version><br>`	`bash<br>git flow hotfix finish <version><br>`

Example (Pure Git):

# Merge to main and tag
git checkout main
git merge --no-ff hotfix/1.2.1
git tag -a 1.2.1 -m "Hotfix: Fix critical login bug"

# Merge back to develop
git checkout develop
git merge --no-ff hotfix/1.2.1

# Cleanup
git branch -d hotfix/1.2.1

This:

Merges hotfix/1.2.1 to main/master using --no-ff
Tags the merge with version name
Merges hotfix/1.2.1 back to develop using --no-ff
Deletes the hotfix branch
Switches back to develop

Exception: If a release branch exists, merge the hotfix into that release branch instead of develop.

Helper Scripts

This skill includes helper scripts for common Git Flow operations:

All scripts use pure git commands - no git-flow-avh dependency required.

scripts/gitflow_helper.sh - Interactive menu for all Git Flow operations
scripts/setup_gitflow.sh - Initialize Git Flow repository (pure git)
scripts/gitflow_status.sh - Show current Git Flow status (pure git)

Usage:

# Run interactive helper
bash scripts/gitflow_helper.sh

# Check Git Flow status
bash scripts/gitflow_status.sh

# Setup new Git Flow repository
bash scripts/setup_gitflow.sh

Branch Summary

Branch Type	Branch From	Merge To	Naming Convention	Lifetime
main/master	-	-	`main` or `master`	Indefinite
develop	-	-	`develop`	Indefinite
feature	`develop`	`develop`	`feature/*`	Short-term
release	`develop`	`develop`, `main`	`release/*`	Short-term
hotfix	`main`	`develop`, `main`	`hotfix/*`	Short-term

Best Practices

Always use --no-ff when merging - preserves feature history and enables easy reversion
Keep feature branches focused - one feature per branch
Write descriptive commit messages - explain what and why, not just how
Tag releases - use semantic versioning (e.g., 1.2.0)
Pull before starting - ensure develop is up-to-date before starting features
Understand the git commands - the git-flow tool is optional; knowledge of pure git commands is universal

Quick Reference: Pure Git Commands

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                         Git Flow: Pure Git Cheat Sheet                  │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ FEATURE START:   git checkout develop && git checkout -b feature/<name> │
│ FEATURE FINISH:  git checkout develop && git merge --no-ff feature/<name│
│                  && git branch -d feature/<name>                        │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ RELEASE START:   git checkout develop && git checkout -b release/<ver>  │
│ RELEASE FINISH:  git checkout main && git merge --no-ff release/<ver>   │
│                  && git tag -a <ver> -m "Release <ver>"                 │
│                  && git checkout develop && git merge --no-ff release/<ver│
│                  && git branch -d release/<ver>                         │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ HOTFIX START:    git checkout main && git checkout -b hotfix/<ver>      │
│ HOTFIX FINISH:   git checkout main && git merge --no-ff hotfix/<ver>    │
│                  && git tag -a <ver> -m "Hotfix <ver>"                  │
│                  && git checkout develop && git merge --no-ff hotfix/<ver│
│                  && git branch -d hotfix/<ver>                          │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Common Issues

Issue: "Not a gitflow repository" (when using git-flow tool)

Solution: Run git flow init first, or just create the branches manually with pure git

Issue: Merge conflicts during finish

Solution: Resolve conflicts, then git add the files, git commit to complete the merge

Issue: Feature branch name contains invalid characters

Solution: Use alphanumeric and hyphens only (e.g., user-auth not user_auth)

Issue: develop branch doesn't exist

Solution: Create it from main: git checkout main && git checkout -b develop

When NOT to Use Git Flow

Git Flow is NOT ideal for:

Continuous delivery teams - consider GitHub Flow or trunk-based development instead
Single developer projects - overhead may not be justified
Web services with frequent deployments - simpler workflows work better

Git Flow IS ideal for:

Versioned software releases
Projects with scheduled release cycles
Teams supporting multiple production versions
Mobile apps with app store review processes

References

See references/workflow.md for detailed workflow diagrams and advanced patterns.

One thing to look at

What its author says it does

SKILL.md

Git Flow

Philosophy: Branching Model, NOT a Tool

Core Branch Structure

Why Pure Git?

Quick Start

Workflow Decision Tree

Initialize Repository

Pure Git Method (Recommended)

Using Helper Script

Optional: git-flow-avh Tool

Feature Workflow

Start a Feature

Finish a Feature

Publish a Feature (Team Collaboration)

Release Workflow

Start a Release

Publish a Release

Finish a Release

Hotfix Workflow

Start a Hotfix

Finish a Hotfix

Helper Scripts

Branch Summary

Best Practices

Quick Reference: Pure Git Commands

Common Issues

When NOT to Use Git Flow

References

Keep looking