1.3GitFlow in Detail

GitFlow uses two long-lived branches (main and develop) plus short-lived branches for features, releases, and hotfixes.

main ──────────────●───────────────────●──────── (production releases)
                   ↑                   ↑
release/2.3 ──────●   release/2.4 ────●
                   ↑                   ↑
develop ───●──●──●─┘──●──●──●──●──●───┘──●──── (integration branch)
           ↑  ↑  ↑    ↑  ↑  ↑  ↑  ↑      ↑
           feature branches (short-lived)

QA Implications for GitFlow

• Test on develop: Every feature merged to develop should trigger regression tests
• Test again on release/*: The release branch is for stabilization. Only bug fixes go here, and each fix needs testing
• Double testing burden: You may test a feature on develop and then test the same feature again on the release branch
• Hotfix testing: Hotfixes branch from main, get tested, merge to both main and develop
• Environment mapping: develop maps to a dev/integration environment, release/* maps to staging, main maps to production

When to advocate for GitFlow:

• Your product has scheduled releases (quarterly, monthly)
• Multiple versions are supported simultaneously (v2.3 and v2.4 both in production)
• Regulatory requirements demand a stabilization phase before release