checkout

Branch Checkout Workflow

Follow this workflow when creating new branches for development work.

Branch Naming Conventions

Prefix	Purpose	Example
feature/	New features or enhancements	feature/user-auth
chore/	Maintenance, refactoring, tooling, docs	chore/update-deps
hotfix/	Bug fixes, urgent patches	hotfix/null-pointer-fix

Naming Rules

• Use lowercase with hyphens: feature/add-user-auth not feature/AddUserAuth
• Keep names short but descriptive (2-4 words)
• Reference issue numbers when applicable: hotfix/fix-login-123

Pre-Flight Checks

Before creating a new branch, verify you’re in a clean state.

Step 1: Check Current Branch

git branch --show-current

If not on main: You may be in the middle of another task. Either:

• Finish and commit current work, then switch to main
• Stash changes with git stash if you need to switch temporarily
• Abort if you should complete the current task first

Step 2: Check for Uncommitted Changes

git status --porcelain

If there are changes: Do not create a new branch. Either:

• Commit the changes to the current branch
• Stash with git stash push -m "WIP: description"
• Discard if truly unwanted with git checkout .

Step 3: Ensure Main is Up-to-Date

git pull origin main

This ensures your new branch starts from the latest code.

Creating the Branch

Only after all checks pass:

git checkout -b <prefix>/<branch-name>

Examples

# Starting a new feature
git checkout -b feature/oauth-login

# Maintenance task
git checkout -b chore/prettier-config

# Bug fix
git checkout -b hotfix/fix-auth-redirect

Complete Workflow Example

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

# 2. Pull latest changes
git pull origin main

# 3. Create and switch to new branch
git checkout -b feature/add-notifications

When NOT to Create a New Branch

Stop and reconsider if:

• You have uncommitted changes - Commit or stash first
• You’re not on main - You might be abandoning work in progress
• Main is behind remote - Pull first to avoid merge conflicts later
• The task is trivial - Single-line fixes might not need a branch

Quick Reference

Situation	Action
On main, clean state	Safe to create branch
On main, uncommitted work	Commit or stash first
On feature branch	Finish current work or stash
Main behind remote	git pull origin main first
Need to switch temporarily	git stash then switch