Git Branching and Release Strategy

Branch	Purpose	Branch from	Naming
hotfix	Hotfix branches are for critical issues that need to get into Mainnet immediately.	release	hotfix/<bug #>- (e.g., "hotfix/BD-1888-set-fee-ratio")
release	Release branches are stable branches that are currently released, or have been previously released to Mainnet. The tip of this branch should be always in the production-ready state for that particular release. I.e., you should always be able to hotfix to a release branch. Release branches are created for every major and minor release.	master	release/v1.1.x
master	The master branch should always reflect what is on Mainnet.	release
develop	The develop branch serves as an integration branch for features/epics.	master
bug	Bug branches	develop, feature	bug/bug#-description (e.g., bug/BD-1841-wallet-requests )
feature/epic	A feature (or epic) branch is the main unit of work. Features are developed in separate branches, promoted to testing, and then promoted to master in a continuous cycle.	develop	feature/devname(optional)-epic#-fip#-epicname> (e.g., “feature/eric-BD-1580-fip6-lock-tokens”)

Feature development

Create feature branch off of develop (e.g., feature/1580-fip6-lock-tokens)
Frequently rebase feature branch with latest from develop. This will grab the latest code and reattach the feature branch to the new root of develop.
Complete development of feature, SDK updates (if applicable), and javascript tests.
Run fio.test against local branch
Create draft PR
Send to QA
QA will expand javascript tests and open bugs
Fix bugs and update PR
Once it passes QA, install on DEV server and send to UAT
Once it passes UAT it will be sent to Ready to Deploy
Once a release target for feature has been identified:
- Rebase feature branch from target and build locally
- Re-run javascript tests on local build
- Move PR from draft to review
Merge:
- Feature branch into target branch
- Merge SDK updates (if applicable)
- Merge fio.test updates
Build target branch on DEV server and re-run JS tests

Feature releases (major/minor releases)

The develop branch is the release candidate branch and and is used for release testing
Merge all features and bugs into develop
Rebase develop from master
Create draft PR to master
Install develop on DEV server
Run fio.test system tests
Create pre-release RC tag off of the head commit from develop
- Tag: v1.1.0-rc1
- Title: Release Candidate - FIO v1.1.0-rc1
Send release to Testnet
If issues are found, fix bugs off of develop branch as necessary and repeat steps with rc2, rc3, etc.
Complete Testnet testing
Move PR from draft to review
Merge develop into master
Create release branch (e.g., release/v1.1.x)
Install release branch on DEV server
Run JS tests
Create release from master
- Tag: v1.1.0
- Title: Release - FIO v1.1.0
Send release to Mainnet

Hotfix/patch releases

Hotfixes branches are used to patch Mainnet.
Compare latest release branch (e.g., release/v1.1.x) with master. If there are differences, we have done something wrong.
Create hotfix branch off of release branch
Complete development and javascript tests for hotfix
Create PR and merge into release branch
Install release branch on DEV server and through QA/UAT cycle. Update release branch as necessary.
Create pre-release RC tag off of the head commit from release branch
- Tag: v1.1.1-rc1
- Title: Release Candidate - FIO v1.1.1-rc1
Send release to Testnet
If issues are found, fix bugs off of release branch as necessary and repeat steps with rc2, rc3, etc.
Complete Testnet testing
Merge release branch into master
Create release from master:
- Tag: v1.1.1
- Title: Release - FIO v1.1.1
Send release to Mainnet.

Archiving branches

When you want to keep the commit history of a branch that is old or that has been deprioritized, archive the branch as a tag and then remove the branch. Git tags aren’t too different from branches. They are a point-in-time backup of a repository at a specific commit level or in the case of this workflow a specific branch.