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What is the essence of the Feature Branch Workflow?

Feature Branch Workflow is a Git workflow in which every new task (a feature, a bug fix, an improvement) is developed in a separate branch, while the main branch always stays stable.

Put simply: "One task, one branch".


The essence of Feature Branch Workflow

The main idea:

  • main (or master) - the stable code
  • a separate feature branch is created for each task
  • development happens only in feature branches
  • code reaches main through a Pull Request

The typical workflow

  1. Create a branch from main
bash
git checkout -b feature/login
  1. Work on the task and make commits
bash
git commit
  1. Push the branch to the remote repository
bash
git push origin feature/login
  1. Open a Pull Request into main
  • it goes through code review
  • tests / CI run
  1. Merge the changes into main
  2. Delete the feature branch

Task isolation

  • each feature is developed separately
  • changes do not interfere with others
  • you can experiment safely

Safety of the main branch

  • main is always in a working state
  • you cannot accidentally break production

Convenient code review

  • all the code for a task is gathered in one Pull Request
  • it is easy to see what changed and why

Scales well

  • works for small and large teams
  • easy to add rules: CI, approvals, linters

Merge or rebase in Feature Branch Workflow

Usually:

  • merge is done through a Pull Request
  • rebase is used locally to update a feature branch

Important:

  • main is never rebased

Pros and cons

Pros

  • simple and clear
  • safe
  • works great with Pull Requests
  • a de facto industry standard

Cons

  • many branches appear
  • without discipline, feature branches can live too long
  • the history may contain merge commits

Short answer for an interview

Feature Branch Workflow is an approach where each task is developed in a separate branch, and changes reach the main branch only through a Pull Request, which ensures isolation, review, and stability.

Short Answer

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