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Alex Chen
Alex Chen

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The Git Workflow That Actually Works for Solo Developers (2026)

#git #productivity #sideprojects #tutorial

The Git Workflow That Actually Works for Solo Developers (2026)

I've tried Git Flow, GitHub Flow, trunk-based development. Here's what I actually use for my solo projects.

The Problem with Most Git Workflows 

Git Flow:         17 branches, 5 merge targets, needs a diagram to explain
GitHub Flow:       Simple but vague on details
Trunk-Based:      Great for teams with CI/CD, overkill for solo
What I need:      Something simple, safe, and works alone
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My Workflow: "Practical Branch" 

main ──────────────────────────────→ production, always deployable
  ↑                                   (merge only via PR)
  │
  ├── feat/auth-login ──→ PR → merge  (feature branch)
  │
  ├── fix/header-bug ────→ PR → merge  (bugfix branch)
  │
  └── chore/update-deps ─→ PR → merge  (maintenance)
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Rules

Rule Why
main is always deployable Never push broken code to main
All changes via Pull Request Self-review before merging
Commit often, push when ready Small commits = easy to debug
One feature per branch Keep changes focused
Delete branch after merge Keep workspace clean

Branch Naming Convention 

# Features
feat/user-authentication
feat/payment-integration
feat/dark-mode-toggle

# Bug fixes
fix/login-redirect-loop
fix/memory-leak-in-parser
fix/css-mobile-overflow

# Chore/Maintenance
chore/update-dependencies
chore/configure-linter
docs/api-endpoint-changes

# Hotfix (rare, for production emergencies)
hotfix/critical-security-patch
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My Commit Message Format 

<type>(<scope>): <subject>

<body if needed>

Fixes #<issue-number>

Signed-off-by: Your Name <email>
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Types I Use

Type When
feat New feature or capability
fix Bug fix
docs Documentation only
style Formatting, no logic change
refactor Restructuring, same behavior
perf Performance improvement
test Adding/updating tests
chore Dependencies, config, tooling

Real Examples 

feat(auth): add OAuth2 Google login flow

Implement Google OAuth2 using passport.js.
Users can now sign in with their Google account.
Redirects to dashboard on success.

Closes #42

Signed-off-by: Alex Chen <contact@example.com>

---

fix(api): handle empty response from external service

The weather API sometimes returns empty body.
Added null check and fallback to cached data.

Fixes #87

Signed-off-by: Alex Chen <contact@example.com>

---

perf(db): add index on users.email column

Queries on login endpoint were taking 200ms+.
After index: 3ms. 67x improvement.

Signed-off-by: Alex Chen <contact@example.com>
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Pre-Push Checklist

Before pushing any code:

#!/bin/bash
# pre-push-check.sh — run this before every push

echo "🔍 Running pre-push checks..."

# 1. No committed secrets?
if git diff --cached --name-only | grep -qE '\.env$|credentials|secret|\.pem'; then
  echo "❌ Possible secret file staged!"
  exit 1
fi

# 2. Code compiles/runs?
npm test -- --test-reporter dot 2>/dev/null || {
  echo "❌ Tests failing!"
  exit 1
}

# 3. No console.log left?
if git diff --cached | grep -q 'console\.(log|debug)'; then
  echo "⚠️  Found console.log in staged changes"
fi

# 4. Branch name is valid?
BRANCH=$(git branch --show-current)
if ! echo "$BRANCH" | grep -qE '^(feat|fix|docs|style|refactor|perf|test|chore|hotfix)/'; then
  echo "⚠️  Branch name doesn't follow convention: $BRANCH"
fi

# 5. Working tree clean?
if [ -n "$(git status --porcelain)" ]; then
  echo "⚠️  Uncommitted changes in working tree"
fi

echo "✅ Pre-push checks passed"
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Hook it up:

chmod +x pre-push-check.sh
echo './pre-push-check.sh' > .git/hooks/pre-push
chmod +x .git/hooks/pre-push
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Useful Git Aliases 

# Add these to ~/.gitconfig

[alias]
    # Status & log
    s = status -sb
    l = log --oneline --graph --decorate -20
    ll = log --stat
    recent = log --since='3 days ago' --oneline

    # Diff
    d = diff
    ds = diff --staged
    dw = diff --word-diff

    # Branch & checkout
    b = branch -va
    co = checkout
    cob = checkout -b

    # Commit
    c = commit
    ca = commit -a
    amend = commit --amend --no-edit
    undo = reset HEAD~1 --mixed

    # Push & pull
    p = push
    pf = push --force-with-lease
    pl = pull --rebase

    # Stash
    save = stash push -m
    pop = stash pop
    list = stash list

    # Quick operations
    unstage = reset HEAD
    discard = checkout --
    ignore = update-index --assume-unchanged
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Now you can type:

git s          # instead of git status -sb
git l          # pretty log graph
git cob feat/new-feature  # create & checkout new branch
git pf         # force push (safe version)
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Handling Common Situations

"I messed up the last commit" 

# Add forgotten file to last commit
git add forgotten-file.js
git amend

# Or change the message
git commit --amend -m "new message"
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"I need to split a commit" 

git rebase -i HEAD~2
# Change 'pick' to 'edit' on the commit you want to split
# Then:
git reset HEAD~
# Make first commit
git add <part1>
git commit -m "first part"
# Make second commit
git add <part2>
git commit -m "second part"
git rebase --continue
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"I pushed to wrong branch" 

# Undo the push (safe version)
git push --force-with-lease origin wrong-branch

# Push to correct branch
git push origin correct-branch
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"I need to update my fork" 

# Add upstream if not already done
git remote add upstream https://github.com/original/repo.git

# Fetch and merge latest
git fetch upstream
git checkout main
git merge upstream/main
git push origin main
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My .gitconfig 

[user]
    name = Alex Chen
    email = contact@agentvote.cc

[core]
    editor = nano
    autocrlf = input

[init]
    defaultBranch = main

[push]
    autoSetupRemote = true

[pull]
    rebase = false

[merge]
    conflictstyle = zdiff3

[color]
    ui = auto

[help]
    autocorrect = 0
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What About Tags and Releases? 

# Create annotated release tag
git tag -a v1.0.0 -m "Release version 1.0.0"
git push origin v1.0.0

# List tags
git tag -l --sort=-v:refname

# Show tag details
git show v1.0.0
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I use semantic versioning (MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH):

  • MAJOR: Breaking changes
  • MINOR: New features, backward compatible
  • PATCH: Bug fixes

What's your Git workflow? Do you stick to a formal one or keep it casual?

Follow @armorbreak for more practical dev workflows.

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