10 GitHub Versioning Best Practices

GitHub is a powerful tool for developers that allows them to track changes to their code and collaborate with other developers on projects. While it is a great tool, it is important to use it correctly in order to get the most out of it.

In this article, we will discuss 10 best practices for using GitHub for versioning your code. By following these best practices, you can make sure that your code is well-organized and easy to work with for yourself and other developers.

1. Use a single repository for all your projects

When you have multiple repositories, it’s easy to lose track of which changes go into which repository. This can lead to confusion and errors, especially when you’re working on multiple projects at the same time.

By using a single repository for all your projects, you can avoid this problem altogether. Plus, it makes it easier to keep your project history organized and tidy.

2. Use tags to mark releases

Tags are used to mark specific points in history as being important. They’re often used to mark release versions of software. For example, when a new version of a software is released, a tag is created to mark that point in the repository’s history.

This is important for several reasons. Firstly, it allows you to easily go back and forth between different versions of the software. Secondly, it makes it easy for others to see which version of the software they should be using. And finally, it provides a way for you to track changes between versions.

To create a tag, simply use the git tag command. For example, to tag the current commit with the v1.0.0 tag, you would run the following command:

git tag v1.0.0

You can then view all tags by running the git tag command without any arguments.

3. Write good commit messages

Commit messages are used to describe the changes made in a commit. They help other developers understand what was changed and why. Good commit messages are clear, concise, and descriptive.

Here are some tips for writing good commit messages:

– Use the present tense (“Add feature” not “Added feature”)
– Use the imperative mood (“Move button to the right” not “Moves button to the right”)
– Limit the subject line to 50 characters
– Capitalize the subject line
– Do not end the subject line with a period
– Separate the subject line from the body with a blank line
– Wrap the body at 72 characters
– Use the body to explain what and why you have changed

4. Don’t use GitHub as a backup service

GitHub is a great platform for collaboration and sharing code, but it’s not designed to be a backup service. If you’re relying on GitHub to keep your code safe, you’re putting yourself at risk.

GitHub can suffer from outages, data loss, and other problems. If you’re relying on GitHub as your only source of code, you could lose everything if something goes wrong.

Instead, use GitHub for what it’s good for –– collaboration and sharing code. Use another service, like Dropbox or Google Drive, to store backups of your code. That way, if something happens to GitHub, you’ll still have your code safe and sound.

5. Keep it clean

When you’re working on a project, especially one that’s shared with others, it’s important to keep the project directory clean and organized. This way, everyone can easily find the files they need, and there’s no confusion about what goes where.

A good way to do this is to create a separate directory for each task or feature you’re working on. For example, if you’re working on a website, you might have a directory for the home page, another for the About page, and so on. This way, when you’re done with a task, you can simply delete the corresponding directory, and your project will be that much cleaner.

Of course, you’ll also want to keep your Git commits clean as well. That means making sure each commit contains only the changes related to a single task or feature. If you try to include too many changes in a single commit, it will be difficult to understand what was changed, and it will be hard to revert individual changes if necessary.

6. Avoid binary files

Binary files are those that contain data in a non-textual format. Examples include images, videos, and executable files. While it’s possible to version control binary files using Git, it’s generally not a good idea.

The main reason for this is that binary files tend to be large, and Git repositories are designed to be efficient with text-based files. When you add a large number of binary files to a Git repository, it can quickly become bloated and slow.

Additionally, because binary files are not human-readable, it can be difficult to review changes made to them. For these reasons, it’s best to avoid adding binary files to your Git repositories whenever possible.

7. Don’t store passwords in the repository

If someone were to gain access to your repository, they would then have access to any passwords that are stored in plain text. This could be disastrous if those passwords give access to other systems or sensitive data.

Instead of storing passwords in the repository, use a tool like GitHub Secrets to store them securely. Then, you can reference those secrets in your code without having to worry about them being compromised.

8. Protect your master branch

The master branch is the default branch when you create a repository, and it is considered the stable branch. This is the branch that contains your production-ready code.

As such, it is important to protect your master branch so that only authorized users can make changes to it. You can do this by setting up branch protection rules in GitHub.

Branch protection rules allow you to specify who can push to or merge into a protected branch. For example, you can require that all commits must be made by a certain number of people, or that all commits must be approved by a pull request review before they can be merged.

Enforcing these types of rules will help to ensure that only trusted users can make changes to your production code, and that all changes are reviewed before they are deployed.

9. Consider using git-flow

Git-flow is a branching model for Git that helps developers manage and maintain a clear history of their code. The git-flow process defines two main branches:

The master branch: This is the production-ready codebase.

The develop branch: This is the branch where all development work takes place.

Git-flow also introduces several other supporting branches, such as feature branches, release branches, and hotfix branches.

Using git-flow can help developers keep their codebase clean and organized, which makes it easier to track changes and identify bugs. It also makes it simpler to collaborate with other developers, since everyone is working off of the same branch structure.

10. Use pull requests

Pull requests let you tell others about changes you’ve pushed to a branch in a repository on GitHub. Once a pull request is opened, you can discuss and review the potential changes with collaborators and add follow-up commits before your changes are merged into the base branch.

This is an important way to manage changes to code because it gives other developers a chance to weigh in on proposed changes before they are implemented. It also allows for a more controlled and managed approach to merging code changes, which can help avoid conflicts and keep the project history clean.