Mastering Single-Release Git Strategy: Step-by-Step Guide for Teams

Git is a powerful, free, open‑source distributed version control system used to track changes in files and coordinate work among multiple developers, especially for source code management.

The single‑release strategy is suited for teams that handle one version at a time. The workflow includes the following steps:

1. Create a release branch from the production master branch

git checkout master
git checkout -b product-release1

The master branch holds production code, while product-release1 is the new release branch.

2. Create a feature branch for each developer

Each developer creates a feature branch off the release branch and works on the feature there.

3. Keep the feature branch up‑to‑date

Developers regularly merge or rebase the latest changes from the release branch:

git merge product-release1
# or
git rebase product-release1

Using merge is recommended unless you are very comfortable with rebase.

4. Submit a pull request

When a feature is complete, open a pull request (via GitHub UI) to merge the feature branch back into the release branch, undergo code review, and obtain approval.

5. Tag the release for testing

git tag -a product-release1_tag1 -m "product release1 tag1"

Tags are typically created through the Git UI and handed to the testing team.

6. Finalize the release

After testing, the release tag is approved for production. Merge the release branch back into the main server (master) so the server contains the production code.

7. Clean up branches

git branch -d product-release1-feature1
git branch -d product-release1

Feature and release branches are deleted after they are merged.

8. Post‑release hotfixes

git checkout -b product-release1_prodfixticketNumber product-release1_tag1

This creates a new branch from the release tag for any urgent fixes.

The same process repeats for the next release, with master always holding production code and releases being created from tags.

Related Resources Useful Git commands: https://github.com/DharmendraRathor/gitCommands GitHub Desktop: https://desktop.github.com/