Git Workflow Reference: Merge, Rebase, and Best Practices

# Switch to the branch you want to merge INTO
git checkout main

# Merge the feature branch
git merge feature/my-feature

# The result: a new merge commit with two parents

# Rebase your feature branch onto the current main
git checkout feature/my-feature
git rebase main

# Then fast-forward merge (no merge commit needed)
git checkout main
git merge feature/my-feature

# Rebase the last 3 commits interactively
git rebase -i HEAD~3

# In the editor, change 'pick' to:
# 'squash' (s) - combine with previous commit
# 'reword' (r) - edit the commit message
# 'drop' (d) - remove the commit entirely

# 1. Always start from an up-to-date main
git checkout main
git pull

# 2. Create a descriptive feature branch
git checkout -b feature/add-flight-status-endpoint

# 3. Make changes and commit frequently
git add .
git commit -m "feat: add flight status endpoint with IATA code validation"

# 4. Stay current with main by rebasing (local only)
git fetch origin
git rebase origin/main

# 5. Push and open a pull request
git push -u origin feature/add-flight-status-endpoint

<type>(<scope>): <short summary>

<optional body explaining WHY, not what>

<optional footer: BREAKING CHANGE, closes #123>

# Good examples
git commit -m "feat(api): add rate limiting middleware using token bucket algorithm"
git commit -m "fix(db): handle nil pointer when flight record has no departure time"
git commit -m "perf(cache): prefetch top 100 routes on startup to reduce cold-start latency"

# Bad examples (avoid)
git commit -m "fix stuff"
git commit -m "wip"
git commit -m "changes"

git tag v1.0-lw

git tag -a v1.0 -m "Release v1.0: initial production deployment"

# View commit history
git log --pretty=oneline

# a4c3f21 (HEAD -> main) feat: add webhook support
# 8b2d109 fix: correct timezone handling in departure times
# 3f9a0e2 feat: initial flight status endpoint

# Tag an earlier commit
git tag -a v0.9.0 8b2d109 -m "Pre-release: fix timezone bug"

# Push a single tag
git push origin v1.0

# Push all local tags not yet on remote
git push origin --tags

# List all tags (optionally filtered)
git tag
git tag -l "v1.*"

# View tag details
git show v1.0

# Delete a local tag
git tag -d v1.0-lw

# Delete a remote tag
git push origin --delete v1.0-lw
# Or equivalently:
git push origin :refs/tags/v1.0-lw

# Clone a public repository
git clone https://github.com/flightaware/piaware.git

# Clone a private repository (prompted for username and password/token)
git clone https://git.example.com/org/private-repo.git
# Username for 'https://git.example.com': your-username
# Password for '...': your-personal-access-token

# git fetch: download remote changes but do NOT merge them
# Safe to run any time — does not touch your working tree
git fetch origin

# See what changed
git log HEAD..origin/main --oneline

# git pull: fetch + merge (or fetch + rebase if configured)
git pull
# Equivalent to: git fetch && git merge origin/main

# Pull with rebase instead of merge (preferred by many teams)
git pull --rebase
# Or set as default:
git config --global pull.rebase true

# After a merge or rebase hits a conflict:

# 1. See which files have conflicts
git status

# 2. Open each conflicted file, resolve the conflict markers:
#    <<<<<<< HEAD
#    your version
#    =======
#    their version
#    >>>>>>> feature/other-branch

# 3. Stage the resolved files
git add path/to/resolved-file.go

# 4. Continue the merge or rebase
git merge --continue
# or
git rebase --continue

# To abort and return to the pre-conflict state:
git merge --abort
git rebase --abort

# Apply commit abc1234 to the current branch
git cherry-pick abc1234

# Cherry-pick a range of commits
git cherry-pick abc1234^..def5678

# Save current changes to the stash
git stash

# List all stashes
git stash list
# stash@{0}: WIP on feature/xyz: a4c3f21 feat: add webhook support

# Restore the most recent stash
git stash pop

# Apply a specific stash without removing it from the list
git stash apply stash@{1}

# Stash with a descriptive message
git stash push -m "half-done rate limiter refactor"

# Undo the last commit but keep the changes staged
git reset --soft HEAD~1

# Undo the last commit and unstage changes (working directory intact)
git reset --mixed HEAD~1

# Permanently discard the last commit and all its changes
# WARNING: unrecoverable without reflog
git reset --hard HEAD~1

# Safely undo a commit that is already on main (creates a new commit)
git revert a4c3f21