Git Workflow skill for OpenCode

Most Git workflow problems come from not understanding what the tools actually do, not from choosing the wrong strategy. Learn the mechanics and the strategy becomes obvious.

Branching model

Use a simple trunk-based workflow:

main ← production-ready
  └── feature/short-description ← your work

• main is always deployable
• Feature branches are short-lived (hours to days, not weeks)
• Delete branches after merge
• Never commit directly to main

Branch naming: type/short-description

feat/user-avatar-upload
fix/checkout-timeout
chore/update-deps

Merge vs rebase

Rebase to clean up your local commits before sharing:

git rebase -i main

This rewrites history on your branch only. Safe because nobody else has your commits yet.

Merge to bring feature branches together:

git merge feature/branch

Creates a merge commit that ties the histories together.

The rule: rebase your own unpushed commits, merge everything else. Never rebase commits that are already on main or shared with others.

Interactive rebase

Clean up a messy branch before opening a PR:

git rebase -i HEAD~5

Common operations:

• pick → keep the commit as-is
• squash → combine with the previous commit
• fixup → like squash but discard the commit message
• reword → keep the commit, edit the message
• drop → remove the commit entirely

Workflow:

1. Squash “WIP” and “fix typo” commits into the meaningful ones
2. Rewrite commit messages to follow conventions
3. Reorder commits so the logical flow is clear

Stashing

Save work-in-progress without committing:

git stash push -m "WIP: halfway through refactor"
git stash list
git stash pop

Use stashes for context switches, not long-term storage. If a stash exists for more than a day, it should be a commit or thrown away.

Recovery

Undo a commit (keep changes):

git reset --soft HEAD~1

Undo a commit (discard changes):

git reset --hard HEAD~1

Recover a deleted branch:

git reflog
git checkout -b recovered-branch <sha>

Undo a bad rebase:

git reflog
git reset --hard <pre-rebase-sha>

The reflog is your safety net. Almost nothing is permanently lost in Git.

See references/interactive-rebase.md for more rebase patterns.

When it triggers

• merging branches
• rebasing onto main
• cleaning up commit history
• recovering from a bad rebase

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