GitHub Team Collaboration Guide
Table of Contents
1. Initial Setup for Team Members
2. Branching Strategy
3. Daily Workflow
4. Essential Rules and Best Practices
5. Creating Pull Requests
6. Git Commands Explained
7. PR Comparison and Merging
Initial Setup for Team Members
Step 1: Add Collaborators
Go to your repo → Settings → Collaborators and teams
Click "Add people" and enter team members' GitHub usernames
Send invitations to all team members
Step 2: Team Members Clone the Repository
git clone https://github.com/yourusername/your-repo-name.git
cd your-repo-name
Branching Strategy
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Step 3: Establish Branch Structure
main branch: Production-ready code only
develop branch: Integration branch for features
Feature branches: Individual features (feature/login-system, feature/user-
dashboard)
Hotfix branches: Critical bug fixes (hotfix/security-patch)
Step 4: Create and Switch to Development Branch
git checkout -b develop
git push -u origin develop
Daily Workflow
Step 5: Before Starting Work
git checkout develop
git pull origin develop
git checkout -b feature/your-feature-name
Step 6: Making Changes
# Make your changes
git add .
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git commit -m "feat: add user authentication system"
git push -u origin feature/your-feature-name
Step 7: Create Pull Request
Go to GitHub → Pull Requests → New Pull Request
Base: develop , Compare: feature/your-feature-name
Add descriptive title and description
Request reviews from team members
Essential Rules and Best Practices
Commit Message Rules
Use conventional commits: type: description
Types: feat , fix , docs , style , refactor , test , chore
Keep first line under 50 characters
Be descriptive but concise
Code Review Rules
At least 2 approvals required before merging
No direct pushes to main or develop branches
Address all review comments before merging
Test code locally before requesting review
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Branch Protection Rules
Go to Settings → Branches → Add rule for main and develop :
Require pull request reviews before merging
Require status checks to pass
Require branches to be up to date before merging
Include administrators in restrictions
Conflict Resolution
# If conflicts arise during PR
git checkout develop
git pull origin develop
git checkout feature/your-feature-name
git merge develop
# Resolve conflicts manually
git add .
git commit -m "resolve: merge conflicts with develop"
git push origin feature/your-feature-name
Creating Pull Requests
Method 1: Through GitHub Web Interface (Recommended)
Step 1: Push Your Feature Branch
# After making your changes and commits
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git push -u origin feature/your-feature-name
Step 2: Navigate to GitHub
Go to your repository on GitHub
You'll often see a yellow banner saying "Compare & pull request" for your
recently pushed branch
Click that button, OR manually go to the "Pull requests" tab
Step 3: Create Pull Request
Click "New pull request" if you didn't use the banner
Select branches:
Base branch: develop (where you want to merge INTO)
Compare branch: feature/your-feature-name (what you want to merge)
Step 4: Fill Out PR Details
Title: Add user authentication system
Description:
## What does this PR do?
- Implements login/logout functionality
- Adds password hashing with bcrypt
- Creates user session management
## Changes made:
- Added login.js and auth.js files
- Updated database schema for users table
- Added authentication middleware
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## Testing:
- [x] All existing tests pass
- [x] Added new tests for auth functions
- [x] Manually tested login flow
## Screenshots:
[Add screenshots if UI changes]
Closes #123
Git Commands Explained
Repository Setup Commands
git clone https://github.com/username/repo-name.git - Downloads a complete
copy of the repository from GitHub to your local machine
cd your-repo-name - Changes directory (folder) to enter the cloned repository
Branch Management Commands
git checkout -b develop - Creates a new branch called "develop" AND switches
to it
git checkout develop - Switches to an existing branch called "develop"
git push -u origin develop - Pushes the "develop" branch to GitHub and sets up
tracking
Making Changes Commands
git pull origin develop - Downloads latest changes from the "develop" branch
on GitHub
git add . - Stages all changed files for commit
git commit -m "message" - Saves your staged changes with a descriptive message
git push -u origin feature/branch-name - Uploads your new branch and commits
to GitHub
Common Flags Explained
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-b : Create new branch
-u : Set up tracking between local and remote branch
-m : Add message inline
-a : Annotated (for tags)
-d : Delete branch (safe)
-D : Force delete branch
--tags : Include tags when pushing
PR Comparison and Merging
Understanding the PR Comparison
When you create a PR, GitHub shows a diff (difference) between two branches:
Base branch (usually develop or main ) - what you want to merge INTO
Compare branch (your feature/branch-name ) - what you want to merge FROM
Example of what you see:
// login.js
- const password = req.body.password;
+ const password = bcrypt.hash(req.body.password, 10);
// new file: auth.js
+ function validateUser(username, password) {
+ // authentication logic
+ }
Merging Options Explained
Option 1: Create a Merge Commit
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Before:
develop: A---B---C
\
feature: D---E---F
After merge:
develop: A---B---C-------G (merge commit)
\ /
feature: D---E---F
Use when: You want to preserve complete history of feature development
Option 2: Squash and Merge
Before:
develop: A---B---C
feature: D---E---F (3 commits)
After merge:
develop: A---B---C---G (single commit with all changes)
Use when: You want clean history without intermediate commits
Option 3: Rebase and Merge
Before:
develop: A---B---C
feature: D---E---F
After merge:
develop: A---B---C---D'---E'---F' (commits replayed)
Use when: You want linear history without merge commits
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Resolving Merge Conflicts
If GitHub shows conflicts:
# Update your feature branch with latest develop
git checkout feature/user-auth
git fetch origin
git merge origin/develop
# Git will show conflict markers in files:
<<<<<<< HEAD
// Your changes
const user = getUser();
=======
// Changes from develop
const user = fetchUserData();
>>>>>>> develop
# Edit the file to resolve conflicts:
const user = fetchUserData(); // Keep the version you want
# Commit the resolution:
git add .
git commit -m "resolve: merge conflicts with develop"
git push origin feature/user-auth
After Merging - Cleanup
# Switch back to develop
git checkout develop
# Get the latest merged changes
git pull origin develop
# Delete your local feature branch
git branch -d feature/user-auth
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# Clean up remote tracking branches
git remote prune origin
Best Practices for PR Merging
Before Merging:
Ensure all tests pass
Get required number of approvals
Check that feature works as expected
Verify no sensitive data is committed
Merge Strategy Choice:
Squash merge: For feature branches with many small commits
Merge commit: For important features you want to track
Rebase: For clean linear history (advanced teams)
After Merging:
Delete the feature branch
Update any related documentation
Close related issues
Deploy if using continuous deployment
GitHub Team Collaboration Guide
This guide covers the essential workflows for effective team collaboration on
GitHub projects.
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Generated from comprehensive Q&A discussion on GitHub best practices.
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