BranchGen

BranchGen is a command-line tool designed to simplify the process of creating git branches with standardized naming conventions. This tool is highly configurable, ensuring it meets the diverse requirements of teams and workflows.

Key Features

• Customizable Branch Naming: Supports prefixes like feature, bugfix, hotfix for branch types.
• Automated Versioning: Automatically appends version numbers to branch names to avoid conflicts (configurable).
• Validation for Naming Standards: Ensures branch names and ticket IDs conform to specified patterns.
• Retry Logic: Prompts users to retry if the branch already exists (if automated versioning is disabled).
• Remote Branch Integration: Ensures compatibility with existing remote branches.

Installation

npm install -g branch-gen

Why Use BranchGen?

Manually creating branches often leads to inconsistent naming, which can confuse teams and complicate workflows. For example:

Problem Case:

• Developers on your team create branches with inconsistent names like:
  • feature-add_login
  • bugfix/login_bug
  • hotfix/criticalFix

These variations cause confusion and make it difficult to search, manage, and enforce naming conventions across the repository.

How BranchGen Helps:

• By using BranchGen, you can:
  • Standardize branch names (e.g., feature/PROJ-123-add-login).
  • Ensure ticket IDs follow a specific pattern (e.g., PROJ-123).
  • Automatically append version numbers to avoid branch conflicts.
  • Simplify workflows by reducing human error and maintaining consistency.

Configuration

BranchGen uses a configuration file named branchgen-config.json to customize its behavior. If the file is not found, default settings are applied.

Default Configuration

{
  "prefixes": ["feature", "bugfix", "hotfix"],
  "separator": "/",
  "maxBranchNameLength": 15,
  "ticketPattern": "^[A-Z]+-[0-9]+$",
  "defaultSourceBranch": "main",
  "branchNameSeparator": "-",
  "useAutomatedVersioning": true,
  "requireTicket": false,
  "requireBranchName": true
}

Options Explained

• prefixes: List of branch types available for selection (e.g., feature, bugfix).
• separator: Character used to separate the branch type from the rest of the branch name.
• maxBranchNameLength: Maximum length allowed for a branch name.
• ticketPattern: Regex pattern for validating ticket IDs (e.g., PROJ-123).
• defaultSourceBranch: Default branch to check out before creating a new branch.
• branchNameSeparator: Character used to replace spaces in branch names.
• useAutomatedVersioning: Enables/disables automated numbering for duplicate branch names.
• requireTicket: Enforces ticket ID input.
• requireBranchName: Enforces branch name input.

Usage

npx branch-gen

Run the script and follow the prompts to generate a branch name and create the branch.

Example Workflow

1. Select a branch type (e.g., feature).
2. Enter a ticket ID if required (e.g., PROJ-123).
3. Provide a branch name (e.g., add new feature).
4. Choose a source branch from the list of remote branches.
5. BranchGen checks out the source branch, pulls the latest changes, and creates the new branch.

Handling Duplicate Branch Names

• If useAutomatedVersioning is enabled, BranchGen appends version numbers (e.g., feature/PROJ-123-add-new-feature-1).
• If useAutomatedVersioning is disabled, you are prompted to retry with a different branch name.

Error Handling

• No Remote Branches Found: If no remote branches exist, the script exits with an error.
• Invalid Ticket ID: If the ticket ID does not match the specified pattern, the script prompts for a valid ID.
• Branch Name Too Long: If the branch name exceeds the maximum allowed length, you are prompted to retry.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Feel free to submit issues or pull requests.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details.