git-flow-next CONFIGURATION.md

Configuration Reference

This document provides a comprehensive reference for all git-flow-next configuration options. All configuration is stored in Git configuration using the gitflow.* key namespace.

Configuration Overview

git-flow-next uses a hierarchical configuration system with three levels of precedence:

Branch Type Configuration (gitflow.branch.) - Default behavior for branch types Command-Specific Overrides (gitflow..) - Override defaults for specific commands Command-Line Arguments - Highest priority - always override configuration Core System Configuration

System Settings

Key Description Default Example gitflow.version Internal version marker for compatibility 1.0 1.0 gitflow.initialized Marks repository as git-flow initialized false true gitflow.origin Remote name to use for operations origin upstream gitflow.remote Alias for gitflow.origin origin upstream Branch Type Configuration

Branch type configuration defines the default behavior for each branch type using the pattern: gitflow.branch..

Universal Branch Properties

All branch types (both base and topic) support these properties:

Property Description Values Default type Branch type classification base, topic Required parent Parent branch for this branch type Branch name Varies by type startPoint Default branch to start from Branch name Same as parent upstreamStrategy Strategy when merging TO parent merge, rebase, squash merge downstreamStrategy Strategy when updating FROM parent merge, rebase merge autoUpdate Auto-update from parent on finish true, false false Topic Branch Additional Properties

Topic branches support additional properties:

Property Description Values Default prefix Branch name prefix String ending in / / tag Create tags on finish true, false false tagprefix Prefix for created tags String "" deleteRemote Delete remote branch by default true, false false Default Branch Types

Base Branches

Main branch (production releases)

gitflow.branch.main.type=base gitflow.branch.main.parent= # No parent (root) gitflow.branch.main.upstreamStrategy=merge gitflow.branch.main.downstreamStrategy=merge gitflow.branch.main.autoUpdate=false

Develop branch (integration)

gitflow.branch.develop.type=base gitflow.branch.develop.parent=main gitflow.branch.develop.startPoint=main gitflow.branch.develop.upstreamStrategy=merge gitflow.branch.develop.downstreamStrategy=merge gitflow.branch.develop.autoUpdate=true # Auto-updates from main Topic Branches

Feature branches

gitflow.branch.feature.type=topic gitflow.branch.feature.parent=develop gitflow.branch.feature.startPoint=develop gitflow.branch.feature.prefix=feature/ gitflow.branch.feature.upstreamStrategy=merge gitflow.branch.feature.downstreamStrategy=rebase gitflow.branch.feature.tag=false gitflow.branch.feature.autoUpdate=false

Release branches

gitflow.branch.release.type=topic gitflow.branch.release.parent=main gitflow.branch.release.startPoint=develop gitflow.branch.release.prefix=release/ gitflow.branch.release.upstreamStrategy=merge gitflow.branch.release.downstreamStrategy=merge gitflow.branch.release.tag=true gitflow.branch.release.tagprefix=v gitflow.branch.release.autoUpdate=false

Hotfix branches

gitflow.branch.hotfix.type=topic gitflow.branch.hotfix.parent=main gitflow.branch.hotfix.startPoint=main gitflow.branch.hotfix.prefix=hotfix/ gitflow.branch.hotfix.upstreamStrategy=merge gitflow.branch.hotfix.downstreamStrategy=merge gitflow.branch.hotfix.tag=true gitflow.branch.hotfix.tagprefix=v gitflow.branch.hotfix.autoUpdate=false Custom Branch Types

You can define custom branch types by setting the appropriate configuration:

Example: Support branches

gitflow.branch.support.type=topic gitflow.branch.support.parent=main gitflow.branch.support.startPoint=main gitflow.branch.support.prefix=support/ gitflow.branch.support.tag=true gitflow.branch.support.tagprefix=support- Command-Specific Configuration

Command-specific configuration overrides branch defaults using the pattern: gitflow...

Finish Command Options

The finish command supports per-branch-type configuration:

Option Description Values Default merge Override merge strategy merge, rebase, squash From branch config notag Disable tag creation true, false Opposite of branch tag sign Sign created tags true, false false signingkey GPG key for signing Key ID Git default messagefile File containing tag message File path None keep Keep branch after finish true, false false keepremote Keep remote branch true, false false keeplocal Keep local branch true, false false force-delete Force delete branch true, false false fetch Fetch before operation true, false false Examples

Override feature finish to use rebase

gitflow.feature.finish.merge=rebase

Disable tags for feature branches

gitflow.feature.finish.notag=true

Sign all release tags

gitflow.release.finish.sign=true gitflow.release.finish.signingkey=ABC123DEF

Keep hotfix branches locally after finish

gitflow.hotfix.finish.keeplocal=true Update Command Options

Option Description Values Default downstreamStrategy Override update strategy merge, rebase From branch config Examples

Force rebase for feature updates

gitflow.feature.downstreamStrategy=rebase

Use merge for release updates

gitflow.release.downstreamStrategy=merge Configuration Precedence

git-flow-next follows a strict three-layer precedence hierarchy:

Layer 1: Branch Configuration (Lowest Priority)

Default behavior from gitflow.branch..* settings

gitflow.branch.release.tag=true Layer 2: Command-Specific Overrides (Medium Priority)

Command-specific settings from gitflow...*

gitflow.release.finish.notag=true # Overrides branch default Layer 3: Command-Line Arguments (Highest Priority)

Command-line flags always win

git flow release finish v1.0 --tag # Overrides all config Legacy Compatibility

Git-Flow-AVH Compatibility

git-flow-next automatically imports configuration from git-flow-avh installations:

AVH Key git-flow-next Equivalent Description gitflow.branch.master gitflow.branch.main Main branch name gitflow.branch.develop gitflow.branch.develop Develop branch name gitflow.prefix.feature gitflow.branch.feature.prefix Feature prefix gitflow.prefix.release gitflow.branch.release.prefix Release prefix gitflow.prefix.hotfix gitflow.branch.hotfix.prefix Hotfix prefix gitflow.prefix.support gitflow.branch.support.prefix Support prefix gitflow.prefix.versiontag gitflow.branch.*.tagprefix Tag prefix Migration from git-flow-avh

Automatic Import: Run git flow init to automatically import existing configuration Manual Migration: Use the mapping table above to convert AVH config to git-flow-next format Verification: Run git flow overview to verify imported configuration Configuration Examples

Simple GitHub Flow

Minimal configuration - feature branches only

git config gitflow.branch.main.type base git config gitflow.branch.feature.type topic git config gitflow.branch.feature.parent main git config gitflow.branch.feature.prefix feature/ Traditional Git-Flow

Full git-flow with main, develop, and all topic types

git config gitflow.branch.main.type base git config gitflow.branch.develop.type base git config gitflow.branch.develop.parent main git config gitflow.branch.develop.autoUpdate true

git config gitflow.branch.feature.type topic git config gitflow.branch.feature.parent develop git config gitflow.branch.feature.prefix feature/

git config gitflow.branch.release.type topic git config gitflow.branch.release.parent main git config gitflow.branch.release.startPoint develop git config gitflow.branch.release.tag true git config gitflow.branch.release.tagprefix v

git config gitflow.branch.hotfix.type topic git config gitflow.branch.hotfix.parent main git config gitflow.branch.hotfix.tag true git config gitflow.branch.hotfix.tagprefix v Custom Workflow

Custom branch types with specific merge strategies

git config gitflow.branch.bugfix.type topic git config gitflow.branch.bugfix.parent develop git config gitflow.branch.bugfix.prefix bugfix/ git config gitflow.branch.bugfix.upstreamStrategy squash

Custom finish behavior

git config gitflow.bugfix.finish.notag true git config gitflow.bugfix.finish.keep true Configuration Management

Viewing Configuration

View all git-flow configuration

git config --get-regexp '^gitflow.'

View branch-specific configuration

git config --get-regexp '^gitflow.branch.feature.'

View command-specific configuration

git config --get-regexp '^gitflow.feature.finish.' Setting Configuration

Set branch type configuration

git config gitflow.branch.feature.upstreamStrategy rebase

Set command-specific configuration

git config gitflow.feature.finish.merge squash

Set global configuration (all repositories)

git config --global gitflow.feature.finish.notag true Removing Configuration

Remove specific setting

git config --unset gitflow.feature.finish.merge

Remove all git-flow configuration (reset)

git config --remove-section gitflow Best Practices

Start with defaults - Use git flow init --defaults for standard configuration Customize gradually - Override only what you need to change Document team conventions - Use consistent configuration across team repositories Use command precedence - Rely on command-line flags for one-off operations Test configuration - Use git flow overview to verify your setup Backup configuration - Export configuration before major changes: git config --get-regexp '^gitflow.' > gitflow-backup.txt