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Feature Development Workflow

This document outlines the mandatory process for implementing new features or fixes in the locus-tag repository. Adhering to this workflow ensures high code quality, consistent history, and verified stability.

1. Branching Strategy

All new work MUST start from the latest state of the production branch. * Base Branch: origin/main * Feature Branch: Create a descriptive branch name (e.g., feat-simd-optimization or fix-memory-leak). * Action: Always run git fetch origin main before branching to ensure you are starting from the most recent code.

2. Implementation & Local Validation

  • Atomic Commits: Keep commits focused and logically grouped.
  • Standards: Ensure code adheres to Rust and Python style guides found in docs/engineering/.
  • Tests: New features must include corresponding tests.
  • Pre-flight Check: Run uv lock --check and cargo check --all-features locally before pushing.

3. Pull Requests

Once implementation is complete, a Pull Request (PR) must be opened. * Title: Concise and descriptive. * Description: Briefly explain the "what" and "why" of the change. * CI Dependency: Never merge a PR until all CI status checks (linting, tests, cross-compilation) have passed.

4. Merging Protocol

To ensure that CI tests are fully respected and the branch history remains clean, merging should be automated via the GitHub CLI.

The Mandatory Merge Command: 

gh pr merge --auto -r -d
* --auto: Enables auto-merge (merges automatically once requirements are met). * -r (--rebase): Uses a rebase merge to maintain a linear history. * -d (--delete-branch): Automatically deletes the feature branch after a successful merge.

5. Post-Merge

After the PR is merged, switch back to main and pull the latest changes: 

git checkout main
git pull origin main