Lab 8 · Git & GitHub Lab: Branch, Commit, Pull Request Workflow

🎯 Objective

Practise the exact collaboration workflow used by real software teams — not just git add and push to main.

🧩 Skills You Will Practice

• Branching and merging
• Commit message discipline
• Pull requests and code review
• README documentation

🧰 What You Need

• Git installed
• Free GitHub account
• A practice repository (use your Lab 7 to-do app)
• Terminal or VS Code integrated terminal

📋 Step-by-Step Tasks

1. Initialise or clone your practice repo, confirm git status is clean on main, and add a README describing the project, features and how to run it. Commit: docs: add README.
2. Create a feature branch: git checkout -b feature/task-counter. Never do feature work directly on main in this lab.
3. Make one focused change on the branch (for example the tasks-remaining counter). Run git diff and read every line before staging it — professionals review their own diff first.
4. Commit in the conventional style: feat: add remaining tasks counter. Push the branch with git push -u origin feature/task-counter.
5. Open a Pull Request on GitHub: write a title, a What changed / How to test description, and link the PR to the lab. Read the Files changed tab as a reviewer would.
6. Add one review-style comment to your own PR noting a risk or improvement, then merge the PR, delete the branch on GitHub, and pull the updated main locally.
7. Repeat once more with a second small branch for a bug fix (fix:) so your history shows both a feature and a fix merged through PRs.

✅ Expected Result / Deliverable

A GitHub repository whose history shows main protected by workflow: 2 feature branches, conventional commits, 2 merged PRs with descriptions — link-ready for a portfolio.

⚠️ Common Mistakes

• Committing everything in one giant update commit
• Writing PR descriptions like changes or fixed stuff
• Merging without reading Files changed
• Committing passwords or keys — treat anything pushed as public forever