Branch protection rules in GitHub are important for maintaining the integrity of critical branches, such as main or release. These rules help teams enforce code review policies, manage access, and automate workflows to ensure that changes meet quality standards before they are merged. This guide provides a step-by-step approach to setting up branch protection rules in GitHub.
Understanding GitHub branch protection rules
Branch protection rules in GitHub are designed to prevent direct changes to important branches and ensure that all modifications go through a defined workflow. This feature helps teams:
- Prevent errors and code conflicts on important branches.
- Enforce code reviews before merging.
- Automate testing and other checks that confirm changes are safe to deploy.
Setting up branch protection rules in GitHub
Here’s how to configure branch protection rules to secure your branches and streamline your development process:
1. Navigate to your repository settings
- Open your GitHub repository.
- Click on the 'Settings' tab near the top of the repository page.
2. Access the branches section
- In the left sidebar under the repository settings, click on 'Branches'.
3. Add or edit branch protection rules
- You will see a section labeled 'Branch protection rules'.
- Click on 'Add rule' to create a new set of rules, or select an existing rule to edit.
4. Define the branch protection rule
- Apply rule to: Enter the branch name pattern, such as
mainorrelease*, to which these rules will apply. - Branch name pattern: Use wildcard characters to apply rules to multiple branches if necessary.
5. Configure the protection settings
Here are some common settings you might consider enabling:
- Require pull request reviews before merging: Ensure that at least one other person reviews the code before it can be merged.
- Require status checks to pass before merging: Set up required status checks such as continuous integration tests that must pass before merging.
- Require signed commits: Require all commits to be signed with a GPG or S/MIME signature.
- Include administrators: Apply these rules to everyone, including repository administrators.
- Restrict who can push to matching branches: Specify which users or teams can push to the protected branch.
6. Enforce branch protection GitHub workflow
- Review and approve changes: Ensure that only approved changes are merged into the protected branches.
- Automate deployment pipelines: Utilize GitHub Actions or other CI/CD tools to automate builds, tests, and deployments based on successful merges to protected branches.
7. Save the protection rules
- After configuring all the necessary settings, click 'Save changes' at the bottom of the page to enforce the branch protection rules.
Best practices for branch protection
- Regularly review and update your branch protection settings: Keep your rules up-to-date with new development practices or team structures.
- Educate your team on the importance of branch protection: Make sure all team members understand why these rules are in place and how to work with them.
- Use branch protection as part of a comprehensive security and quality strategy: Combine branch protections with other practices such as code scanning and security reviews to maintain high standards.
Use Graphite Protections to go a step further than branch protection rules
Graphite Protections provide a flexible alternative to traditional GitHub branch protection rules. In order to configure Graphite protections:
1. Verify prerequisites
Ensure your organization has the Graphite GitHub app installed. This setup allows Graphite to integrate seamlessly with your GitHub repositories.
2. Navigate to Protections in Graphite
Log into the Graphite web app and navigate to the Protections section where you can manage and create new protection rules.
3. Create a new Protection
Click on Create Protection to start defining your rules. You’ll use a visual editor that guides you through the process, making it user-friendly and straightforward.
4. Define merge requirements
You can set various requirements such as:
- Required CI checks: Ensuring all necessary continuous integration tests pass.
- Number of required approvals: Specifying how many approvals are needed and from which team members.
- Required file approvers: Leveraging a CODEOWNERS-like feature but with more granularity.
5. Customize conditions
Graphite allows setting conditions based on attributes like PR author, affected file paths, PR labels, etc., enabling targeted enforcement of rules tailored to specific needs of the project or team.
6. Implement overrides
Graphite also supports overrides for specific scenarios, such as allowing bypass of certain checks when critical fixes need to be pushed or when the main approver is unavailable.
7. Activation
Once configured, activate these protections. Graphite will continuously monitor PRs against these rules and update their mergeability status in real-time.
Advantages of Graphite protections over traditional GitHub branch protection rules
Flexibility in configuration
Graphite allows detailed, condition-based protection settings that are not possible with GitHub’s more general branch protection rules. This is particularly useful in complex project environments like monorepos, where different sections of the codebase may have different requirements.
Dynamic and contextual protections
Graphite Protections can be dynamically adjusted based on the context of the PR, such as the specific files changed, the branch being merged into, or the identity of the contributor. This adaptability prevents the "one-size-fits-all" approach of traditional GitHub protection rules, which can be either too restrictive or too lenient.
Integration with GitHub
While providing additional capabilities, Graphite Protections seamlessly integrate with existing GitHub setups, including branch protection rules and CODEOWNERS. This means teams can transition without disrupting their current workflows.
Real-time updates and feedback
Graphite provides real-time feedback directly in the PR about what conditions are met or what’s still required for the PR to become mergeable. This ongoing assessment helps streamline the review and merge process, reducing delays and improving efficiency.
Overrides for exception handling
Graphite's ability to handle exceptions through overrides allows for flexibility in urgent situations without compromising the overall security and integrity of the development process. This feature is particularly useful in high-stakes environments where quick adaptability is crucial.
Graphite Protections represent a significant advancement in how protections are applied in modern software development, offering precision and flexibility that traditional GitHub branch protections cannot match.
For more info see the official Graphite Protections docs.
