git-safety

Core Principle

Prefer stash + cherry-pick to move work between branches. Avoid git rebase and force pushes unless absolutely necessary.

When switching context, stash first

If the working tree is not clean:

git status
git stash push -u -m "wip: <short description>"

When you need to move work to a different base branch

Prefer replaying commits rather than rebasing a branch:

1. Create a fresh branch from the up-to-date default branch (main or master, depending on the repo):
   bash

   DEFAULT_BRANCH=$(git symbolic-ref refs/remotes/origin/HEAD | sed 's@^refs/remotes/origin/@@')
   git checkout "$DEFAULT_BRANCH"
   git pull origin "$DEFAULT_BRANCH"
   git checkout -b <type>/<branch-name>-v2

2. Cherry-pick the relevant commit(s):
   bash

   git cherry-pick <sha1> <sha2> ...

When you have uncommitted work that needs to move

Convert it into a safe, transferable unit:

git stash push -u -m "wip: <short description>"
# Switch to the target branch
git stash pop
# Commit the result

Force push policy

• Default: do not force push.
• If you must rewrite history:
  • Prefer opening a new PR from a new branch rather than rewriting an existing PR branch.
  • If you still must force push, use --force-with-lease (never plain --force).

Avoid these commands

Unless explicitly directed to do so:

• git reset --hard
• git clean -fd
• git rebase (prefer cherry-pick/merge)
• Force pushes