# Branch Types & Envs

This guide outlines how our Git branches align with AWS environments and drive automated deployments. It covers environment branches, short‑lived development branches (feature, release, hotfix), and a release strategy that tracks versions across stages.

# Environment Branches

The environment branches below mirror the names of our AWS environments. This one-to-one mapping means that when code is committed to any of these branches, it is automatically deployed to the corresponding AWS environment.

Branch	Environment	Purpose
`dev`	Development	Developer sandbox for coding and validating tests
`qa`	Quality Assurance	Stable code available for cross‑team testing
`pent`	Penetration Testing	Isolated environment for penetration testing and security validation
`preprod1`	Pre-Production	Staging that mirrors production; releases here have passed their feed cycles
`prod1`	Production	Customer‑facing applications running stable released code

These Environment branches form the backbone of our deployment pipeline, enabling consistent and reliable delivery across various stages of our lifecycle.

# AWS Environment Mapping

Our AWS accounts host the following environments:

BPO-Dev: Contains dev, qa, and preprod1 environments
BPO-Pent: Contains pent environment
BPO-Prod: Contains prod1 environment

# Development Branches

While our environment branches establish our deployment targets, we use short-lived branches to organize active development work.

# Feature Branches

Feature branches focus on a single unit of work:

Created from the current release branch
Scope limited to one task or a related set of changes
Requires code review before merging into dev
Once stable and meeting acceptance criteria, open a pull request to the release branch

Naming Convention: Must use semantic prefixes. For detailed naming conventions and examples, see Best Practices.

# Release Branches

Release branches collect all work related to a specific release:

Branch Pattern	Example	Purpose
`release/<release-number>`	`release/2503`, `release/2504`	Integrates features for a specific release and enables controlled deployments

Characteristics:

Created at the start of a new release cycle
Integration points for features ready to ship
Used for deploying across environments
Used for hotfixes between releases

# Hotfix Branches

Hotfix branches are for urgent production fixes:

Created from a hotfix release branch (e.g., release/2509.2 if prior hotfixes exist)
Only for issues discovered after production deployment
Must be merged back into the originating release branch and the next active release branch

# Branch Lifecycle Management

Keep the last six release branches active
Delete older release branches
Clean up feature branches after they're merged and the sprint is complete