gitflow-helper

gitflow-helper

A single static binary that enforces the git-flow branching model with an interactive TUI for humans and a --json mode for AI agents. Detects your IDE (Cursor / VS Code Copilot) and generates pre-flight rules automatically.

Features

• 15 CLI commands covering the full gitflow lifecycle: status, pull, push, start, finish, sync, switch, backmerge, cleanup, health, doctor, log, undo, releasenotes, init
• Interactive TUI with dashboard, action menu, command palette, and help overlay
• JSON mode (--json) for seamless integration with AI agents (Cursor, Copilot, Claude Code, etc.)
• IDE detection — automatically generates .cursor/rules/, .github/copilot-instructions.md, or AGENTS.md
• Zero runtime dependencies — static binary, only needs git (no git-flow extensions required)
• Cross-platform — Linux x86_64, Windows x86_64, macOS universal (x86 + ARM)
• Embedded gitflow skill — gitflow setup installs or updates SKILL.md in .agents/skills/gitflow/ or ~/.agents/skills/gitflow/

Install

From GitHub Releases

Download the latest binary for your platform from the Releases page.

# macOS (universal binary — works on Intel and Apple Silicon)
curl -Lo gitflow https://github.com/novaemx/gitflow-helper/releases/latest/download/gitflow-darwin-universal
chmod +x gitflow
sudo mv gitflow /usr/local/bin/

# Linux x86_64
curl -Lo gitflow https://github.com/novaemx/gitflow-helper/releases/latest/download/gitflow-linux-amd64
chmod +x gitflow
sudo mv gitflow /usr/local/bin/

# Windows x86_64
# Download gitflow-windows-amd64.exe and add to PATH

From Source

go install github.com/novaemx/gitflow-helper/cmd/gitflow@latest

Build Locally

git clone https://github.com/novaemx/gitflow-helper.git
cd gitflow-helper
make build          # current platform
make build-all      # all platforms
make universal      # macOS universal binary

Quick Start

# Initialize gitflow in your project
gitflow init

# Auto-detect your IDE and generate rules
gitflow setup

# Launch the interactive TUI
gitflow

Usage

Interactive TUI

Run gitflow without arguments to launch the full-screen dashboard:

• j/k or arrow keys to navigate
• Enter to execute an action
• / to open the command palette (type to filter)
• ? for help
• r to refresh
• q to quit

CLI Commands

All commands support --json for machine-readable output.

gitflow status                     # repo state dashboard
gitflow pull                       # safe fetch + fast-forward merge
gitflow push                       # push current branch (target-aware)
gitflow push develop               # push current branch to target branch with validation
gitflow start feature my-feature   # start a feature branch
gitflow start bugfix fix-name      # start a bugfix branch
gitflow start release 1.2.0        # start a release
gitflow start hotfix 1.1.1         # start a hotfix
gitflow finish                     # finish current flow branch
gitflow sync                       # sync branch with parent
gitflow switch develop             # switch to a branch
gitflow backmerge                  # merge main into develop
gitflow cleanup                    # delete merged branches
gitflow health                     # full repo health audit
gitflow doctor                     # validate prerequisites
gitflow log -n 20                  # gitflow-aware commit log
gitflow undo                       # undo last operation (reflog)
gitflow releasenotes               # generate RELEASE_NOTES.md
gitflow init                       # initialize git-flow
gitflow setup                      # detect IDE & generate rules
gitflow setup --ide cursor         # force Cursor rules only
gitflow setup --ide copilot        # force Copilot instructions only

JSON Mode (for AI Agents)

gitflow --json status
gitflow --json push feature/add-csv-export
gitflow --json start feature add-csv-export
gitflow --json finish

Exit codes: 0 success, 1 error, 2 conflict needing human intervention.

IDE Setup

Run gitflow setup once per project. It auto-detects your IDE and creates:

These files instruct the AI agent to run gitflow --json status before modifying any code, and the embedded skill is auto-updated if its content changes in newer gitflow binaries.

What AGENTS.md Is For

AGENTS.md is a repository-level instruction file for AI coding agents. It defines mandatory workflow rules (for example, gitflow pre-flight checks, branch routing, and safety constraints) that the agent should follow before making code changes.

gitflow setup generates AGENTS.md when an IDE/agent does not use a dedicated rules format as its primary instruction source, or when a generic fallback instruction file is needed.

IDEs/Agents That Use AGENTS.md

In this project, AGENTS.md is primarily used (or used as fallback) by these environments:

• Zed
• Neovim-based agent setups
• JetBrains-based agent setups
• Unknown or generic agent-compatible IDEs

For Cursor and VS Code Copilot, the primary files are .cursor/rules/gitflow-preflight.mdc and .github/copilot-instructions.md respectively, while AGENTS.md remains the compatibility fallback for other tools.

Copilot-Specific Notes

To ensure the embedded gitflow skill works in Copilot end-to-end:

1. Install gitflow binary and make sure it is in PATH.
2. Run gitflow setup --ide copilot in your repository root.
3. Verify these files exist:

• .github/copilot-instructions.md
• .vscode/mcp.json (contains "gitflow" server using gitflow serve)
• .agents/skills/gitflow/SKILL.md

If gitflow is not in PATH when setup runs, MCP config still gets generated, but command execution will fail until PATH is fixed.

Embedded Skill

gitflow setup now installs the gitflow skill from the binary itself.

• Project-local install for supported IDEs: .agents/skills/gitflow/SKILL.md
• User-level fallback for unsupported IDEs: ~/.agents/skills/gitflow/SKILL.md

If the embedded skill content changes in a newer binary, gitflow setup updates the installed SKILL.md automatically.

Configuration

Create a .gitflow.json in your project root for custom settings:

{
  "remote": "origin",
  "main_branch": "main",
  "develop_branch": "develop",
  "version_file": "package.json",
  "version_pattern": "\"version\"\\s*:\\s*\"([^\"]+)\"",
  "tag_prefix": "v",
  "bump_command": "npm version {part} --no-git-tag-version"
}

If absent, the tool auto-detects common version files (package.json, pyproject.toml, Cargo.toml, etc.) and uses git tags for versioning.

Building

make build        # build for current platform
make build-all    # cross-compile linux/windows/macOS
make universal    # create macOS universal binary with lipo
make test         # run tests
make vet          # run go vet
make release-local                    # build release artifacts locally (no publish)
make publish-github TAG=v0.5.12       # create/update GitHub release and upload local artifacts
make publish-homebrew TAG=v0.5.12     # update Homebrew formula checksums/URLs
make publish-winget TAG=v0.5.12       # update Winget manifest checksum/URL
make publish-choco TAG=v0.5.12        # update Chocolatey metadata checksum/URL
make publish-all TAG=v0.5.12          # do all of the above in one command
make install      # install to GOPATH/bin

Local-Only Release Policy

This repository does not use GitHub Actions to compile binaries.

• All release binaries are built locally on maintainer machines.
• GitHub Releases are used only as artifact hosting/distribution.
• Homebrew, Winget, and Chocolatey manifests point to those GitHub Release artifacts.

Publish Flow (No Cloud Build)

# Create/update the GitHub release and upload locally-built binaries
make publish-github TAG=v0.5.12

# Refresh package manifests to point at that GitHub release
make publish-homebrew TAG=v0.5.12
make publish-winget TAG=v0.5.12
make publish-choco TAG=v0.5.12

# Or do everything in one shot
make publish-all TAG=v0.5.12

License

MIT. See LICENSE.

Author

Luis Lozano