🚀 Release & Hotfix Process

This document outlines the standard branching and merging workflows for hotfixes, patch releases, and regular releases. It ensures consistency across repositories and minimizes conflicts between main, develop, and release branches.

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🔥 Hotfix Process

Used for urgent production fixes.

Steps: 1. Branch off hotfix/ from main. 2. Branch off release/x.x.y from main. 3. Merge hotfix/ into release/x.x.y. 4. Open a PR from release/x.x.y → main. 5. Test the release/x.x.y branch. 6. Merge into main once validated. 7. Back-merge changes from main into develop to keep branches in sync.

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🩹 Patch Release

Used for minor non-urgent fixes or cherry-picked commits from develop.

Steps: 1. Branch off release/x.x.y from main. 2. Cherry-pick the necessary commit(s) from develop into release/x.x.y. 3. Test the release/x.x.y branch. 4. Merge into main. 5. Back-merge the patch changes into affected branches (develop, feature branches, etc.).

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🧭 Regular Release

Used for scheduled feature or version releases.

Steps: 1. Create a feature branch from develop (feat/*). 2. Open a PR to develop and merge once reviewed. 3. Test the develop branch for integration readiness. 4. Open a PR from develop → staging for final validation. 5. Cut a new release branch from main (release/x.x.y). 6. Open a PR from release/x.x.y → main to publish the release.