Git Branch Creator for VS Code

The Git Branch Creator extension simplifies the process of creating and switching between Git branches within your Visual Studio Code workspace. It guides users through selecting a Git repository (either the workspace root or a subfolder), choosing a branch prefix (for creating branches), entering a ticket number, and specifying a branch name. This extension is designed to streamline your workflow by enforcing standardized branch naming conventions and facilitating branch management.

Features

• Flexible Repository Selection: Works with both the root workspace and subfolder Git repositories.
• Customizable Branch Prefixes: Configure branch prefixes to match your project's naming conventions for creating new branches.
• Configurable Branch Name Separator: Customize the separator used in branch names to fit your team's standards.
• Interactive Branch Creation: Guides you through each step of the branch creation process with intuitive prompts.
• Efficient Branch Switching: Easily switch between existing local branches with a simple selection from a list, including handling multiple repositories by showing branches common to all.
• Branch Naming Validation: Allows you to validate the naming of all your branches against configured prefixes and a whitelist of branch names. This ensures adherence to your project's branching conventions.

Requirements

• Visual Studio Code 1.40.0 or higher.
• Git must be installed and available in your system's PATH.

Extension Settings

This extension contributes the following settings:

• branch-creator.prefixes: An array of prefixes for branch names. Default is ["feature", "hotfix", "bugfix", "general"].
• branch-creator.branchNameSeparator: The separator used in branch names. Default is -.
• branch-creator.validateWhiteList: List of whitelist branch names that should not be validated. Defaults include ["master", "main", "develop", "staging", "HEAD -> origin/master"].
• branch-creator.isTicketNumberMust: Specifies whether including a ticket number is mandatory for branch naming. Default is true. If set to false, branches can be created without specifying a ticket number.

Installation

1. Open Visual Studio Code.
2. Press Ctrl+Shift+X or navigate to the Extensions view.
3. Search for "Git Branch Creator" and install it.

Usage

Creating a New Branch

1. Open the Command Palette with Ctrl+Shift+P.
2. Type "Create Git Branch" and press Enter.
3. Follow the interactive prompts to select a Git repository, choose a branch prefix, enter a ticket number, and specify a branch name.
4. Confirm the creation of the new branch when prompted.

Switching Between Branches

1. Open the Command Palette with Ctrl+Shift+P.
2. Type "Switch Git Branch" and press Enter.
3. If you have multiple repositories, you'll first select the relevant repository or repositories.
4. Choose from a list of available local branches. If multiple repositories are selected, only the branches common to all selected repositories will be shown.
5. Confirm your selection to switch to the chosen branch.

Validating Branch Names

1. Open the Command Palette with Ctrl+Shift+P.
2. Type "branch creator : Validate Branch" and press Enter.
3. The extension will validate all branch names in your repository against the configured prefixes and whitelist. You will be notified if there are any branches with invalid prefixes.

Customizing

To customize the branch prefixes and name separator:

1. Go to File > Preferences > Settings (or Code > Preferences > Settings on macOS).
2. Search for "Git Branch Creator".
3. Edit the settings directly or click on Edit in settings.json to customize.

Alternatively, you can modify your settings.json directly:

{
  "branch-creator.prefixes": ["feature", "hotfix", "bugfix", "release"],
  "branch-creator.branchNameSeparator": "_",
  "branch-creator.validateWhiteList": ["master", "main", "develop", "staging", "HEAD -> origin/master"],
   "branch-creator.isTicketNumberMust": false
}

Contributing

Contributions are always welcome! If you'd like to contribute, please follow these steps:

1. Fork the repository on GitHub.
2. Create a new branch for your feature or fix.
3. Commit your changes in your feature branch.
4. Push your branch and submit a pull request to the main repository.

When contributing, please keep the following in mind:

• Try to adhere to the coding style used throughout the project.
• Include comments in your code where necessary to explain complex logic.
• Update the README.md with details of changes to the interface or significant logic.

For more detailed information on how to contribute, please refer to the CONTRIBUTING.md file in the repository (if available).

License

This extension is released under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file in the repository for more details.