From Local Project to CI/CD Pipeline: Two Git Workflows (Simple vs Git Flow)

When setting up a CI/CD pipeline, especially in a constrained environment like a fresh VM or a time-limited setup, it is tempting to use a complex Git workflow with multiple branches. But in practice, complexity often creates more problems than it solves. If your goal is to get a working CI/CD pipeline running quickly and reliably, the safest approach is often the simplest one. This article explains a practical, minimal-risk Git workflow that helps you: set up CI/CD quickly avoid common mistakes focus on delivering a working pipeline Why Keep It Simple Workflows like Git Flow are powerful, but they also introduce more complexity: pushing to the wrong branch pipelines not triggering misconfigured jobs wasted time debugging Git instead of CI/CD If your main objective is to get the pipeline working, you want: clarity predictability fewer points of failure Recommended Strategy: Single Branch Workflow Core Idea Use one branch only: main Everything happens on that branch. Why this works Less