Introduction
Purpose
A guide to working with source control. Following it helps you meet our requirements for developing software described in our Software development handbook.
Further reading and information
Scope
In-scope
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Good practices for using source control and conducting code reviews.
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Strategies for organising Git repositories.
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Strategies for branching and merging.
Out-of-scope
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In depth guidance for creating and configuring Git repos. See our Azure DevOps handbook for details.
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This guide is for Azure DevOps users, specifically those using Azure Repos. GitHub users may find it helpful, but it is not tailored for them.
Practical tips
Some links in this handbook now point to GitHub resources - as Microsoft increasingly promotes GitHub in marketing and training.
References
Conventions
The key words MUST, MUST NOT, REQUIRED, SHALL, SHALL NOT, SHOULD, SHOULD NOT, RECOMMENDED, MAY, and OPTIONAL in this document are to be interpreted as described in RFC 2119.
Practical tips
Practical tips
Examples of good practice
Examples of good practice...
Practices to avoid
...and practices to avoid
Further reading and information
Links to further guides, information and work instructions. If a hyperlink is missing, search for the document in our Document Management System.
The need for guidance
Source control, or version control, helps you stay organised by tracking changes to your files as you fix bugs or add features. It lets you easily revert to earlier versions when needed,
Using our source control systems helps you comply with company Disaster Recovery policies.