Git branches and auto integration

Question

my question is regarding git branches and auto integration between them. We have a master branch and a patch branch. Sometimes, when we fix a bug in a patch branch, we forget to push that fix to the master branch. Since this is manual, it's getting hard to track. Is there a way where we can set up some triggers to push any change made to a patch branch automatically into the master branch? Much like perforce's auto integrations?

Answer 1

I would not recommend auto-integration. It effectively negates the purpose of branches. You might as well just commit hot fixes straight to master.

What I would instead recommend is to have a tool for viewing the state of integration. It can be as simple as having a tool which runs git branch --no-merged master periodically.

Also, have a single explicit branch for hot-fixes separate from normal feature and bug fix branches. Delete it once the hot-fix is merged and recreate it as necessary. Always give it the same name so it can be recognized immediately when there's an outstanding hot-fix.