Handbook

Forge SDLC branching charge pack

This pack turns branching adoption into Forge-native daily Charges: copy one charge at a time into forge/charge.md (or run it as a focused session) and execute the Sparks in order.

Canonical location (blueprints): this folder — sdlc/methodologies/forge/setup/charge-plans/branching/.

Consuming repo: copy or symlink the folder to forge/charge-plans/branching/ so paths match the workflow below.

Non-negotiable: do not create charge/* Git branches. Charge is the daily selection layer. It may point at product/*, iter/*, spark/*, spike/*, release/*, or hotfix/*, but it is never itself a branch name.

Policy baseline: Git branching and commit conventions (Forge).

Product Spark (parent context)

Field Value
ID PS-BRANCH-01
Name Forge-native branching orchestration
Outcome A branching policy aligned with Forge planning objects (Ore, Ingot, Spark, iteration, Assay), plus a Branch Steward workflow so Cursor performs just-in-time Git actions without treating Charge as a branch.

Iteration plan

F1 — Profile and policy

Goal: Freeze the setup profile that drives branch behavior, map Forge objects to Git, and define promotion rules.

Charge File
01 Charge — F1 / setup profile and branching baseline
02 Charge — F1 / Forge-to-Git mapping and exceptions
03 Charge — F1 / promotion, parent integration, and protected flow

Suggested checkpoints

  • Architecture lens on repo topology and submodule or polyrepo impact.
  • Governance lens on protected branches and release promotion rules.

F2 — Branch Steward and automation

Goal: Define the Branch Steward contract, Cursor behavior, and optional helper scripts or tasklets.

Charge File
04 Charge — F2 / Branch Steward contract and decision tree
05 Charge — F2 / Cursor rule and Git action scaffolding
06 Charge — F2 / multi-repo, banking, and hotfix flows

Suggested checkpoints

  • Engineering lens on command safety and branch naming.
  • DevOps lens on CI coupling, PR gates, and merge automation.

F3 — Verification and rollout

Goal: Exercise the branching model across setup profiles and prepare adoption evidence.

Charge File
07 Charge — F3 / scenario verification across setup profiles
08 Charge — F3 / rollout, migration, and Assay preparation

Suggested checkpoints

  • Product or PM lens on rollout clarity.
  • Governance lens on final release evidence and migration path.

Default assumptions

Use these unless the project already decided otherwise:

Dimension Default
Team size Small team (2–5)
Product stage MVP
Iteration length 1 week
Ceremony weight Standard
CI/CD maturity Standard
AI comfort Advanced
Repo topology Single repo until proven otherwise

Profile switches

Solo plus PoC

  • Collapse Charges 01–03 into one shorter pass.
  • Skip the Product Spark parent branch unless the repo is risky or long-running.
  • Keep most work on the iteration branch.
  • Use dedicated spark/* branches only for risky build: or verify: work.

Team or multi-team

  • Run all eight charges.
  • Enable Product Spark parent branch when work spans multiple iterations, teams, or repos.
  • Require PR-based promotion into iter/*, then from iter/* into parent or main (as documented in charge 03).

Polyrepo or submodule-based

CI/CD basic or none

  • Keep human review explicit.
  • Replace automated merge assumptions with manual checklists and Ember Log evidence.

CI/CD advanced

  • Add branch protection, required checks, and release gating during Charges 03, 05, and 08.

How to use in Cursor

  1. Keep this folder at forge/charge-plans/branching/ in the consuming repo (copy from blueprints or submodule path).
  2. Copy one charge file body into forge/charge.md as the day’s Spark list, or work the charge as a checklist alongside Charge.
  3. Paste Cursor preamble for the ForgeSDLC branching charges into the first Cursor message for the session.
  4. Work active Sparks in order; update statuses and Ember Log / journal as your team defines.
  5. When a Spark is blocked, use Banking (see Charge template) instead of inventing a new branch type.

File list

File Purpose
Forge SDLC branching charge pack This pack overview
Cursor preamble for the ForgeSDLC branching charges Session opener for Cursor
Optional exploration spikes for the branching initiative Run only when genuine unknowns remain
Charge — F1 / setup profile and branching baseline F1 — profile
Charge — F1 / Forge-to-Git mapping and exceptions F1 — mapping
Charge — F1 / promotion, parent integration, and protected flow F1 — promotion
Charge — F2 / Branch Steward contract and decision tree F2 — steward
Charge — F2 / Cursor rule and Git action scaffolding F2 — Cursor + git
Charge — F2 / multi-repo, banking, and hotfix flows F2 — multi-repo
Charge — F3 / scenario verification across setup profiles F3 — scenarios
Charge — F3 / rollout, migration, and Assay preparation F3 — rollout