Notepad++ MCP Server

# 🌿 Branch Strategy & AI Collaboration Workflow **Your Safe AI Playground with Production Protection** --- ## 🎯 **Branch Structure (Now Set Up)** ``` ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ main [PROTECTED] Production │ ← Users get this │ ↑ Pull Request only │ │ │ │ │ develop [INTEGRATION] Testing │ ← Stable features │ ↑ Pull Request after testing │ │ │ │ │ feature/experimental [PLAYGROUND] AI Creativity │ ← GO WILD HERE! │ ↑ Anything goes! │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ``` ### **Created Branches** ✅ **main** - Production (already exists) ✅ **develop** - Integration branch (just created) ✅ **feature/experimental** - AI playground (just created) --- ## 🛡️ **Branch Protection Rules** ### **Why Enable Protection?** **Without protection**, Cursor/AI could: - ❌ Force push to main (losing history) - ❌ Delete main branch - ❌ Push broken code directly - ❌ Bypass reviews **With protection**: - ✅ AI can't accidentally destroy main - ✅ All changes go through PR review - ✅ Tests must pass before merging - ✅ You control what reaches production ### **Recommended Settings** #### **For `main` Branch (STRICT)** Enable these protections: 1. ✅ **Require pull request before merging** - Require approvals: 0 (you can self-approve) - Dismiss stale reviews: Yes 2. ✅ **Require status checks to pass** - Require branches to be up to date - Status checks: CI tests, linting 3. ✅ **Do not allow bypassing** - Include administrators: Yes 4. ✅ **Restrict force pushes** - No one can force push 5. ✅ **Restrict deletions** - Cannot delete main branch #### **For `develop` Branch (MODERATE)** Enable these: 1. ✅ **Require pull request** (optional) 2. ⚠️ Allow force pushes (if needed for cleanup) 3. ✅ Restrict deletions #### **For `feature/*` Branches (OPEN)** - ⚠️ No restrictions - freedom to experiment! - Can force push, delete, rewrite history - This is your AI playground --- ## 📋 **Setting Up Branch Protection (GitHub)** ### **Step-by-Step Instructions** 1. **Go to Repository Settings** - Open: https://github.com/sandraschi/notepadpp-mcp - Click: `Settings` tab (top right) 2. **Navigate to Branch Protection** - Left sidebar: `Branches` - Under "Branch protection rules" - Click: `Add rule` or `Add branch protection rule` 3. **Configure Main Branch Protection** **Branch name pattern**: `main` **Enable these checkboxes**: ``` ✅ Require a pull request before merging ✅ Require approvals: 1 (or 0 if you're solo) ✅ Dismiss stale pull request approvals when new commits are pushed ✅ Require status checks to pass before merging ✅ Require branches to be up to date before merging (Select: CI tests when they appear) ✅ Require conversation resolution before merging ✅ Do not allow bypassing the above settings ✅ Include administrators ✅ Restrict who can push to matching branches (Leave empty to allow PR merges only) ✅ Allow force pushes ❌ UNCHECKED (disable force pushes) ✅ Allow deletions ❌ UNCHECKED (prevent deletion) ``` 4. **Click**: `Create` or `Save changes` 5. **Optional: Protect `develop` branch** - Repeat with pattern: `develop` - Use lighter restrictions --- ## 🚀 **AI Collaboration Workflow** ### **Scenario 1: "Add Some Cool Feature!"** **YOU SAY**: *"Hey AI, add a feature to export sessions to JSON!"* **AI WORKFLOW**: ```bash # 1. AI switches to experimental branch git checkout feature/experimental # 2. AI creates the feature # ... coding magic happens ... # 3. AI commits git add . git commit -m "Add session export to JSON" # 4. AI pushes git push origin feature/experimental # 5. YOU review on GitHub # See the changes in a PR: feature/experimental → develop # 6. If you like it, merge to develop # 7. Test on develop branch # 8. If all good, create PR: develop → main ``` **Result**: Main is protected, but AI had full freedom to experiment! ### **Scenario 2: "Go Wild! Add Crazy Features!"** **YOU SAY**: *"Add 10 experimental Notepad++ automation features, try bold ideas!"* **AI WORKFLOW**: ```bash # AI is on feature/experimental git checkout feature/experimental # AI can do ANYTHING here: # - Try experimental APIs # - Add unfinished features # - Break things temporarily # - Force push, rewrite history # - Experiment with abandon! # Nothing affects main or develop! ``` **Safety**: Main is 100% protected. Develop is safe. Experiments stay isolated. ### **Scenario 3: "Quick Bug Fix Needed!"** **YOU SAY**: *"Fix the invisible text bug ASAP"* **AI WORKFLOW**: ```bash # 1. Create hotfix branch from main git checkout main git checkout -b hotfix/invisible-text # 2. AI fixes the bug # ... fix code ... # 3. Commit and push git commit -am "Fix invisible text issue" git push origin hotfix/invisible-text # 4. Create PR to main # GitHub PR: hotfix/invisible-text → main # 5. YOU review and approve # 6. Merge to main (protection allows this via PR) # 7. Also merge to develop to keep in sync ``` **Result**: Bug fixed in production, but still went through PR review. --- ## 🎨 **Branch Usage Guide** ### **`main` - Production Code** **Purpose**: What users download **Rules**: PROTECTED - PR only **Quality**: Must work 100% **Who commits here**: - No one directly! - Only via approved Pull Requests - After testing on develop **Commands**: ```bash # View main (safe to look) git checkout main git pull origin main # NEVER commit directly! # Use PRs instead ``` ### **`develop` - Integration & Testing** **Purpose**: Stable features being tested **Rules**: Moderate protection **Quality**: Should work, but testing allowed **Who commits here**: - Merge from feature branches - Direct commits OK for small fixes - Pre-production testing **Commands**: ```bash # Work on develop git checkout develop git pull origin develop # Make changes git add . git commit -m "Update feature" git push origin develop # When ready, PR to main ``` ### **`feature/experimental` - AI Playground** 🎪 **Purpose**: Try ANYTHING! **Rules**: NO RESTRICTIONS **Quality**: Can be broken, that's OK! **Who commits here**: - AI experimenting with new ideas - Prototypes and proof-of-concepts - Bold features you're not sure about - Learning and testing **Commands**: ```bash # AI playground - GO WILD! git checkout feature/experimental # Try experimental features # ... anything goes ... # Can force push, no problem git push origin feature/experimental --force # Can rewrite history git rebase -i HEAD~5 git push --force # Can delete and recreate git branch -D feature/experimental git checkout -b feature/experimental ``` **Permission granted**: Break things, try ideas, have fun! 🚀 --- ## 📊 **Workflow Diagrams** ### **New Feature Development** ``` 1. Start ↓ 2. AI works on feature/experimental ↓ 3. You review changes ↓ 4. Like it? → Create PR to develop ↓ 5. Merge to develop ↓ 6. Test on develop ↓ 7. Works? → Create PR to main ↓ 8. Merge to main (via PR, protection allows) ↓ 9. Release! 🎉 ``` ### **Experimental Feature Testing** ``` feature/experimental (AI adds 5 wild ideas) ↓ You review: "I like ideas 1, 3, and 4" ↓ Cherry-pick those commits → develop ↓ Test ↓ If good → PR to main ``` --- ## 🎯 **Quick Command Reference** ### **For You (Human)** ```bash # Review AI's work git checkout feature/experimental git log --oneline -10 git diff develop # Merge experimental feature to develop git checkout develop git merge feature/experimental # Create PR to main (do on GitHub) # OR via command line: gh pr create --base main --head develop --title "Release v1.3.0" ``` ### **For AI (When Experimenting)** ```bash # Switch to playground git checkout feature/experimental # Do experimental work # ... code ... # Commit (descriptive message) git add . git commit -m "Experiment: Add voice control for Notepad++" # Push (can force push here) git push origin feature/experimental --force-with-lease ``` ### **For AI (When Making Release)** ```bash # Never push directly to main! # Instead, create PR git checkout develop git merge feature/experimental git push origin develop # Then on GitHub: Create PR develop → main # Wait for human approval ``` --- ## 🚨 **Protection Examples** ### **What Protection Prevents** ```bash # ❌ This will be BLOCKED on main git checkout main git commit -am "Quick fix" git push origin main # Error: Protected branch main cannot be pushed to directly # ❌ This will be BLOCKED on main git push origin main --force # Error: Force push to protected branch not allowed # ❌ This will be BLOCKED git push origin :main # Delete main # Error: Cannot delete protected branch ``` ### **What Protection Allows** ```bash # ✅ This WORKS - PR workflow git checkout -b fix/bug git commit -am "Fix bug" git push origin fix/bug # Create PR on GitHub # Merge via PR interface → ALLOWED # ✅ This WORKS - experimental branch git checkout feature/experimental git push --force # Allowed! No protection here ``` --- ## 🎨 **AI Prompts for Each Branch** ### **On `feature/experimental`** **You can say**: - ✅ "Add 10 wild experimental features!" - ✅ "Try implementing [crazy idea]" - ✅ "Prototype a voice-controlled Notepad++" - ✅ "Add machine learning text prediction" - ✅ "Go nuts with the plugin API!" **AI thinks**: *"I can experiment freely here!"* ### **On `develop`** **You can say**: - ✅ "Integrate the session export feature" - ✅ "Merge the working experimental features" - ✅ "Prepare for v1.3.0 release" - ⚠️ "Test this thoroughly before main" **AI thinks**: *"This needs to work, but can still iterate"* ### **On `main`** **You can say**: - ❌ "Push this directly to main" - ✅ "Create a PR to main" - ✅ "Merge develop to main via PR" - ✅ "Tag this as a release" **AI thinks**: *"Must use PR workflow, main is protected"* --- ## 📋 **Setup Checklist** ### **Branch Setup** (Already Done ✅) - [x] Created `develop` branch - [x] Created `feature/experimental` branch - [x] Pushed both to GitHub - [ ] **TODO**: Enable branch protection on GitHub (manual step) ### **Protection Setup** (Your Turn) Go to: https://github.com/sandraschi/notepadpp-mcp/settings/branches - [ ] Add rule for `main` (strict protection) - [ ] Add rule for `develop` (optional, moderate) - [ ] Leave `feature/*` unprotected (freedom!) **Time needed**: ~5 minutes ### **Test the Setup** ```bash # Test 1: Try to push to main (should fail) git checkout main echo "test" >> test.txt git add test.txt git commit -m "test" git push origin main # Should see: "Protected branch" error ✅ # Test 2: Experimental branch (should work) git checkout feature/experimental echo "experiment" >> test.txt git add test.txt git commit -m "test" git push origin feature/experimental --force # Should work! ✅ # Clean up test git checkout main git reset --hard HEAD~1 git checkout feature/experimental git reset --hard HEAD~1 git push origin feature/experimental --force ``` --- ## 🎯 **Recommended Workflow Summary** **For New Features**: 1. AI works on `feature/experimental` 2. You review 3. Merge to `develop` 4. Test 5. PR to `main` 6. Release **For Experiments**: 1. AI goes wild on `feature/experimental` 2. You pick what you like 3. Cherry-pick to `develop` 4. Rest can stay or be discarded **For Hotfixes**: 1. Branch from `main` 2. Fix bug 3. PR to `main` 4. Also merge to `develop` --- ## 🏆 **Benefits of This Setup** ✅ **Safety**: Main is protected from accidents ✅ **Freedom**: AI can experiment without fear ✅ **Quality**: Features are tested before release ✅ **Recovery**: Easy to discard failed experiments ✅ **History**: Clean main branch history ✅ **Collaboration**: Clear workflow for human+AI --- ## 💡 **Pro Tips** ### **For Experimentation Sessions** ```bash # Start fresh experimental branch git checkout develop git branch -D feature/experimental git checkout -b feature/experimental git push origin feature/experimental --force # Now AI has clean slate to experiment! ``` ### **For Keeping Branches Synced** ```bash # Update develop from main periodically git checkout develop git merge main git push origin develop # Update experimental from develop git checkout feature/experimental git merge develop git push origin feature/experimental ``` ### **For Cherry-Picking Good Ideas** ```bash # AI made 10 commits on experimental # You only want commits 3, 5, and 7 git checkout develop git cherry-pick abc1234 # commit 3 git cherry-pick def5678 # commit 5 git cherry-pick ghi9012 # commit 7 git push origin develop ``` --- ## 🎊 **You're All Set!** **Current Status**: - ✅ Three-branch strategy created - ✅ Branches pushed to GitHub - ⏳ Branch protection (needs setup on GitHub) **Next Step**: 1. Go to GitHub settings 2. Enable branch protection for `main` 3. Tell AI: *"Let's experiment on feature/experimental!"* **Now you can safely say**: > *"Hey AI, go wild on feature/experimental and add some crazy cool features!"* And your production code stays safe! 🛡️🎨 --- *Document created: October 8, 2025* *Branches created: develop, feature/experimental* *Status: Ready for protected experimentation!*