Parent Branch References in AI Branch Naming¶
When working with AI coding assistants, deciding whether to include the parent branch name in your AI branch naming convention involves several considerations.
Value of including parent branch in name¶
- Immediate visibility: Provides context about the source branch without requiring git commands
- Clear merge target: Makes it obvious where the branch should be merged back into
- Development context: Shows what codebase state the AI was working with
- Organizational benefits: Helps organize multiple AI sessions branching from different feature branches
- Easier code review: Reviewers immediately understand the starting point for AI changes
Alternatives to including parent branch in name¶
If you choose not to include the parent branch in the name, you can check the parent/upstream branch using:
# Show all branches with their tracking information
git branch -vv
# Visual representation of branch history
git log --graph --oneline --all
# Show upstream branch for a specific branch
git for-each-ref --format='%(upstream:short)' refs/heads/branch-name
# Show branches and their relationships
git show-branch -a
Trade-offs to consider¶
- Branch name length: Including too many components (agent, date, parent, task) can make names unwieldy
- Information vs. brevity: Balance between providing context and keeping names manageable
- Project complexity: More valuable in projects with many parallel development branches
- Team familiarity: Consider how familiar your team is with git commands for checking branch relationships
Recommendation¶
For projects with complex branching strategies or multiple parallel development efforts, include the parent branch in the name. For simpler projects with a small number of long-lived branches, it may be unnecessary.
Example with parent branch included:
Example without parent branch: