Version control

Version control in software development enables teams to collaborate on parallel feature development and bug fixes without affecting the live site in production. Version control also records the history of any changes made, and allows you to revert to previous versions of files or versions of your project should you need to.

Branches in Nordcraft allow you to develop new features or fix issues without affecting the live version of your projects, providing a safe environment to make and test changes before making them available to users.

When you create a new project, Nordcraft automatically creates a branch called start for you. The main branch represents what your users see in production. You cannot edit the main branch directly, but you can view it in the editor.

Branches work like branches on a tree:

• Your main branch is the trunk that users see
• New branches grow from this trunk
• When a branch is complete, it can be merged back into the trunk via a commit
• When a branch is merged, it becomes becomes part of the trunk

Using separate branches for individual features or fixes provides several benefits:

• Isolated development: Work on specific features without impacting other work in progress
• Easier collaboration: Reduce coordination overhead when multiple people work on the same project in parallel
• Stability of live version: The main branch remains stable in production with completed and tested features only
• Simplified testing: Test changes independently before publishing
• Reduced risk of conflicts: Minimize conflicts that may arise from simultaneous edits to the same project

Project page

On the project details page you can view a list of currently active branches. You can choose to edit, preview or delete branches from the list. You can also see the full version history of the project, containing all commits to the main branch along with their descriptions.

1. 1

   Click the Create branch button
2. 2

   Choose a descriptive name for the branch and confirm

When the branch is created, you are automatically taken to the editor to start working on that new branch.

You can edit all branches in your project except for the main branch. Click the Edit button next to a branch to open the editor to start working in that branch.

You can preview your branch to test changes before publishing.

• Select Preview in the branch menu
• This opens a preview at branch-project.nordcraft.site
• You can share this preview link with others for feedback
• All changes made on a branch are automatically synced to the preview link

You can delete a branch by selecting Delete in the branch menu. This will remove the branch along with all of the changes made on it.

The version history of your project is shown as a list of commits to the main branch. Every time you publish a branch, an entry will be made in this list. Each entry shows when the changes were merged into the main branch, who merged the changes, as well as the description for that change. Since the branches are deleted when published, it is not possible to explore the changes after a merge, so make sure that you provide a good description when publishing a branch.

If you discover issues on your live project after publishing, you may need to revert to a previous version of your project. This is known as a rollback.

1. 1

   Go to the version history section in project details
2. 2

   Find the version you know worked correctly
3. 3

   Select the Rollback option in the manu next to that version
4. 4

   Confirm the rollback

This will restore your live application to the selected version immediately, overwriting the current version.