Introducing New Branching Capabilities in Fabric Git Integration
We’re excited to announce the introduction of new branching capabilities in Fabric Git integration, making it even easier to use! Fabric Git integration is a vital component of the Fabric CI/CD toolkit, enabling developers to connect their Fabric workspaces to Git repositories, and utilize Git features like version control and collaborative workflows.
Before delving into the new branching capabilities, let’s review how Fabric workspaces and Git repositories interact.
The Fabric workspace is a shared environment that holds live items, meaning any changes made directly within the workspace will immediately take effect and impact all users. Therefore, Git best practices suggest developers work in isolation outside of these shared team workspaces. Isolated work can be conducted in suitable IDEs or in separate Fabric workspaces, as illustrated below:
Previously, developers would manually create a separate workspace, manually create a branch based on the main branch, and manually connect the two through the workspace settings. They could then work in the new workspace, update the feature branch, and follow the standard Git pull request process to merge changes back into the main branch. A more detailed explanation of this process can be found here.
New Features:
With this in mind, let’s explore the newly added features.
- Redesigned Source Control Pane: We’ve improved the source control pane by organizing everything into tabs for easier navigation.
- Branch Out: Easily and quickly create a new connected workspace and branch with just a few clicks.
- Related Branches: Find content in Fabric related to the current workspace and branch you’re working on, directly in context.
Source control pane
We’ve redesigned the source control pane for ease of use. All existing functionality remains, with added new capabilities. The pane is now split into two parts:
- Changes & Updates: Displays any incoming changes or pending updates, similar to the current pane. You can view the currently connected branch and navigate to it in Git by clicking on the branch name.
- Branches: Find anything related to branches here, including the option to check out a new branch. Switching the workspace is currently available through workspace settings but will soon be added here as well.
Branch Out to New Workspace
This new feature simplifies the process of creating isolated work environments. With just a few clicks, you can create a new workspace connected to a new feature branch, allowing you to start working on your items quickly.
Here’s how it works:
1. From the branches tab in the source control pane of your source workspace (usually the shared team workspace), click on “Branch out to a new workspace” to start.
2. Fill in the required details – the name of your new workspace and your new branch.
3. Click ‘Branch out’ to navigate to your new workspace, which will start syncing with the new branch immediately.
Depending on the number and size of items, it might take a few minutes for all items to appear in your new workspace, but once available, you can start working in your isolated environment. Continue with the usual flow to update your changes and merge them with the main branch. If desired, you can delete the workspace once done.
Keep in mind that branching out creates a completely new workspace, leaving the current workspace unaffected. This means any pending changes not committed to Git will not be present in the new workspace, so ensure you commit your changes as needed.
More details regarding this flow can be found here.
Related branches
Another addition to the Branches tab of the source control pane is the ‘Related Branches‘ section. As you might work on different tasks across private and shared workspaces, this feature ensures you can easily access related workspaces without searching for them in Fabric.
In the related branches area, you’ll see any Fabric workspace you have permissions to, sharing the same repository and folder as your current workspace. For example, in a team’s shared workspace, you can view your own private workspaces and those shared with you.
Clicking on any of these will take you to the respective workspace, allowing you to easily return to the task you were working on.
That’s it for the new branching capabilities in Fabric Git integration! We hope these improvements enhance your workflow and make your experience more efficient. Try out the new features and share your feedback with us.
