Open-source Dev Flow: Git + gh + CI

---

# 🐙 Open-source Development Flow in the AI Era

### Git + gh (GitHub CLI) + CI

@luk036 👨‍💻 · 2026 📅

---

### 📋 Agenda

**1️⃣ Git — The Foundation** 🌲
- Why Git? Distributed VCS
- Branch Strategy: dev + main/master
- The Atomic Commit Principle
- Merge Workflow

**2️⃣ gh — GitHub CLI** 💻
- `gh run list` — CI Dashboard
- `gh run view` — Debug Failures
- `gh pr` — Pull Request Flow

**3️⃣ CI — GitHub Actions** ⚙️
- Workflow Basics
- Matrix Builds (OS × Config)
- CI as Safety Net

]

**4️⃣ Why This Matters in the AI Era** 🤖
- AI Paradox: More Code, More Control
- CI as Hallucination Detector
- gh as AI Agent Interface

**5️⃣ The Dev Loop** 🔄
- Code → Commit → Push → CI → Fix → Merge
- Real Example Walkthrough
- Automation Patterns

**6️⃣ Summary** 💡
- AI-Era Best Practices
- Q&A

]

---

## 🌲 Git — The Foundation

---

### 🤔 Why Git?

**Distributed Version Control** — Every dev has the full history:

.mermaid[
<pre>
graph LR
    A["👨‍💻 Dev A"] -->|"push"| B["🌐 GitHub"]
    C["👩‍💻 Dev B"] -->|"push"| B
    D["🤖 CI"] -->|"pull"| B
    B -->|"clone"| E["👤 You (anywhere)"]
    style A fill:#e3f2fd,stroke:#1565c0,stroke-width:3px
    style C fill:#e3f2fd,stroke:#1565c0,stroke-width:3px
    style B fill:#e3f2fd,stroke:#1565c0,stroke-width:3px
    style D fill:#c8e6c9,stroke:#2e7d32,stroke-width:3px
    style E fill:#fff9c4,stroke:#f57f17,stroke-width:3px
</pre>
]

--
**Key properties:**
- ✅ **Offline-first** — commit locally, push when ready
- ✅ **Branch cheap** — create, merge, delete in seconds
- ✅ **Audit trail** — every change has an author, date, and message
- ✅ **No lock-in** — GitHub, GitLab, self-hosted — same `git` commands

---

### 🌿 Branch Strategy

The **dev + main/master** pattern:

.mermaid[
<pre>
gitGraph
    commit id: "v1.0"
    branch dev
    checkout dev
    commit id: "feat: add login"
    commit id: "fix: typo"
    commit id: "docs: update API"
    checkout main
    merge dev id: "v1.1"
    checkout dev
    commit id: "feat: export CSV"
    commit id: "refactor: tidy"
    checkout main
    merge dev id: "v1.2"
</pre>
]

| Branch | Purpose |
|--------|---------|
| `main` / `master` | 🏆 Production-ready, tagged releases |
| `dev` | 🛠️ Active development, CI runs here |
| `feature/*` | 🌱 Short-lived, merges to `dev` |

---

### 🎯 The Atomic Commit Principle

**One commit = one logical change.** Not more, not less.

.font-sm.mb-xs[

```bash
# ❌ Bad: One giant commit
git add -A && git commit -m "big update"  # 🚫

# ✅ Good: Split by concern
git add include/           # source code changes
git commit -m "feat: add conjugate gradient solver"

git add .github/           # CI config changes
git commit -m "ci: add graphviz to dependencies"
```
]

--
**Why atomic matters:**

.font-sm.mb-xs[

| Scenario | Atomic ✅ | Lump ❌ |
|----------|-----------|---------|
| Revert a bug | One `git revert <hash>` | Revert everything or nothing |
| Cherry-pick to release | Pick the fix commit | Can't separate |
| Code review | Clear diff per commit | 500-line blob 😱 |
| `git bisect` | Pinpoints exact change | "somewhere in this mess" |

]

---

### 🔄 The Merge Workflow

```bash
# On dev branch — make your changes
git checkout dev
git add -A
git commit -m "feat: add feature X"

# Merge to main/master
git checkout main          # switch to stable branch
git merge dev              # fast-forward (linear history)
git push origin main

# Back to dev for next cycle
git checkout dev
```

**Fast-forward merge** (linear history) vs **`--no-ff`** (merge commit):

```bash
# Linear — clean, simple
git merge dev

# Merge commit — preserves branch topology
git merge --no-ff dev
```

Choose based on team convention. Consistency > perfection 🎯

---

### ⚡ Batch Processing Many Repos

Open-source maintainers often have **multiple repos**:

```powershell
$repos = @('proj-a', 'proj-b', 'proj-c')

foreach ($repo in $repos) {
    Push-Location $repo
    git add -A
    git commit -m "docs: update CI config"
    git push
    Pop-Location
}
```

--
**Power tip:** Run in **parallel batches** for 3× throughput:

```powershell
# Batch 1: repos 1-7
# Batch 2: repos 8-14
# Batch 3: repos 15-21
```

21 repos in ~2 minutes instead of 30 🚀

---

## 💻 gh — GitHub CLI

---

### 🎯 What is `gh`?

GitHub's official CLI — **GitHub operations from your terminal**:

```bash
# Before gh:                   # After gh:
# Open browser, navigate       One command
# Click around                 Terminal-native
# Switch context               Stay in flow
```

--
**Why it matters:** The terminal is where developers live.
Context-switching to a browser breaks flow. `gh` keeps you **in the zone** 🧘

**Install:**
```bash
# Windows (scoop)
scoop install gh

# macOS
brew install gh

# Linux
sudo apt install gh
```

---

### 📊 `gh run list` — CI Dashboard

Check workflow status across any repo — **no browser needed**:

```bash
gh run list --repo luk036/digraphx-cpp --limit 5
```

```text
IN_PROGRESS  push dev  docs: update Doxyfile        Ubuntu
COMPLETED    push dev  docs: update Doxyfile        Windows    ✅
COMPLETED    push dev  docs: update Doxyfile        MacOS      ✅
COMPLETED    push dev  docs: update Doxyfile        Standalone ✅
QUEUED       push dev  docs: update Doxyfile        Install
```

--
**Monitor 21 repos at once:**
```bash
foreach ($r in $repos) {
    gh run list --repo "luk036/$r" --limit 3
}
```

**Spot failures instantly** — one terminal, no browser tabs 🎯

---

### 🕵️ `gh run view` — Debug Failures

When a run fails, dig into logs **without leaving the terminal**:

```bash
# View the failed run
gh run view <run-id> --repo luk036/digraphx-cpp --log
```

.pull-left[
```text
...
error: stray '@' in program
   38 |  * @verbatim
      |    ^
error: no matching function for call to
  'py::Generator::iterator::iterator(...)'
...
gmake: *** [Makefile:166: all] Error 2
```
]

**Key flags:**

.font-sm.mb-xs[

| Flag | Purpose |
|------|---------|
| `--log` | Full log output (pipe to `tail`) |
| `--log-failed` | Only failed steps |
| `--job <id>` | Specific job within workflow |
| `--exit` | Exit code reflects CI status |

]

---

### 🔧 `gh pr` — Pull Request Flow

Full PR workflow from the terminal:

```bash
# Create a PR
gh pr create --title "feat: add conjugate gradient" \
    --body "Implements CG solver with preconditioner"

# List PRs
gh pr list --repo luk036/digraphx-cpp

# Review
gh pr review <number> --approve
gh pr review <number> --comment --body "LGTM, but fix the typo"

# Merge
gh pr merge <number> --merge   # merge commit
gh pr merge <number> --squash  # squash all commits
gh pr merge <number> --rebase  # rebase then fast-forward
```

--
**No browser needed for 90% of PR operations** — massive productivity boost 🚀

---

### 🔍 More `gh` Commands

```bash
# Issues
gh issue list --assignee @me          # my issues
gh issue view <number>                # full details

# Releases
gh release list                       # all releases
gh release create v2.0 --notes "..."  # new release

# Repo info
gh repo view luk036/digraphx-cpp      # README + meta
gh repo list luk036                    # all user repos

# CI status check (quick)
gh run list -R luk036/digraphx-cpp -L 1 --json status --jq '.[].status'
```

--
**Pro tip:** alias for daily use:
```bash
# ~/.bashrc
alias ghci='gh run list -L 5'
alias ghls='gh repo list luk036'
```

---

## ⚙️ CI — GitHub Actions

---

### 🤖 What is CI?

**Continuous Integration** = every push triggers automated checks:

.mermaid[
<pre>
graph LR
    A["👨‍💻 git push"] --> B["🔄 GitHub receives"]
    B --> C["🔧 Build"]
    B --> D["🧪 Test"]
    B --> E["📦 Deploy Docs"]
    C --> F{"All green?"}
    D --> F
    E --> F
    F -->|"✅ Yes"| G["👍 Ready to merge"]
    F -->|"❌ No"| H["📬 Email/Slack alert"]
    H --> A
    style A fill:#e3f2fd,stroke:#1565c0,stroke-width:3px
    style B fill:#e3f2fd,stroke:#1565c0,stroke-width:3px
    style C fill:#c8e6c9,stroke:#2e7d32,stroke-width:3px
    style D fill:#c8e6c9,stroke:#2e7d32,stroke-width:3px
    style E fill:#c8e6c9,stroke:#2e7d32,stroke-width:3px
    style F fill:#fff9c4,stroke:#f57f17,stroke-width:3px
    style G fill:#c8e6c9,stroke:#2e7d32,stroke-width:3px
    style H fill:#ffcdd2,stroke:#c62828,stroke-width:3px
</pre>
]

**CI is a safety net** 🥅 — catches bugs before they reach users.

---

### 📝 Workflow Basics

GitHub Actions = YAML files in `.github/workflows/`:

.font-sm.mb-xs[

```yaml
# .github/workflows/ci.yaml
name: CI

on:
  push:
    branches: [dev]        # trigger on dev pushes
  pull_request:
    branches: [main]       # also on PRs to main

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v3    # 📥 get code

- name: Install deps
        run: sudo apt-get install -y doxygen graphviz

- name: Build
        run: cmake --build build --target all

- name: Test
        run: ctest --test-dir build
```
]

---

### 🧩 Matrix Builds

Test across **multiple OS and config combinations**:

.font-sm.mb-xs[

```yaml
jobs:
  build:
    strategy:
      matrix:
        os: [ubuntu-latest, windows-latest, macos-latest]
        config: [Debug, Release]

runs-on: ${{ matrix.os }}

steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
      - name: Build
        run: |
          cmake -B build -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=${{ matrix.config }}
          cmake --build build
```
]

--
**Result:** 6 parallel builds (3 OS × 2 configs) — catch platform-specific bugs 🎯

.mermaid[
<pre>
graph TB
    subgraph "6 Parallel Jobs"
        UD["🐧 Ubuntu Debug"]
        UR["🐧 Ubuntu Release"]
        WD["🪟 Windows Debug"]
        WR["🪟 Windows Release"]
        MD["🍎 MacOS Debug"]
        MR["🍎 MacOS Release"]
    end
    UD & UR & WD & WR & MD & MR --> P["✅ All pass or ❌ Fail"]
    style P fill:#fff9c4,stroke:#f57f17,stroke-width:3px
</pre>
]

---

### 🏗️ CI Job Types

Typical open-source CI pipeline:

```yaml
jobs:
  lint:          # 🔍 Code style (clang-format, clang-tidy)
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest

build:         # 🔧 Compile on all platforms
    strategy:
      matrix:
        os: [ubuntu, windows, macos]

test:          # 🧪 Run test suites
    needs: build
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest

docs:          # 📖 Generate documentation
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
```

--
**Dependency chain:** `lint` → `build` → `test` → `docs` 🔗

**Fan-out:** `build` runs on 3 OS in parallel, `test` waits for all ✅

---

### 📊 CI Artifacts & Deployment

CI can also **deploy** artifacts:

```yaml
docs:
  runs-on: ubuntu-latest
  steps:
    - run: cmake --build build --target docs

- name: Deploy to GitHub Pages
      uses: peaceiris/actions-gh-pages@v3
      with:
        github_token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
        publish_dir: ./build/doxygen/html
```

--
**Every push to `dev` → auto-deploys docs to `gh-pages` branch** 🚀

**The `secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN`** is auto-injected by Actions — no config needed 🔐

```text
git push dev  →  CI builds  →  docs published to
                https://luk036.github.io/digraphx-cpp/
```

---

## 🤖 Why This Matters in the AI Era

---

### 🧠 The AI Paradox

**AI generates more code than ever.** So why do traditional tools matter *more*?

.mermaid[
<pre>
graph LR
    A["🤖 AI writes code"] --> B["📝 More commits"]
    B --> C["🔄 More PRs"]
    C --> D["🧪 More to test"]
    D --> E["📊 More to monitor"]
    E --> F["🔍 More to review"]
    F --> A
    style A fill:#e3f2fd,stroke:#1565c0,stroke-width:3px
    style B fill:#e3f2fd,stroke:#1565c0,stroke-width:3px
    style C fill:#fff9c4,stroke:#f57f17,stroke-width:3px
    style D fill:#ffcdd2,stroke:#c62828,stroke-width:3px
    style E fill:#e3f2fd,stroke:#1565c0,stroke-width:3px
    style F fill:#c8e6c9,stroke:#2e7d32,stroke-width:3px
</pre>
]

**AI accelerates output.** Git, CI, and `gh` **manage the complexity** that acceleration creates. Without them, more code = more chaos 💥

---

### 🎯 Git: The AI Safety Net

**AI generates code. Git tracks every byte.**

```bash
# Who wrote what?
git log --oneline --author="Sisyphus"  # AI agent's work
git log --oneline --author="luk036"     # human's work

# What did AI change?
git diff HEAD~3..HEAD --stat

# Emergency rollback
git revert <bad-ai-commit>
```

--
**AI hallucinations** → bad code → `git revert` fixes in seconds ⏱️

**Without git:** AI writes garbage, you can't unwind it 🗑️

---

### ⚙️ CI: The AI Hallucination Detector

AI models **hallucinate** — they produce plausible-looking but wrong code:

```cpp
// AI-generated "solution"
auto solve_quadratic(double a, double b, double c) {
    return std::sqrt(b * b - 4 * a * c) / (2 * a);  // ❌ missing -b!
}
```

**CI catches it:**
```text
FAILED test_quadratic.py::test_roots
  Expected: (1.0, -2.0)
  Got:      (2.0, -2.0)
```

--
**Key insight:** The faster AI generates code, the **more** you need CI to verify it.
CI is the **trust layer** between AI output and production ✅

---

### 🤖 CI: Multi-platform Reality Check

AI trained on Linux code — but your users are on **Windows, MacOS, ARM**:

```yaml
matrix:
  os: [ubuntu-latest, windows-latest, macos-latest]
```

.mermaid[
<pre>
graph LR
    A["🤖 AI generates code"] --> B["🐧 Linux CI"]
    A --> C["🪟 Windows CI"]
    A --> D["🍎 MacOS CI"]
    B --> E{"✅ Cross-platform?"}
    C --> E
    D --> E
    E -->|"❌"| F["🔧 Fix + re-prompt"]
    E -->|"✅"| G["🚀 Ship"]
    style A fill:#e3f2fd,stroke:#1565c0,stroke-width:3px
    style B fill:#e3f2fd,stroke:#1565c0,stroke-width:3px
    style C fill:#e3f2fd,stroke:#1565c0,stroke-width:3px
    style D fill:#e3f2fd,stroke:#1565c0,stroke-width:3px
    style E fill:#fff9c4,stroke:#f57f17,stroke-width:3px
    style F fill:#ffcdd2,stroke:#c62828,stroke-width:3px
    style G fill:#c8e6c9,stroke:#2e7d32,stroke-width:3px
</pre>
]

**AI is platform-blind. CI is platform-aware.** Together they're unbeatable 🏆

---

### 💻 gh CLI: AI Agent's Best Friend

**AI agents don't use browsers.** They use **CLI tools**:

```bash
# AI agent checks its own CI status
gh run list --repo luk036/digraphx-cpp --limit 3 --json conclusion

# AI agent creates a PR
gh pr create --title "AI: refactor matrix multiply" \
    --body "Generated by Sisyphus agent" \
    --label "ai-generated"

# AI agent views failures
gh run view <id> --log --log-failed
```

--
**This session's workflow was 90% AI-driven** using these exact commands 🚀

**`gh` is the API bridge** between AI agents and GitHub — no browser, no GUI, no CAPTCHA 🎯

---

### 📊 The Productivity Multiplier

$$ \text{Output} = \text{AI Speed} \times \text{CI Safety} \times \text{Git Control} $$

.mermaid[
<pre>
graph TB
    subgraph "Without Git + CI + gh"
        A1["🤖 AI writes code"]
        A2["😱 Manual review"]
        A3["🐛 Bugs reach users"]
        A4["⏱️ Hours to fix"]
        A1 --> A2 --> A3 --> A4
    end
    style A2 fill:#ffcdd2,stroke:#c62828,stroke-width:3px
    style A3 fill:#ffcdd2,stroke:#c62828,stroke-width:3px
</pre>
]

.mermaid[
<pre>
graph TB
    subgraph "With Git + CI + gh"
        B1["🤖 AI writes code"]
        B2["⚙️ CI tests instantly"]
        B3["📊 gh alerts on failure"]
        B4["🔄 git revert + fix"]
        B5["✅ Ship with confidence"]
        B1 --> B2 --> B3 --> B4 --> B5
    end
    style B2 fill:#c8e6c9,stroke:#2e7d32,stroke-width:3px
    style B3 fill:#fff9c4,stroke:#f57f17,stroke-width:3px
    style B5 fill:#c8e6c9,stroke:#2e7d32,stroke-width:3px
</pre>
]

---

### 🧭 The Triangle: Human · AI · Tooling

.mermaid[
<pre>
graph LR
    H["👨‍💻 Human\n(Review, approve, direct)"] --> T
    A["🤖 AI Agent\n(Write, commit, PR)"] --> T
    T["🛠️ Git + gh + CI\n(Track, test, deploy)"] --> H
    T --> A
    style H fill:#e3f2fd,stroke:#1565c0,stroke-width:3px
    style A fill:#e3f2fd,stroke:#1565c0,stroke-width:3px
    style T fill:#e3f2fd,stroke:#1565c0,stroke-width:3px
</pre>
]

--
**Git** is the ledger 📒 — every AI action is recorded, reversible, auditable

**CI** is the gatekeeper 🚧 — AI output must pass tests before shipping

**`gh`** is the remote control 📡 — AI agents operate GitHub programmatically

--
> **"AI doesn't replace version control. It makes version control more important."**

---

### 🔑 AI-Era Truths

.font-sm.mb-xs[
| AI Capability | What It Needs From You | Tool |
|---------------|----------------------|------|
| 🧠 Generate code | 🧪 Verify it compiles | CI build |
| 🐛 Hallucinate APIs | 🔍 Catch undefined symbols | CI lint + test |
| 📈 Scale to 21 repos | 🤖 Automate every step | git + gh scripting |
| 🌐 Cross-platform blind | ✅ Test everywhere | Matrix CI |
| ⏩ Fast iteration | 📝 Audit trail | git log + blame |
| 🤖 Agent autonomy | 📡 Remote control API | gh CLI |
]

**The more AI you use, the more you need these tools.** Not less. 📈

---

## 🔄 The Dev Loop

---

### 🎬 Real Example: CI Catches a Bug

**Step 1:** Push changes to CI config + source docs 🚀

```bash
git add include/ && git commit -m "docs: add equations"
git add .github/ && git commit -m "ci: enable graphviz"
git push
```

**Step 2:** Check CI status with `gh` 📊

```bash
gh run list --repo luk036/digraphx-cpp --limit 5
```

```text
COMPLETED  failure  push dev  docs: enable graphviz    Ubuntu   ❌
COMPLETED  failure  push dev  docs: enable graphviz    Windows  ❌
COMPLETED  failure  push dev  docs: enable graphviz    MacOS    ❌
```

**All 4 runners failed** — 🚨 something is wrong!

---

### 🕵️ Step 3: Investigate with `gh run view`

```bash
gh run view <run-id> --repo luk036/digraphx-cpp --log | tail -30
```

```text
/home/runner/.../neg_cycle.hpp:38:4:
  error: stray '@' in program
   38 |  * @verbatim
      |    ^
```

**Root cause:** A Doxygen `@verbatim` tag ended up **outside** `/** */` comment block.
The compiler sees `@` as a stray character in C++ code 💥

```cpp
/**
 * @dot ... @enddot
 */
 *                           ← 🚩 not in comment!
 * @verbatim                 ← "stray '@'"
 */
```

---

### 🛠️ Step 4: Fix & Recommit

**One-line fix:** remove the orphaned lines 📝

```bash
# Edit the file — delete 22 orphaned lines
git add include/digraphx/neg_cycle.hpp
git commit -m "fix: close orphaned Doxygen comment block"
git push
```

--
**Step 5:** Verify fix with `gh` 🔄

```bash
gh run list --repo luk036/digraphx-cpp --limit 3
```

```text
IN_PROGRESS  push dev  fix: orphaned Doxygen comment  Ubuntu
QUEUED       push dev  fix: orphaned Doxygen comment  Windows
QUEUED       push dev  fix: orphaned Doxygen comment  MacOS
```

**New CI runs triggered automatically** — no manual retry needed ✅

---

### ⏱️ The Full Cycle: 5 Minutes

.mermaid[
<pre>
graph LR
    A["🚀 git push"] --> B["⏳ CI runs (2 min)"]
    B --> C["📊 gh run list"]
    C --> D{"❌ All failed?"}
    D -->|"Yes"| E["🔍 gh run view --log"]
    E --> F["🔎 Identify bug"]
    F --> G["✂️ Fix (1 edit)"]
    G --> H["📝 git commit"]
    H --> I["🚀 git push"]
    I --> J["✅ New CI triggers"]
    J --> B
    D -->|"No / Partial"| K["🔀 Merge & deploy"]
    style A fill:#e3f2fd,stroke:#1565c0,stroke-width:3px
    style C fill:#fff9c4,stroke:#f57f17,stroke-width:3px
    style E fill:#ffcdd2,stroke:#c62828,stroke-width:3px
    style G fill:#c8e6c9,stroke:#2e7d32,stroke-width:3px
    style K fill:#c8e6c9,stroke:#2e7d32,stroke-width:3px
</pre>
]

**From `git push` to fix deployed:** under 5 minutes ⚡

**Key enablers:** `gh run list` + `gh run view` = debug without browser 🎯

---

### 🤖 Automation Patterns

Patterns for managing **multiple open-source repos**:

```powershell
# Pattern 1: Batch status check
foreach ($repo in $repos) {
    Push-Location $repo
    git status --porcelain
    Pop-Location
}

# Pattern 2: Batch commit + push
foreach ($repo in $repos) {
    Push-Location $repo
    git add -A && git commit -m "$msg" && git push
    Pop-Location
}

# Pattern 3: Batch CI check
foreach ($repo in $repos) {
    gh run list --repo "org/$repo" --limit 2
}
```

**Parallel execution** (3 batches × 7 repos) = 3× faster than sequential 🚀

---

### 🧠 Best Practices Summary

.font-sm.mb-xs[

| Practice | Why |
|----------|-----|
| **Atomic commits** | Revert, cherry-pick, bisect all work |
| **Split config vs code** | Different revert cadence |
| **Always check CI** | `gh run list` before merging |
| **Fix CI first** | Red builds = broken contract |
| **Batch when >1 repo** | Script it, parallelize it |
| **Use `gh` not browser** | Stay in terminal, stay in flow |
| **Fast-forward merge** | Clean linear history |
| **Descriptive commit msgs** | `git log` tells the story |

]
---

### 🔑 Key Takeaways

**1️⃣ Git** — atomic commits, branch strategy, clean merges 🌲

**2️⃣ gh CLI** — `gh run list` + `gh run view` + `gh pr` = browser-free dev flow 💻

**3️⃣ CI** — safety net that catches bugs before users see them ⚙️

**4️⃣ The Loop** — Code → Commit → Push → CI → Fix → Merge → **Ship** 🔄

**5️⃣ Automate** — batch scripts + parallel execution for multi-repo workflows 🤖

---

# 🙏 Thank You! 🎉

### Open-source Dev Flow: Git + gh + CI

**Slides**: `luk036.github.io/idea/git-gh-ci-remark.html`

**Tools**: `git` · `gh` · GitHub Actions

**Q&A** 🤔