Git & Unity Daily Workflow Practices

Follow this routine every single time you work on the project to keep everything stable.

Core Rule #1: Develop on PC, Test on Robot

• Always develop and edit code on your PC. The robot cannot access the internet, so transfer files to the robot only for testing.
• If you make changes directly on the robot, transfer them back to your PC, then commit and push from there.
• Why? This ensures all changes are tracked in Git on the PC, prevents desyncs, and maintains a clean history on GitHub.

Step-by-Step Routine

Part A. Pure Programming

1. Open Visual Studio Code

   • Open VS Code -> choose "open folder" -> choose the folder containing the repository

2. Git pull (always do so before working)

   • Open your terminal in the project folder (eg. Team-A1).
   • Pull the latest changes from the remote:

     git pull origin your-branch

   • If conflicts appear → resolve them carefully (see Troubleshooting below).
   • (Optional: Run git status to confirm clean working tree.)

3. Go on to develop

   • Save frequently or enable auto-save in VS Code

4. Stage, commit & push

   • Stage all changes:

     git add .

   • Commit with a clear message:

     git commit -m "your commit message"

     • Good commit messages: what + why (short & descriptive)
   • Push to remote:

     git push origin your-branch

     • If push rejected (non-fast-forward), it means someone else pushed meanwhile. Git pull again, resolve, then push.

Part B. Testing on Robot

1. Start session – on PC

   • Pull from github (follow the steps in A1)

2. Transfer to robot

   • Copy needed folders/files to robot using a USB

3. Work on robot

   • Run experiments / training / testing

4. Transfer back to PC If you have editted the code on the robot, copy back to your PC into correct places.

5. Back on PC – commit changes

   • Push to github (follow the steps in A4).

Branching & Merging Strategy

Rule of thumb: One branch per meaningful piece of work (eg. 1 training session homework)

1. Creating a new branch

   • You should start a new brach at each training session

   git checkout main
   git pull origin main
   git checkout -b new-branch

2. Working on branch

   • Commit often
   • Push regularly so others can see progress

   git push origin new-branch

3. Finishing & Merging

   • When the task is completed and reviewed, merge back to main Make sure branch is up-to-date

   git checkout new-branch
   git pull origin tnew-branch

   Switch to target branch (usually main)

   git checkout main
   git pull origin main

   Merge (use --no-ff to keep history clear)

   git merge new-branch --no-ff

   • resolve conflicts if any

   Push integrated result

   git push origin main
   
   (Optional – delete the branch)
   ```bash
   git branch -d new-branch
   git push origin --delete new-branch

When Things Go Wrong

• Push rejected? git pull origin main first.
• Merge conflicts? Edit files (choose which version to keep, or edit manually), commit & push again. Usually safe to keep "theirs" or "ours" based on who changed the asset last.
• Still stuck? Run git status, screenshot errors, and ask excos.