tolaria/docs/adr/0021-push-to-main-workflow.md

type, id, title, status, date

type	id	title	status	date
ADR	0021	Push directly to main (no PRs or branches)	active	2026-03-02

Context

Initially, the project used feature branches and PRs. With a single developer (assisted by Claude Code), the PR overhead — branch creation, rebase churn, merge conflicts from long-lived branches — slowed development without adding review value. The pre-commit and pre-push hooks already enforce tests, linting, type checking, and code health gates.

Decision

Push directly to main — no PRs, no feature branches. The pre-push hook runs all quality gates (tests, lint, type check, coverage, CodeScene health). Never use --no-verify.

Options considered

• Option A (chosen): Push to main with hook-enforced quality gates — fastest iteration, no rebase churn, hooks provide automated review. Downside: no PR-based review, harder to roll back a batch of changes.
• Option B: Feature branches with PRs — standard team workflow, code review. Downside: rebase churn for a solo developer, PR overhead with no reviewer.
• Option C: Feature branches without PRs (merge to main locally) — branch isolation without review overhead. Downside: still has merge conflicts, branches diverge.

Consequences

• Commit every 20-30 minutes with conventional commit prefixes (feat:, fix:, refactor:, test:, docs:).
• Pre-commit hook: vitest + CodeScene health check.
• Pre-push hook: same + Playwright smoke tests.
• No --no-verify ever — the hooks are the quality gate.
• Reverting changes requires git revert (not force push).
• Re-evaluation trigger: if a second developer joins and needs code review.