moko-platform/docs/workflows/cascade-dev.md

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PATH: /docs/workflows/cascade-dev.md
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BRIEF: Documentation for the cascade main → dev workflow
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# Cascade Main → Dev Workflow

**Status**: ✅ Active | **Version**: 02.00.00 | **Last Updated**: 2026-05-07

## Table of Contents

- [Overview](#overview)
- [How It Works](#how-it-works)
- [Workflow Triggers](#workflow-triggers)
- [Configuration](#configuration)
- [Conflict Resolution](#conflict-resolution)
- [Skipping Cascade](#skipping-cascade)
- [Deployment](#deployment)
- [Troubleshooting](#troubleshooting)
- [Related Documentation](#related-documentation)

---

## Overview

The **Cascade Main → Dev** workflow automatically forward-merges `main` into all open branches (`dev`, `rc/*`, `beta/*`, `alpha/*`) after every push to `main`. This keeps all development and pre-release branches in sync with stable releases without manual intervention.

### Purpose

- **Sync**: Ensure all open branches (`dev`, `rc/*`, `beta/*`, `alpha/*`) always include the latest stable code from `main`
- **Automation**: Eliminate manual merge-forward after releases
- **Conflict Detection**: Surface merge conflicts early via auto-created PRs
- **Safety**: Never force-pushes or overwrites — creates PRs for manual resolution when needed

### Key Features

✅ **API-Only**: No repository checkout required — uses Gitea REST API exclusively  
✅ **Idempotent**: Safe to run multiple times — detects existing PRs and skips duplicates  
✅ **Conflict-Safe**: Creates a PR for manual resolution when auto-merge fails  
✅ **Skip Support**: Opt out per-commit with `[skip cascade]` or `[skip ci]`  
✅ **Deployed Org-Wide**: Active on all governed (non-platform/standards) repositories  

---

## How It Works

```
Push to main
    ↓
Discover target branches (dev, dev/*, rc/*, beta/*, alpha/*)
    ↓ (skip if none found)
For each target branch:
    ↓
    Compare main vs branch (commits ahead)
        ↓ (skip if already in sync)
    Create PR (main → branch)
        ↓ (reuse existing if one is open)
    Check mergeable
        ├─ Clean → Auto-merge PR ✅
        └─ Conflicts → Leave PR open for manual resolution ⚠️
```

### Step-by-Step

1. **Branch Discovery**: Queries all branches via paginated API, filters to targets matching `dev`, `dev/*`, `rc/*`, `beta/*`, `alpha/*`
2. **Diff Check**: For each target, queries `GET /repos/{owner}/{repo}/compare/{branch}...main` — if `total_commits` is 0, the branch is already in sync
3. **PR Creation**: Creates a PR via `POST /repos/{owner}/{repo}/pulls` with `head: main`, `base: {branch}`
4. **Duplicate Prevention**: Before creating, checks for existing open PRs with the same head/base
5. **Auto-Merge**: If `mergeable: true`, merges via `POST /repos/{owner}/{repo}/pulls/{index}/merge` with merge style
6. **Conflict Handling**: If `mergeable: false`, the PR stays open with a clear description for manual resolution

---

## Workflow Triggers

| Trigger | Condition |
|---------|-----------|
| `push` to `main` | Every push (PR merges, bot commits, direct pushes) |
| `workflow_dispatch` | Manual trigger from Gitea Actions UI |

### Automatic Skipping

The workflow skips execution when:
- The commit message contains `[skip ci]`
- The commit message contains `[skip cascade]`

---

## Configuration

### Environment Variables

| Variable | Default | Description |
|----------|---------|-------------|
| `GITEA_URL` | `https://git.mokoconsulting.tech` | Gitea instance URL |
| `GITEA_ORG` | `github.repository_owner` | Organization name |
| `GITEA_REPO` | `github.event.repository.name` | Repository name |

### Secrets

| Secret | Required | Description |
|--------|----------|-------------|
| `GA_TOKEN` | Yes | Gitea API token with repo write + PR permissions |

### Runner

Runs on `ubuntu-latest` — no special runner requirements.

---

## Conflict Resolution

When the auto-merge detects conflicts:

1. The workflow creates (or reuses) a PR titled `chore: cascade main → {branch} ({sha}) [skip ci]`
2. The PR body explains the conflict and links to the workflow
3. The workflow exits successfully (not a failure — conflicts are expected)
4. A developer must:
   - Check out the PR locally
   - Resolve conflicts
   - Push the resolution
   - Merge the PR

### Common Conflict Sources

- **Version files**: `README.md` VERSION header, `updates.xml` (dev has different version than main)
- **Changelog**: Both branches modified `CHANGELOG.md`
- **CI configs**: Workflow files modified independently on both branches

---

## Skipping Cascade

### Per-Commit

Add `[skip cascade]` to the commit message:

```bash
git commit -m "chore: version bump [skip cascade]"
```

### Per-Push

The `[skip ci]` tag also prevents cascade (since the workflow checks both).

---

## Deployment

The workflow file `.gitea/workflows/cascade-dev.yml` is deployed to all governed repositories (non-platform, non-standards, non-template repos).

### Excluded Repositories

- `gitea-org-config`, `org-profile`, `gitea-private`, `gitea-server-setup` — Platform/infra
- `MokoStandards`, `MokoStandards-API`, `MokoTesting` — Standards repos
- `MokoStandards-Template-*`, `MokoDoliProjTemplate` — Template repos

### Adding to a New Repository

The cascade workflow is automatically deployed by the bulk sync process. To manually add:

1. Copy `.gitea/workflows/cascade-dev.yml` from any governed repo
2. Ensure the repo has at least one target branch (`dev`, `rc/*`, `beta/*`, or `alpha/*`)
3. Ensure `GA_TOKEN` secret is configured

---

## Troubleshooting

### Cascade Not Triggering

**Symptom**: Push to main but no cascade run

**Causes**:
1. Commit message contains `[skip ci]` or `[skip cascade]`
2. Workflow file missing from repo
3. `GA_TOKEN` secret not configured

**Solution**: Check Actions tab for skipped runs; verify workflow file exists on `main`

### Cascade Creates PR But Doesn't Merge

**Symptom**: PR created but left open

**Cause**: Merge conflicts between `main` and the target branch

**Solution**: Resolve conflicts locally and merge the PR manually

### "No cascade target branches found" Message

**Symptom**: Workflow logs show "No cascade target branches found"

**Cause**: Repository doesn't have any target branches (`dev`, `rc/*`, `beta/*`, `alpha/*`)

**Solution**: Create a target branch from main: `git checkout -b dev main && git push origin dev`

---

## Related Documentation

- [Branch Protection Setup](./branch-protection.md)
- [Dev Branch Tracking](./dev-branch-tracking.md)
- [Workflow Architecture](./workflow-architecture.md)
- [Bulk Repository Sync](./bulk-repo-sync.md)

## Changelog

| Version | Date | Changes |
|---------|------|---------|
| 01.00.00 | 2026-05-07 | Initial release — PR-based merge with conflict detection |
| 02.00.00 | 2026-05-07 | Cascade to all open branches (dev, rc/*, beta/*, alpha/*), not just dev |