Keep your code flowing

tbdflow, a Trunk-Based Development CLI

tbdflow is a lightweight command-line tool that helps you (and your team) stay in flow with Trunk-Based Development (TBD).

This CLI supports both the default commit-to-main workflow and the structured handling of short-lived branches for features, releases, and hotfixes.

Philosophy

This tool is built around a specific philosophy of Trunk-Based Development:

• Main is the default. The commit command is your everyday go-to. It automates pulling the latest changes, committing, and pushing directly to main, promoting small, frequent integrations.
• Branches are the exception. While branches are supported, they’re treated as short-lived exceptions and not the norm.
• Cleanup is automatic. The complete command enforces branch short-livedness by merging and automatically tagging (release) and deleting completed branches, helping keep your repo tidy.
• Conventional Commits encouraged. Commit messages follow Conventional Commits for clarity and consistency.

Why not just use Git?

This CLI isn’t a replacement for Git. You’ll still reach for raw git when doing advanced work like rebasing, cherry-picking, or running git bisect.

This tool is as a workflow assistant, tbdflow encapsulates a repeatable, opinionated process to support your day-to-day development.

It offers three main benefits:

1. Consistency across the team Everyone follows the same steps for common tasks. Commits, branches, and releases are handled the same way every time, keeping your Git history clean and predictable.

2. Less to remember No need to recall the exact flags or sequences (like pull --rebase, merge --no-ff, or commit message formats). The CLI handles that, so you can stay focused on writing code.

3. It supports "the TBD way" This tool makes the preferred approach easy by providing a smooth, safe, and efficient path for 80% of everyday tasks. For the other 20%, you can always use Git directly.

Installation

You need Rust and Cargo installed.

Installing from crates.io

The easiest way to install tbdflow is to download it from crates.io. You can do it using the following command:

cargo install tbdflow

If you want to update tbdflow to the latest version, execute the following command:

tbdflow update

Building from source

Alternatively you can build tbdflow from source using Cargo:

git clone https://github.com/cladam/tbdflow.git
cd tbdflow
sudo cargo install --path . --root /usr/local

Monorepo Support

tbdflow is "monorepo-aware." It understands that in a monorepo, you often want commands to be scoped to a specific project or subdirectory.

When you run tbdflow commit, tbdflow sync or tbdflow status from the root of a configured monorepo, the tool will intelligently ignore project subdirectories, making sure you only commit changes to root-level files (like README.md, LICENSE, or CI configuration). When run from within a project subdirectory, the commands are automatically scoped to just that directory (N.B. you need to run tbdflow init from within the subdirectory for this to work).

This is configured in your root .tbdflow.yml file:

# in .tbdflow.yml
monorepo:
enabled: true
  # A list of all directories that are self-contained projects.
  # These will be excluded from root-level commits and status checks.
  project_dirs:
    - "frontend"
    - "backend-api"
    - "infra"

Handling Cross-Cutting Changes

For "vertical slice" changes that intentionally touch multiple project directories, you can use the --include-projects flag. This flag overrides the default safety mechanism and stages all changes from all directories, allowing you to create a single, cross-cutting commit.

Configuration

tbdflow is configurable via two optional files in the root of your repository. To get started quickly, run tbdflow init to generate default versions of these files.

.tbdflow.yml This file controls the core workflow of the tool. You can customise:

• The name of your main branch (e.g. main, trunk).
• Allowed branch types and their prefixes (e.g feat/, chore/)
• A strategy for handling issue references ("branch-name" or "commit-scope")
• The threshold for stale branch warnings.
• Automatic tagging formats.
• Commit message linting rules.

.dod.yml This file controls the interactive Definition of Done checklist for the commit command.

Features

The Definition of Done (DoD) Check

To move beyond just automating process, tbdflow integrates an optional pre-commit quality check. If a .dod.yml file is present in your repository, the commit command will present an interactive checklist to ensure your work meets the team's agreed-upon standards.

Example .dod.yml:

# .dod.yml in your project root
checklist:
  - "All relevant automated tests pass successfully."
  - "New features or fixes are covered by new tests."
  - "Security implications of this change have been considered."
  - "Relevant documentation (code comments, READMEs) is updated."

If you try to proceed without checking all items, the tool will offer to add a TODO list to your commit message footer, ensuring the incomplete work is tracked directly in your Git history.

Commit Message Linting

If a .tbdflow.yml file is present and contains a lint section, the commit command will automatically validate your commit message against the configured rules before the DoD check. This provides immediate feedback on stylistic and structural conventions.

Default linting rules:

lint:
  conventional_commit_type:
    enabled: true
    allowed_types:
    - build
    - chore
    - ci
    - docs
    - feat
    - fix
    - perf
    - refactor
    - revert
    - style
    - test
  issue_key_missing:
    enabled: false
    pattern: ^[A-Z]+-\d+$
  scope:
    enabled: true
    enforce_lowercase: true
  subject_line_rules:
    max_length: 72
    enforce_lowercase: true
    no_period: true
  body_line_rules:
    max_line_length: 80
    leading_blank: true

---

Global options

Flag	Description	Required
--verbose	Prints the underlying Git commands as they are executed.	No
--dry-run	Simulate the command without making any changes.	No

Commands

1. commit

This is the primary command for daily work.

Commits staged changes using a Conventional Commits message. This command is context-aware:

• On main: It runs the full TBD workflow: pulls the latest changes with rebase, commits, and pushes.
• On any other branch: It simply commits and pushes, allowing you to save work-in-progress.

Usage:

tbdflow commit [options]

Options:

Flag	Option	Description	Required
-t	--type	The type of commit (e.g., feat, fix, chore).	Yes
-s	--scope	The scope of the changes (e.g., api, ui).	No
-m	--message	The descriptive commit message (subject line).	Yes
	--body	Optional multi-line body for the commit message.	No
-b	--breaking	Mark the commit as a breaking change.	No
	--breaking-description	Provide a description for the 'BREAKING CHANGE:' footer.	No
	--tag	Optionally add and push an annotated tag to this commit.	No
	--issue	Optionally add an issue reference to the footer.	No
	--no-verify	Bypass the interactive DoD checklist.	No

Example:

# A new feature
tbdflow commit -t feat -s auth -m "add password reset endpoint"

# A bug fix with a breaking change
tbdflow commit -t fix -m "correct user permission logic" -b
tbdflow commit -t refactor -m "rename internal API" --breaking --breaking-description "The `getUser` function has been renamed to `fetchUser`."

# A bug fix with a new tag
tbdflow commit -t fix -m "correct user permission logic" --tag "v1.1.1"

2. branch

Creates and pushes a new, short-lived branch from the latest version of main. This is the primary command for starting new work that isn't a direct commit to main.

Usage:

tbdflow branch --type <type> --name <name> [--issue <issue-id>] [--from_commit <commit hash>]

Options (release):

Flag	Description	Required
-t, --type	The type of branch (e.g. feat, fix, chore). See .tbdflow.yml for allowed types.	Yes
-n, --name	A short, desriptive name for the branch.	Yes
--issue	Optional issue reference to include in the branch name or commit scope.	No
-f, --from_commit	Optional commit hash on main to branch from.	No

Examples:

# Create a simple feature branch named "feat/new-dashboard"
tbdflow branch -t feat -n "new-dashboard"

# Create a fix branch with an issue reference in the name
# (This will be named "fix/PROJ-123-login-bug" by default)
tbdflow branch -t fix -n "login-bug" --issue "PROJ-123"

# Create a release branch from a specific commit
tbdflow branch -t release -v "2.1.0" -f "39b68b5"

3. complete

Merges a short-lived branch back into main, then deletes the local and remote copies of the branch.

Automatic Tagging:

• When completing a release branch, a tag (e.g. v2.1.0) is automatically created and pushed.

Usage:

tbdflow complete --type <branch-type> --name <branch-name>

Options:

Flag	Option	Description	Required
-t	--type	The type of branch: feature, release, or hotfix.	Yes
-n	--name	The name or version of the branch to complete.	Yes

Examples:

# Complete a feature branch
tbdflow complete -t feat -n "user-profile-page"

# Complete a release branch (this will be tagged v2.1.0)
tbdflow complete -t release -n "2.1.0"

4. changelog

Generates a changelog in Markdown format from your repository's Conventional Commit history. See tbdflow repo for a CHANGELOG.md generated by this command.

Usage:

tbdflow changelog [options]

Options:

Option	Description
--unreleased	Generate a changelog for all commits since the last tag.
--from	Generate a changelog for commits from a specific tag.
--to	Generate a changelog for commits up to a specific tag (defaults to HEAD).

Examples:

# Generate a changelog for a new version
tbdflow changelog --from v0.12.0 --to v0.13.0

# See what will be in the next release
tbdflow changelog --unreleased

5. Utility commands

tbdflow has a couple of commands that can be beneficial to use but they are not part of the workflow, they are for inspecting the state of the repository.

Examples:

# Does a pull, shows latest changes to main branch, and warns about stale branches.
tbdflow sync

# Checks the status of the working dir
tbdflow status

# Shows the current branch name
tbdflow current-branch

# Explicitly checks for local branches older than one day.
tbdflow check-branches

# Checks for a new version of tbdflow and updates it if available.
tbdflow update

6. Advanced Usage

Shell Completion

To make tbdflow even faster to use, you can enable shell completion. Add one of the following lines to your shell's configuration file.

For Zsh (~/.zshrc):

eval "$(tbdflow generate-completion zsh)"

For Bash (~/.bashrc):

eval "$(tbdflow generate-completion bash)"

For Fish (~/.config/fish/config.fish):

tbdflow generate-completion fish | source

Man Page Generation

You can generate a man page for tbdflow by running the following command:

tbdflow generate-man-page > tbdflow.1