How to create a new master branch for a drupal instance

drupal_git_chores.md

• verify the new branch has been tested in stage

• make a backup of current master branch:

  • production drupal instance should be pointing at existing master branch right now
  • create a backup of current master and point production drupal instance to it:
    • checkout the master branch:
      git checkout master
    • make sure you have latest changes for master branch:
      git pull
    • create a backup of the current master branch:
      git checkout -b master_backup_<yyymmdd>
    • push this backup branch to the remote repo:
      git push origin master_backup_<yyymmdd>
  • now switch production drupal instance to the backup master branch you just created

• now create the new master branch:

  • checkout the new branch:
    git checkout <new branch>
  • make sure you have latest changes for the new branch:
    git pull
  • make sure the branch's symlinks are intact:
    bin/build_symlinks.sh
    (then add, commit and push any symlinks that get created)
  • rename the new branch to 'master':
    git branch -M master
  • push the new master to the remote origin (note: the 'force flag' -f is required because we are over-writing the existing master):
    git push -f origin master
  • now point production drupal instance to the new master

• now switch production drupal instance back to 'master'