inkblot-branch-naming

Inkblot branch naming

This convention is only required when the work has a Jira ticket. If there is no ticket, do not invent a prefix, do not ask for a ticket, and do not restrict the name.

Ticket work (required)

The branch starts with the full Jira key, lowercase. Do not add feat/ / fix/ / feature/ type prefixes.

<ticket-id>-<short-kebab>

1. Full key, lowercase, one primary ticket (e.g. pod2-2291, not 2-2291)
2. kebab is lowercase, 3–5 words — the change, not the ticket title
3. Keep the whole name short enough to read in GitHub’s branch list (~50 characters)

Examples

• pod2-2291-video-call-no-show
• pod1-3452-company-renewal-dates
• pod1-3459-coaching-duration-options

Do not (ticket work only)

• Do not prefix the ticket ID (fix/pod2-2291-…, feat/…, feature/…, bf-…)
• Do not shorten the project key (2-2291-…, 1-3452-…)
• Do not use uppercase in the branch name (POD2-2291-…)
• Do not put initials in the name (ji-pod1-2178-…)
• Do not append the target env (-qa, -master)
• Do not stack ticket IDs (pod2-2276-2277-2282-…) — use the primary ticket
• Do not dump the full Jira title into the kebab

No ticket

No naming rule. hotfix/7.54.2, sync/…, qa-kuma, or any other name are all fine.

Why

• Ticket-first, no type prefix: Jira and git grep need the key at the start. feat/ / fix/ only adds length.
• Full key, lowercase: pod2-2291 is still the Jira key (linking works). Lowercase avoids macOS vs Linux case-sensitivity. 2-2291 is not a Jira key, so GitHub/Jira will not attach the branch.
• Rule only when a ticket exists: Chores, syncs, and hotfixes without a ticket should not be blocked or renamed by the agent.
• Short kebab: GitHub truncates long branch names; the ticket title already lives in Jira.