What you will achieve

You will configure a shared Git repository with branch protection, a clean default workflow, hooks for code quality, and CI integration. The result is a repo that scales from 3 to 50 contributors without rewrites.

Step 1: create the repository

On GitHub, GitLab, or Bitbucket, create a new repository. Initialise with a README and a .gitignore. Pick a licence if applicable.

git clone [email protected]:myorg/project.git
cd project

Step 2: configure default branch

Most teams use main. Confirm:

git config init.defaultBranch main

On the host, set the default branch in repo settings.

Step 3: branch protection

On GitHub: Settings → Branches → Add rule → Pattern main:

• Require a pull request before merging.
• Require at least one approving review.
• Require status checks to pass (configure once CI is in place).
• Require linear history (optional but recommended).
• Disallow force pushes.
• Disallow direct deletion.

Step 4: .gitignore and .gitattributes

# .gitignore - language-specific; example for Node
node_modules/
dist/
.env*
!.env.example
.DS_Store
*.swp

# .gitattributes
* text=auto eol=lf
*.png binary
*.jpg binary
*.pdf binary

git add .gitignore .gitattributes
git commit -m "Add .gitignore and .gitattributes"

Step 5: CODEOWNERS

# .github/CODEOWNERS
*               @myorg/maintainers
/docs/          @myorg/docs-team
/infra/         @myorg/devops

This automatically requests reviews from the right people.

Step 6: PR and issue templates

# .github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md
## Summary

## Test plan
- [ ]

## Screenshots / videos (if UI)

## Linked issues

Step 7: pre-commit hooks

Use Husky for Node, pre-commit framework for Python, or share via core.hooksPath.

npm install --save-dev husky lint-staged
npx husky init

# .husky/pre-commit
npx lint-staged

# package.json
"lint-staged": {
  "*.{js,ts}": ["eslint --fix", "prettier --write"]
}

Step 8: CI configuration

# .github/workflows/ci.yml
name: CI
on:
  push:
    branches: [main]
  pull_request:
jobs:
  test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
        with:
          node-version: '20'
      - run: npm ci
      - run: npm run lint
      - run: npm test

Step 9: secret scanning

# .github/workflows/gitleaks.yml
name: gitleaks
on: [pull_request]
jobs:
  scan:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
        with:
          fetch-depth: 0
      - uses: gitleaks/gitleaks-action@v2
        env:
          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}

Step 10: contribution docs

# CONTRIBUTING.md
## Branch naming
feature/, fix/, chore/, docs/

## Commit messages
Imperative mood, 50-char subject, optional body.

## PR process
1. Branch off main.
2. Open a draft PR early.
3. Get one approval and CI green.
4. Squash and merge.

Step 11: invite the team

Add team members with appropriate permissions. Most should be "write"; a small group "maintain" or "admin".

Step 12: first PR

Create a small PR yourself - perhaps adding a docs section. Walk through the process to ensure CI, hooks, branch protection, and review all work.

Maintenance

• Review branch protection rules quarterly.
• Update CODEOWNERS as the team changes.
• Refresh dependency-update bots' configurations.
• Periodically prune merged branches.

The result

The repo is now configured for safe, scalable, reviewable development. New contributors get the right hooks via npm install; the host enforces review and CI; secrets and quality issues are caught before merge.