What is the main branch?
The main branch is the most up to date version of your design files stored in the Abstract cloud.
As designers, we have often thought about having one "main" or primary file for a product, feature or experience. That is how other tools have treated the idea of main files or how we treated it in our previous use of cloud file storage. At Abstract, we are shifting that mental model by breaking that one file into multiple files. This allows for faster syncing time and transparency on who is working on what part of your product or feature.
Each designer on your team syncs these main files to their local computer using the Abstract app so that they can work locally on the files within Sketch. When a designer has made their changes to the files and their work is approved or goes live in production, they merge their changes to the main branch. Abstract syncs these updates to all local computers of the team members working in the project.
Define the main branch for your project
Defining what files make up your main branch is fundamental to utilizing Abstract’s design workflow. Your main branch is made up of the file or files that contain the designs either currently in production or approved by your team.
For instance, if you are working on a mobile iOS banking app, your basic structure may look something like this.
Based on the sitemap above, these are the files that would be in your iOS app project:
- Onboarding
- Login
- Home Screen
- Banking Accounts
- Transfer Funds
- Pay Bills
- Mobile Deposit
- Settings
- Help
We suggest you set up your files in the main branch to reflect the sitemap or information architecture of your product. You can also use pages within a Sketch file to create more hierarchy or structure in your project. For example, in the "Pay Bills" file you might have a page for "Auto Payment" designs and a page for "Manual Payment" designs.
Since files are organized alphabetically in Abstract, we encourage you to add a number to the file name to view your files in a specific order. Using your sitemap and numbering system, your project would be called “iOS app” and your main branch would look like the screenshot below.
Each design file should contain the most up to date (either in production or approved by design) artboards to show different flows and UI screen states for each section.
Adding library files to the main branch
One of Abstract’s core strengths is managing and distributing the library files that contain your reusable components. Add library files to your project's main branch. Library files on the main branch usually contain symbols you need to update often during your day to day work on this product. Design teams using Abstract often have a Project Components.sketch library or Toolkits.sketch library which contains symbols that are made up of grouped or nested symbols. You can also place instances of large components in your artboards and then detach the symbol to continue working with it.
Linked libraries in the main branch
When building your main branch, you can also link library files from your design system projects. These linked libraries contain your atomic level symbols that are clearly defined and don’t often change - think colors, typography, icons, buttons, inputs, etc.
When should you merge?
Since the main branch is the source of truth for all of your design files in a project, it is protected from direct change. When you want to update the main branch and affect the source of truth, merge in the changes you made on one or your branches.
We’ve heard that merging feels like a big deal and knowing when to merge to the main branch can be challenging. Let’s make it a little simpler.
When the main branch is defined as “approved by design”
If you’ve decided that your project’s main branch represents work that has been approved by design, that's your guide for when to merge your branches in that project.
For example, imagine that you are redesigning the onboarding screens for the mobile iOS banking app above. When you have reached the point that your designs are finished, you should have the team lead or design manager review your work in Abstract. Once that work is approved, you can merge your branch to the main branch.
When the main branch is defined as "approved by design," collections on the main branch represent the source of truth for patterns that the design team as a whole has agreed upon as a standard for the product or company.
Tip: Use branch collections to your advantage. By toggling the auto-update on and off for individual artboards, you can create collections that are constantly updating or that are paused at a certain point - even while you’re still working.
When the main branch is defined as “what’s in production”
You may have decided instead that your project’s main branch should represent designs that have been approved and have been fully developed and implemented in the live product. If this is the case, you only merge branches back into the main branch after development has been completed.
Following the same mobile iOS banking app example, when your main branch is defined as what’s in production, you would not merge your branch with the onboarding redesigns until after engineering has completed their work and released the updates.
When the main branch is defined as "what's in production," collections on the main branch represent how the designs look in the current implementation of the product, as users see it.
You can edit your branch status and branch title at any time. In order to keep that status of your designs clear to your team during ongoing work, use emojis to indicate where you’re at. We use magic to show when our work is still in progress, but stable enough for others to build on. 🔮