Terminology: Version control

This section contains terminology related to the version control system

This page contains short descriptions of the version control terminology. For a more comprehensive guide on version control works or the core reference of all the available features, see the links below:

Article: Version control

Reference: Version control

The terminology used by Bubble's version control system may not be immediately apparent or easy to grasp at first. This article contains a list of the different terms used and may be helpful as you get to know how the system works.

At the bottom of the page you will find terminology that has changed from the legacy system.

Terminology

Term	Definition
base branch	The branch that you want to merge changes into
branch tree	The visualization that shows you where a branch came from and how it relates to other branches
child branch	A branch that has a parent branch; a child branch can also be a parent branch
conflict	Conflicts arise during the merge process when the base branch and the source branch each changed the same thing (in different ways) since the last time the two branches were in sync
conflict resolution	Conflict resolution is the process of resolving conflicts. The conflict resolution window organizes conflicts by page and gives you the option to resolve all conflicts in favor of one branch on a page-by-page basis.
custom branch	Apps on the higher plans can have one or more custom branches
deploy, deployment	To deploy a branch is to push changes to Live. Only the Main branch and the hotfix branches can be deployed to Live.
Development environment	The development environment contains Main, any custom branches, and hotfix branch
environment	Environments contain branches. There are two environments: live and development. The environment is defined by the database that it uses (i.e., the live environment uses the live database, while the development environment uses the development database).
hotfix branch	The hotfix branch is the only branch that can branch off of Live. Only one hotfix branch can exist at a time. While a hotfix branch exists, Main cannot be deployed to Live. Hotfix is available on higher plans.
in sync	When two branches are in sync, there are no conflicts that would be generated from merging the two branches
Live	Live is the version of your app that lives on the internet for users to interact with
Live environment	The live environment contains Live
Main branch	All apps have a Main branch. Main is the only branch that can be deployed to Live (aside from hotfix). Main sits at the very top of the branch tree hierarc
merge, merging	The process of integrating changes from the source branch into the base branch
parent branch	A branch that has child branches branching off of it; a parent branch can also be a child branch
resolve conflicts	To resolve conflicts that arise during the merge process, you must select which change to favor
restore	To restore is to return to a past version of a branch by using the savepoint feature or by entering a custom date/time
savepoint	Savepoints are automatically created in the base branch when you deploy to Live, start a merge, finish a merge, cancel a merge, or right before you restore your branch. Custom savepoints are savepoints that you can manually create at any time.
savepoint retention window	An app’s savepoint retention window dictates how far back you can restore any one of your branches
source branch	Refers to the branch that is the source of changes that you want to merge into the base branch
sync	To sync two branches is to merge them for the purposes of bringing changes in Live or Main into the base branch
to branch, branching	To create a branch off of another branch
version control	The system for tracking and managing changes to your app.

Legacy terminology and replacements

If you have been using Bubble for some time you may be familiar with the existing terminology that surrounded the previous version control. The following terms have been removed or replaced

Term	Definition
Adding changes from one version to another	Now "merging"
Development	Now "Main branch"
live version	Now "Live"
custom version	Now "custom branch"