The guide still opened by calling a branch an isolated copy of a file,
called the merge base a snapshot frozen at creation and the op log
append-only, and gave the creation transaction a reason for deferring
constraints that does not hold. It now says a branch copies no data,
that an update from main repositions the base and squashes or empties
the log, and that every row referencing the new file is inserted after
it.
The same pass corrects five more statements: base_branch_revn holds the
branch file's own revision; a branch kept after a merge keeps its pin;
op log rows survive a logical deletion and go with the cascade when the
file row is hard-deleted; a resolution may be a per-attribute map; and
the listing now runs through `audited`, while a refusal raised as an
error writes no audit event. The RPC table gains get-branching-limits,
the test lists name all five test namespaces, and the UI and event
lists name the limits, merge, and info dialogs.
AI-assisted-by: claude-opus-5-5
The sentence opened with every mutation and then listed three that are the
exception, which a reader has to reconcile. It now opens with the set that
does attach the three keys: the mutations through `audited` and a save routed
to a branch's op log.
The guide claimed the three keys for every branch operation. The three metadata
mutations and the three reads carry the generic RPC event alone, which records
who called what and no duration, so the section now says which is which.
The guide claimed the three audit keys for every branch operation through
`audited`, which was true of creation, compare, merge, update-from-main and
materialise. A save routed to a branch's op log attaches them on the
`update-file` event instead, because that is the props map the ordinary save
already replaces.
The technical guide documented the full-copy branch model this change
replaces. Update the conceptual model, data model, creation steps,
ahead/behind computation, update-from-main (squash), and the limitations
section to describe the derived-state model.
This commit carries the design-branching preview by Juan de la Cruz:
elhombretecla/penpot:branching at 0ac265a3f5, which holds 45 commits
and 3 develop merges and was last synced with develop on 2026-09-16.
The branch is squashed together with a merge of origin/develop at
7c039231f7, so the tree is the merged result.
The merge resolved conflicts in six files:
- backend/src/app/migrations.clj: develop's 0155 and 0156 steps run
first, then the branching steps; the names differ.
- backend/src/app/rpc/commands/viewer.clj: both requires stay.
- common/src/app/common/flags.cljc: both flags stay.
- frontend/src/app/main/ui/dashboard/file_menu.cljs: "Create branch"
becomes a menu-item* with the same id, guard and handler.
- frontend/src/app/main/ui/dashboard/grid.cljs: the portal goes with
develop's menu rewrite; the branches popover stays in the trigger.
- frontend/translations/en.po: both sides' entries stay, with
develop's source references.
Co-authored-by: Juan de la Cruz <delacruzgarciajuan@gmail.com>
AI-assisted-by: mixed models
