Pull request into develop branch - should you close feature branch on merge?

[Jake Walters]

Our team is debating leaving a feature/task branch open vs closing it when we merge that branch into the develop branch through a pull request. 

Could we have some input on reasons to keep open vs close?

Couldn't find much information online about this topic and would be good to have some wider opinions.

Thanks 

Jake

[Jimmy Seddon]

Hi @Jake Walters,

Welcome to the Community!

I'm going to start by saying that I'm sure there are really good reasons for either option, it depends on how you work.

We opt to close branches as soon as a feature has merged.  Why? Because it takes seconds to recreate them if you really need something with the same name.  However, if we leave them open we need to constantly refresh with a merge from the development branch to keep the branch in sync.

That's my two cents.  I'd love to hear the thoughts and opinions from others.

-Jimmy

[Jake Walters]

Hi @Jimmy Seddon 

Thank you!

I'm fairly used to closing feature branches once that work is part of the main branch as I see no reason (yet) to keep it open, it makes sense for any future updates to be made in a new branch from develop. 

Looking forward to hearing any more opinions.

[Kemboi]

Hi @Jimmy Seddon  

Actually the branch management looks cleaner and smarter upon closing a branch after merging to the develop branch

[Jimmy Seddon]

Agreed @Kemboi!  Another good reason to opt for closing branches vs leaving them open.