backport's Introduction

backport

A simple CLI tool that automates the process of backporting commits

What is backporting?

Backporting is the action of taking parts from a newer version of a software system [..] and porting them to an older version of the same software. It forms part of the maintenance step in a software development process, and it is commonly used for fixing security issues in older versions of the software and also for providing new features to older versions.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backporting

Who is this tool for?

If your development workflow looks something like this:

Write some code, merge those changes to master (eg. using a pull request)
Cherry-pick one or more commits from master onto one or more branches
Push those branches and a create new backport pull requests

Then backport might save you a lot of time and effort. The CLI will ask you which commit to backport, and to which branch and the cherry-pick the commit, and create a pull request towards the correct branch.

Requirements

Node 8 or higher

Install

npm install -g backport

After installation you must update the global config in ~/.backport/config with your Github username and a Github access token. More info here

Usage

Run the CLI in your project folder (eg. in the Kibana folder):

$ backport

Follow the steps. You can use the arrow keys to choose options, <space> to select checkboxes and <enter> to proceed.

Options

Option	Description	Accepts
--all	Show all commits	boolean (default: false)
--branch	Branch to backport	array (default: [])
--multiple	Backport multiple commits and/or branches	boolean
--upstream	Name of repository	string
--sha	Commit sha to backport	string
--help	Show help
-v, --version	Show version number