How Netflix Engineers Use Git at Unprecedented Scale

Netflix serves 230+ million subscribers across 190+ countries. Their Git workflows are battle-tested at massive scale, handling thousands of deployments daily while maintaining 99.99% uptime.

Netflix's Git Branching Strategy

1. Main Branch Protection

Netflix's main branch is heavily protected with automated checks:

• Mandatory code reviews from 2+ senior engineers
• Automated security scanning
• Performance regression testing
• Chaos engineering validation

2. Feature Branch Workflow

Every feature starts in an isolated branch with specific naming conventions:

feature/user-profile-enhancement
hotfix/video-playback-optimization
experiment/recommendation-algorithm-v2
      

Netflix's Deployment Pipeline Integration

Canary Deployments with Git

Netflix uses Git tags to trigger different deployment stages:

1. Dev deployment: Triggered by commits to feature branches
2. Staging deployment: Triggered by pull request creation
3. Canary deployment: Triggered by merge to main
4. Full production: Triggered by release tags

Feature Flags and Git Integration

Netflix engineers use Git metadata to control feature flags:

# Feature flag metadata in commit message
feat: new recommendation engine

Feature-Flag: recommendation-v2
Rollout-Percentage: 1%
Target-Regions: us-west-1
      

Netflix's Crisis Management with Git

Rapid Rollback Procedures

When issues affect millions of users, Netflix engineers can rollback in under 2 minutes:

# Emergency rollback command
git tag rollback-$(date +%s)
git reset --hard previous-stable-tag
      

Hotfix Deployment Process

1. Create hotfix branch from production tag
2. Implement minimal fix with extensive testing
3. Deploy to canary environment automatically
4. Monitor metrics for 10 minutes
5. Auto-promote to production if metrics are green

Netflix's Advanced Git Techniques

Microservice Coordination

With 700+ microservices, Netflix uses Git submodules and sophisticated tooling:

• Service dependency tracking through Git
• Automated compatibility testing
• Cross-service deployment orchestration

A/B Testing Integration

Netflix runs thousands of A/B tests simultaneously. Git commits include experiment metadata:

# Experiment tracking in Git
Experiment-ID: homepage-redesign-v3
Hypothesis: New layout increases engagement by 15%
Success-Metrics: watch-time, click-through-rate
      

Netflix Engineering Culture and Git

Freedom and Responsibility

Netflix engineers have freedom to deploy, but with great responsibility:

• Each engineer owns their deployment decisions
• Comprehensive monitoring and alerting
• Blameless post-mortem culture
• Continuous learning from incidents

Tools That Make Netflix Git Workflows Possible

Spinnaker Integration

Netflix's Spinnaker deployment platform integrates deeply with Git:

• Git webhooks trigger deployment pipelines
• Commit metadata drives deployment decisions
• Automated rollback based on Git history

Custom Git Hooks

Netflix has developed custom Git hooks for:

• Automated code quality checks
• Security vulnerability scanning
• License compliance verification
• Performance impact assessment

Key Metrics Netflix Tracks

Lessons from Netflix's Git Journey

Evolution of Practices

Netflix's Git workflows have evolved significantly:

• 2010: Traditional Git workflows with manual processes
• 2015: Introduction of automated deployment pipelines
• 2020: Full chaos engineering integration
• 2024: AI-assisted code review and deployment decisions

Practice Netflix-Level Git Workflows

Ready to implement Netflix-style Git workflows in your organization? Our interactive platform provides hands-on experience with the same techniques Netflix engineers use daily.