Charlotte Good

Technical Writing Portfolio

Best Practices for Using GitHub: A Case Study

Using GitHub in Large Tech Teams: Insights from Shopify

Developers collaborating on GitHub in an open office environment.

Introduction

For enterprise-scale technology companies like Shopify, GitHub is more than just a code repository—it’s the backbone of team collaboration, code quality, and streamlined delivery. Managing complex codebases across distributed teams requires robust workflows and best practices that scale. This guide explores how Shopify optimizes GitHub for large engineering teams, offering actionable insights for other organizations seeking to boost productivity, maintain quality, and foster secure, agile development.

1. Branching Strategy: Trunk-Based Development

Diagram illustrating trunk-based development workflow.

Choosing the right branching strategy is essential for minimizing merge conflicts and accelerating delivery. While many enterprises use GitFlow, Shopify’s teams often favor trunk-based development.

Why Trunk-Based?

  • Encourages continuous integration (CI)
  • Reduces long-lived branches and complex merges
  • Enables faster feedback and deployment

Best Practices:

  • Keep feature branches short-lived
  • Merge to the main branch frequently
  • Automate testing on every push

Learn more:

2. Code Reviews: Quality Through Collaboration

Pull request review interface with comments and automated checks.

Mandatory peer reviews are central to Shopify’s workflow. Every pull request (PR) undergoes automated checks and at least one peer review before merging.

How Shopify Does It:

  • Uses GitHub Actions to run automated tests, linting, and security scans on PRs
  • Enforces review requirements via branch protection rules
  • Encourages constructive feedback and knowledge sharing

Benefits:

  • Maintains code quality and consistency
  • Catches bugs early
  • Fosters team learning and alignment

3. Issue Tracking Integration: Transparent Progress

Linking GitHub issues to project management tools is vital for visibility and prioritization.

Shopify’s Approach:

  • Integrates GitHub Issues with Jira or GitHub Projects
  • Tracks feature progress, bug fixes, and technical debt in real time
  • Enables cross-functional teams to collaborate transparently

Best Practices:

  • Use labels and milestones for organization
  • Reference issues in commits and PRs for traceability

4. Documentation: Clear Onboarding & Contribution

Developer reading a README file on a laptop.

Strong documentation is crucial for onboarding new developers and maintaining standards across teams.

At Shopify:

  • Every repository includes a detailed README.md outlining setup, usage, and contribution guidelines
  • Maintains a CONTRIBUTING.md for PR and issue etiquette
  • Uses GitHub Wikis for deeper technical docs

Tips:

  • Keep docs up to date with code changes
  • Use clear, concise language and examples

5. Security: Proactive Vulnerability Management

Security dashboard showing dependency alerts in GitHub.

Security is non-negotiable at scale. Shopify leverages GitHub’s built-in security features to stay ahead of threats.

Key Practices:

  • Enable Dependabot for automatic dependency updates and alerts
  • Use Code Scanning to detect vulnerabilities in code
  • Regularly review and address security advisories

6. Communication & Training: The Human Factor

Technical tools are only as effective as the teams using them. Shopify invests in regular communication and ongoing training to keep everyone aligned and skilled.

How Shopify Supports Teams:

  • Weekly syncs and retrospectives
  • Internal documentation and onboarding sessions
  • Encourages knowledge sharing through code reviews and pair programming

Conclusion

By combining robust GitHub workflows with strong communication and security practices, Shopify’s engineering teams stay agile, aligned, and productive—even at scale. These best practices can help any large tech team harness the full potential of GitHub for enterprise development.

References & Further Reading