[Support request] Is there a way to handle version tracking of the build process in GP & GP

[Elvis]

Hi,

I come from custom theme development git workflow, weather for colab reasons or simply to be able to branch, revert to older commits etc.

Now that I move to GP as my framework I find my self lost, how do you handle project development version tracking here?

I am thinking, customizer settings, elements, global styles, local templates … dynamic css

I’ve found this https://versionpress.com/ but as the website says its not in stable mode yet.

Am I missing a tool, a protocol of working, a way of thinking …?

Please help

[Leo]

Hi there,

The theme itself (any themes) doesn’t handle things like this – the dashboard functionalities are basically all handled by WordPress core.

I would assume there are plugins out there that offer this type of feature though but unfortunately I’ve not used one before.

[Elvis]

Hello Leo,

That is not neccessarily true. Bricksbuilder is a theme, and has its native revision system, for example.
I understand the separation of concearn logic in your answer, themes are for design, plugin for functionality etc. but since GP & GB are handling much of the development process of a website, this should not neccesarily apply any more.

For example, dynamic CSS is in DB, not a file … so I cannot use git to handle this. Elements may contain a more complex layout/code, again what if it gets accidentally deleted or smtn. https://generatepress.com/forums/topic/add-post-revisions-to-generate-elements/

The plugin above seems to be abandoned (looking at github) and I cannot find any other.
So I assume backups are used to do this? As a designer/dev using GP & GB yourself … how do you approach your build process and saving the work while you are working.

tnx

[David]

Hi there,

that VersionPress looks pretty impressive, its the only solution i have seen that does Git version control of database content – it could be groundbreaking when its ready for the wild.

Before that happens, generally its going to be server backups and staging sites for managing updates.
As a bare minimum i have daily / 2x daily auto backups on sites and i make major updates on Staging servers.

I am sure big content creators have their own workflow systems for managing content revisions and updates.

[Elvis]

Hello David,

that VersionPress seems abandoned, sadly. Github has not been updated for quite some time. 🙁

Since Customizer has an export feature, and the rest of generatepress & generateblocks stuff elements, global styles, local templates are CPTs … inclding standard Revisions feature in them, would solve A LOT in this regard.

I see its been a plan for a while https://generatepress.com/forums/topic/add-post-revisions-to-generate-elements/

Will wait for that then.

Best,
Elvis

[David]

Thats a shame, the only alternative i could find was Revisr and that also has been abandoned. There just doesn’t seem to be the demand for this kind of thing.

Elements and revisions is something we should address, although personally i have never felt the need for it 🙂 They are Post types so they can be exported like any other if need be.

[Elvis]

David,

I feel post revisions would be pretty nice as they would allow me to deal with edit histories per post/element, etc, not the entire website as is the case with using a backup tool.

For now I will just add wp-cli’s “wp db export” to my git workflow. That seems like a simple enough addition, and will enable me to revert back, if I ever need to, simply.

Thanks for thinking about this with me.
🙂

[David]

Sounds like a plan – and thanks for sharing that !

[Author]

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