Source Control

Larger organizations with multiple teams usually need to make changes to their tracking plan and analytics implementations in parallel.

This page covers how to use branches in Ampli with source control systems such as Git.

Workflow summary

When you need to update the tracking plan:

1. Create a branch in Amplitude Data. Make tracking plan updates.
2. Create a branch in Git.
3. Pull the latest generated code for your Data branch into your Git branch with ampli pull.
4. Implement the changes using the Ampli Wrapper in your code on your Git branch.
5. Check implementation status with ampli status.
6. Merge the Data branch.
7. Check merge status with ampli status --is-merged.
8. Merge the Git branch.

Branches in Ampli

Ampli CLI

The Ampli CLI can pull generated Ampli Wrapper code for sources and branches you create in Data.

The first time you run ampli pull you're prompted to select a Source and Branch from your tracking plan. The command creates an ampli.json file to store your configuration for future development.

ampli pull
Ampli project is not initialized. No existing 'ampli.json' configuration found.
? Create a new Ampli project here? Yes
Organization: Amplitude Website (Portfolio)
? Select a workspace: Data
? Select a source: browser
Source: browser
Runtime: Browser/TypeScript
? Select a branch: feature-branch-name
✔ Pulling version 74 (latest)

If you want to change branches later, use one of the following options.

ampli checkout [my-branch-name]

This command pulls the specified branch from Data to your Ampli Wrapper. If you don't specify a branch name, Ampli prompts you to select one from a list of active branches in your tracking plan.

ampli checkout
? Select a branch
  feature-branch-name (current)
  add-products-to-cart
❯ remove-old-forms
  new-registration-metrics
(Move up and down to reveal more choices)

ampli pull -b my-branch-name

The --branch flag on ampli pull sets the tracking plan to use for the generated source code.

ampli checkout feature-branch-name
Source: browser
Runtime: Browser/TypeScript
Branch: feature-branch-name
✔ Pulling version 74 (latest)
All events are up to date.

ampli.json

The ampli.json file contains configuration information for the Ampli CLI, including the current branch and version. Running ampli pull and ampli checkout updates ampli.json based on the selected tracking plan.

{
  "OrgId": "12345",
  "WorkspaceId": "my-workspace-id",
  "SourceId": "my-source-id",
  "Runtime": "node.js:typescript-ampli"
  "Path": "./path/to/ampli",
  "Branch": "main",
  "Version": "1.0.0",
}

Coordination and enforcement

The Ampli CLI provides checks to help teams coordinate development across branches.

ampli status

In addition to verifying tracking plan implementation status in your source code, the status command includes checks for branching functionality.

Example branch structure

b1           1 -> 2 -> 3
            /            \
main       1      ->      2    ->   3
           \ \                     /
b2          \ 1 -> 2 -> 3 -> 4 -> 5
             \
b3            1 -> 2 -> 3 -> 4

Check whether someone merged the current Ampli branch

ampli status --is-merged

ampli status --is-merged
✔ Verifying event tracking implementation in source code
  ✔ Event A (1 location)
  ✔ Event B (1 location)
✔ All events tracked 2 found, 2 total
⚠ WARNING The current branch branch-mapping version 74 has already been merged into main. Verified implementation against main version 75.
We recommend running ampli pull to update to the latest tracking plan.
✔ Branch branch-mapping version 74 is merged.

The --is-merged flag checks the current branch and version in your ampli.json. If someone merged the exact branch version into Ampli main, the command succeeds. Otherwise, the command exits with error code 1. The command always returns success for the Ampli main branch.

For the branch structure example, is-merged returns success for b1@3, b2@5, main@3, main@2, and main@1.

Check whether the current Ampli branch uses the latest version

ampli status --is-latest

ampli status --is-latest
✔ Verifying event tracking implementation in source code
  ✔ Event A (1 location)
  ✔ Event B (1 location)
✔ All events tracked 2 found, 2 total
✔ You are on the latest version of feature-branch-name

The --is-latest flag checks the branch and version in ampli.json. If the version is the latest one published for the branch, the command succeeds. Otherwise, the command exits with error code 1.

For the branch structure example, is-latest returns success for b2@5, b3@4, and main@3.

The --is-latest-if-not-on-default-branch flag works the same as is-latest, but also returns success for any version of the Ampli main branch. Use this flag for CI integrations where you don't want to enforce the latest version on the main branch.

For the branch structure example, is-latest-if-not-on-default-branch returns success for b2@5, b3@4, main@3, main@2, and main@1.

Combine checks

When you combine multiple checks ampli status returns success only if all checks pass. A failure in any check results in an error exit code.

When multiple checks run, each check outputs its status on a separate line with individual errors and warnings.

Common errors and solutions

ampli status --is-merged --is-latest
✘ Verifying event tracking implementation in source code
  ✘ Event A
  ✘ Event B
✘ ERROR Event tracking incomplete 2 missed, 2 total
✘ ERROR Branch feature-branch-name version 73 is not merged.
✘ ERROR Branch feature-branch-name latest version is 74. You are on 73. Run ampli pull to update.

Here are some common errors and solutions for the ampli status command.

Event tracking implementation error

• You haven't correctly instrumented all events in your tracking plan.
• Implement the missing events in your project using the Ampli Wrapper.

is-merged error

This error means you're on an unmerged Ampli branch. To fix this error:

1. Log into Data and check to make sure your tracking plan has been reviewed and approved.
2. You may need to select Refresh on your Data branch before you can merge. If so, run ampli pull again to get the latest updates.
3. Merge your Data branch.

is-latest error

• You aren't on the latest version of your Data branch.
• Run ampli pull to update your local project.

Enforce branch coordination

ampli status --is-merged --is-latest

ampli status --is-merged --is-latest
✔ Verifying event tracking implementation in source code
  ✔ Event A (1 location)
  ✔ Event B (1 location)
✔ All events tracked 2 found, 2 total
⚠ WARNING The current branch feature-branch-name version 74 has already been merged into main. Verified implementation against main version 75.
We recommend running ampli pull to update to the latest tracking plan.
✔ Branch feature-branch-name version 74 is merged.
✔ You are on the latest version of feature-branch-name

Use the ampli status command to make sure that your Ampli and Git branches stay in sync.

Before you merge your Git branch with implementation changes, verify that both is-merged and is-latest checks pass. Run ampli status --is-merged --is-latest.

CI workflows

Add branch status checks in CI to make sure that code follows best practices.

Amplitude recommends adding status checks to all your PR workflows. In addition to ampli status -u*, add a call to ampli status --is-merged.

You can combine these into a single command, but keeping them separate in CI can help identify whether implementation checks succeed independently from branch checks.

• In PR workflows Amplitude recommends using --skip-update-on-default-branch when calling --update or -u.

Use is-latest in CI

Although is-latest isn't required, use it in CI workflows for stricter enforcement.

If you use is-latest in a multi-team environment or on a tracking plan with multiple sources, you may need extra steps to keep the merge checks passing. Changes merged into the main tracking plan by other teams or on other sources cause future runs of is-latest to fail in your project because your project is no longer on the latest version.

In this case, you can explicitly lock the tracking plan to a specific version on the main branch by using --is-latest-if-not-on-default-branch.

Any time an external change happens to the tracking plan, follow these steps:

1. Run ampli pull to update ampli.json to the main branch.
2. Commit changes to Git branch.

After ampli.json is on the main branch, future calls to --is-latest-if-not-on-default-branch pass. The flag behavior keeps the current version fixed regardless of new tracking plan changes.

GitHub Actions

Initial setup

1. Add ampli-implementation-check.yml and ampli-merge-check.yml to your .github/workflows directory.

   yaml

   Copy

   name: Ampli Implementation Check
   on: pull_request
   
   jobs:
     build:
       runs-on: ubuntu-latest
       container:
         image: amplitudeinc/ampli
   
       steps:
         - name: Checkout repo
           uses: actions/checkout@v2
   
         - name: Verify analytics implementation and update status in Data
           run: ampli status -u --skip-update-on-default-branch -t ${{secrets.AMPLI_TOKEN}}
   

   yaml

   Copy

   name: Ampli Merge Check
   on: pull_request
   
   jobs:
     build:
       runs-on: ubuntu-latest
       container:
         image: amplitudeinc/ampli
   
       steps:
         - name: Checkout repo
           uses: actions/checkout@v2
   
         - name: Check Data branch merge status before merging the Git branch
           run: ampli status --is-merged -t ${{secrets.AMPLI_TOKEN}}
   

2. If your Ampli project is in a subdirectory, you may need to set the correct working directory in your Actions. Refer to GitHub's workflow syntax documentation.

3. Create an API token in Data. Do this from Settings > API Tokens > Create Token.

4. Add the API token to your repository secrets as AMPLI_TOKEN. Do this from Settings > Secrets > Actions > New repository secret.

5. Commit the workflows to your repo. On each PR, Ampli checks both the implementation status and merge status of the current branch in your tracking plan.

PR workflow

1. During development, the "Ampli Merge Check" in GitHub fails continuously until you merge the corresponding branch in Data. The failure ensures that your code stays in sync with the tracking plan.

2. Start by implementing the latest changes to your tracking plan. The Ampli Implementation Check verifies those changes.

3. After all other checks have passed except the "Ampli Merge Check", you are ready to get approval in GitHub.

4. After GitHub approves your PR, go to https://data.amplitude.com and merge your Data branch. Do this under Home after selecting the branch in the left-hand dropdown.

5. After you merge the branch in Data, you can re-run the "Ampli Merge Check" in GitHub.

   • Click Details next to the failed "Ampli Merge Check - PR" job.
   • Click Re-run jobs > Re-run failed jobs.

6. After the "Ampli Merge Check" runs successfully, you can merge your Git branch.

Bitbucket Pipelines, Circle CI, and other CI/CD systems

You can add merge and implementation checks to many different CI workflows with the Ampli CLI. To simplify integration, use the Ampli CLI Docker containers, which are already configured to run the Ampli CLI commands.

Follow the high-level setup to add merge and implementation checks to your CI workflows.

High-level setup:

1. Use an Ampli CLI Docker image to run Ampli CLI commands.
2. Create an API token in Data.
3. Add the API token as a repository or workflow secret.
4. Add an Ampli implementation check to run on PR.
5. Add an Ampli merge check to run on PR.

Refer to the GitHub Actions instructions for an example.

FAQs

Check Ampli generated code and ampli.json into git

Yes. Check the generated code from Ampli and ampli.json into source control. With ampli.json checked in, the source code stays pinned to a specific point in time of the tracking plan, and your team shares the Ampli CLI configuration. Check the Ampli generated file into git like any other code in your project.

Resolve git conflicts in Ampli generated code and ampli.json

No. If you have git conflicts in any Ampli-related files, such as Ampli generated code or ampli.json, run ampli pull. The Ampli CLI resolves the conflicts automatically.

Ampli branch references in ampli.json on git main

Yes, that's expected. The Ampli CLI uses this information to verify that the Ampli branch has been merged, for example when automatically resolving git merge conflicts. The information also documents which tracking plan version the most recent tracking plan implementation for this source used. The Ampli CLI automatically updates ampli.json on the next ampli pull, pinning the file to the new Ampli branch you're pulling from.

Run ampli pull -b main before merging a Git branch

No. If you used an earlier version of Ampli, update to Ampli CLI 1.9.0+ and pull the latest version of your Ampli Wrapper. After that, you don't need to run ampli pull -b main again.