docs(branching): update branching strategy to use dev as default branch

[jumalaw98]

Summary

Brief description of what this PR does.

Changes

• Change base branch from main to dev for feature branch creation and pull requests
• Add upstream remote setup instructions for syncing with main repo
• Introduce two-branch integration model: main for production, dev for staging and PRs
• Define branch roles, merge targets, and naming conventions emphasizing dev usage
• Update CI gate and pipeline to target dev branch instead of main
• Describe hotfix workflow branching from main with PRs to main and dev
• Highlight rules forbidding direct pushes to main and dev branches
• Add detailed contributor and maintainer workflows with branch sync processes
• Update documentation to reflect dev as active development branch and main as stable release branch

---

Summary by cubic

Make dev the default branch and PR target; main is reserved for releases and hotfixes. Updated README, docs/PRD.md, and docs/SECURITY.md, and added a full docs/CONTRIBUTING.md outlining the dev-first workflow, CI gates, environments, release/hotfix steps, and deployment triggers.

• Migration
  • Existing clones: add upstream, fetch, and switch to dev (checkout and pull latest).
  • New work: branch from dev; open PRs to dev only.
  • Hotfixes: branch from main; open PRs to both main and dev.
  • Maintainers: release via dev → main, then sync main back into dev.

^{Written for commit a0415ad. Summary will update on new commits.}

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Project	Deployment	Actions	Updated (UTC)
sytcolabs	Ready	Preview, Comment	Mar 16, 2026 8:34am

[cubic-dev-ai]

1 issue found across 4 files

Prompt for AI agents (unresolved issues)

Check if these issues are valid — if so, understand the root cause of each and fix them. If appropriate, use sub-agents to investigate and fix each issue separately.


<file name="docs/CONTRIBUTING.md">

<violation number="1" location="docs/CONTRIBUTING.md:199">
P2: The contributor workflow pulls from `origin` (the fork), not `upstream`. Since the fork's `dev` isn't automatically kept in sync, `git pull origin dev` may fetch stale code. Consider changing the workflow to sync from upstream, e.g.:

1. Branch off dev git fetch upstream
   git checkout dev && git rebase upstream/dev
   git checkout -b feat/your-feature

</file>

_{Reply with feedback, questions, or to request a fix. Tag @cubic-dev-ai to re-run a review.}

[Oukomondi]

Looks good.