SDF + Git Practice Guide

A hands-on practice guide for team collaboration using SDF and Git in VS Code. This guide walks through real-world scenarios with two developers working together.

Practice Team

This guide uses two example developers:

Developer A (ryandiocean)
Developer B (luckyocean)

Replace these with your actual team members when practicing.

Prerequisites

Before starting these exercises, ensure you have completed:

New Employee Onboarding - Git, Node.js, VS Code setup
Git Workflows - Understanding of branch strategy

Git Flow Overview

This diagram shows how ryandiocean and luckyocean collaborate on the same codebase:

main ─────●─────────────────────────────────────●───────●─── (Production)
          │                                     │       ↑
          │                                hotfix/NS-999│
          │                                     └───────┘
          │
          ↓
develop ──●────●────●────●────●────●────●────●────●─────── (Integration)
               │    ↑    │    ↑    │    ↑
               │    │    │    │    │    │
          ryandiocean    luckyocean    │
          feature/      feature/       │
          NS-123        NS-456         │
               │         │             │
               └─────────┘             │
                   ↓                   │
              Both merge          bugfix branches
              to develop          (NS-789, NS-790)
                                  may conflict!

Branch Timeline Example

Two Developer Workflow

Step	ryandiocean	luckyocean
1	`git checkout -b feature/NS-123`	`git checkout -b feature/NS-456`
2	Works on `beforeSubmit`	Works on `afterSubmit`
3	Commits and pushes	Commits and pushes
4	Merges to develop first ✅	Pulls develop, then merges ✅
5	Both features in develop	No conflict (different functions)

Practice Project Structure

For these exercises, we'll use a sample SDF project:

suitescript-demo/
├── manifest.xml                 # SDF project manifest
├── deploy.xml                   # Deployment configuration
├── suitecloud.config.js         # SuiteCloud config
├── package.json                 # NPM dependencies
├── .gitignore
└── src/
    ├── FileCabinet/
    │   └── SuiteScripts/
    │       └── user_event_customer.js
    └── Objects/
        └── customscript_ue_customer_validation.xml

Scenario 1: Feature Development Without Conflict

Goal: Two developers work on different parts of the same file without creating conflicts.

Flow

ryandiocean                              luckyocean
     │                                        │
     ├─ 1. checkout develop                   │
     ├─ 2. create feature/NS-123              │
     ├─ 3. edit beforeSubmit                  │
     ├─ 4. commit & push                      │
     ├─ 5. merge to develop ✅                │
     │                                        │
     │                                   6. checkout develop
     │                                   7. pull (gets A's code)
     │                                   8. create feature/NS-456
     │                                   9. edit afterSubmit
     │                                  10. commit & push
     │                                  11. merge to develop ✅

Result: No conflict because they edited different functions (beforeSubmit vs afterSubmit).

Developer A: Add Email Validation (NS-123)

# Start from develop
git checkout develop
git pull origin develop
git checkout -b feature/NS-123-email-validation

Edit src/FileCabinet/SuiteScripts/user_event_customer.js - add in beforeSubmit:

// Email validation (NS-123 - Developer A)
var email = customer.getValue({ fieldId: 'email' });
if (email && email.indexOf('@') === -1) {
    throw Error('Invalid email format');
}

Validate and commit:

# Validate in VS Code
# Ctrl+Shift+P → SuiteCloud: Validate Project

git add .
git commit -m "[NS-123] Add email validation in beforeSubmit"
git push origin feature/NS-123-email-validation

Test in Sandbox:

Method	When to Use	How
Upload File	Quick test, single file only	Right-click file → `Upload File to Account`
Deploy Project	New scripts, XML changes, multiple files	`Ctrl+Shift+P` → `SuiteCloud: Deploy Project`

Upload File for Quick Testing

If you only changed one script file and want to test quickly without deploying the entire project:

Right-click the .js file in VS Code Explorer
Select "Upload File to Account"
Choose your Sandbox account
File uploads instantly to File Cabinet

This is faster than full project deploy but only works for existing scripts (the script deployment record must already exist in NetSuite).

Developer B: Add Phone Logging (NS-456)

# Start from develop (in parallel)
git checkout develop
git pull origin develop
git checkout -b feature/NS-456-phone-logging

Edit src/FileCabinet/SuiteScripts/user_event_customer.js - add in afterSubmit:

// Phone logging (NS-456 - Developer B)
var phone = customer.getValue({ fieldId: 'phone' });
log.audit('Customer Phone', 'Phone: ' + phone);

Validate and commit:

git add .
git commit -m "[NS-456] Add phone logging in afterSubmit"
git push origin feature/NS-456-phone-logging

Merging Both Features (No Conflict)

Since developers modified different functions (beforeSubmit vs afterSubmit), Git can merge automatically.

Developer A merges first:

git checkout develop
git pull origin develop
git merge feature/NS-123-email-validation
git push origin develop

Developer B merges after:

git checkout develop
git pull origin develop
git merge feature/NS-456-phone-logging
git push origin develop

Result: Both features are now in develop without conflicts.

Scenario 2: Creating and Resolving Merge Conflicts

Goal: Intentionally create a conflict to practice resolution.

Flow

ryandiocean                              luckyocean
     │                                        │
     ├─ 1. create bugfix/NS-789               ├─ 2. create bugfix/NS-790
     ├─ 3. edit SAME line                     ├─ 4. edit SAME line
     ├─ 5. commit & push (to own branch ✅)   ├─ 6. commit & push (to own branch ✅)
     ├─ 7. checkout develop                   │
     ├─ 8. pull develop                       │
     ├─ 9. merge NS-789 to develop ✅         │
     ├─ 10. push develop ✅                   │
     │                                        │
     │                                  11. checkout develop
     │                                  12. pull develop (gets A's changes)
     │                                  13. merge NS-790 → CONFLICT!
     │                                  14. open VS Code, see markers
     │                                  15. combine both changes
     │                                  16. validate with SuiteCloud
     │                                  17. git add → git commit
     │                                  18. push develop ✅

Why No Push Rejection at Step 6?

Each developer pushes to their own branch (bugfix/NS-789 and bugfix/NS-790), not to develop. Push rejection only occurs when pushing to a branch that has commits you don't have locally. The conflict happens during merge (step 13), not during push.

Developer A: Change Log Level (NS-789)

git checkout develop
git pull origin develop
git checkout -b bugfix/NS-789-log-level

Edit afterSubmit - CHANGE log.audit to log.debug:

log.debug('After Submit', 'Customer saved with ID: ' + customerId);

git add .
git commit -m "[NS-789] Change log level to debug"
git push origin bugfix/NS-789-log-level

Developer B: Add Timestamp (NS-790)

git checkout develop
git pull origin develop
git checkout -b bugfix/NS-790-timestamp

Edit the same line in afterSubmit:

log.audit('After Submit', 'Customer saved with ID: ' + customerId + ' at ' + new Date());

git add .
git commit -m "[NS-790] Add timestamp to log"
git push origin bugfix/NS-790-timestamp

The Conflict Occurs

Developer A merges first (success):

git checkout develop
git pull origin develop
git merge bugfix/NS-789-log-level
git push origin develop

Developer B tries to merge (CONFLICT!):

git checkout develop
git pull origin develop
git merge bugfix/NS-790-timestamp
# CONFLICT: Merge conflict in user_event_customer.js

Resolving the Conflict in VS Code

VS Code highlights the conflict:

<<<<<<< HEAD
        log.debug('After Submit', 'Customer saved with ID: ' + customerId);
=======
        log.audit('After Submit', 'Customer saved with ID: ' + customerId + ' at ' + new Date());
>>>>>>> bugfix/NS-790-timestamp

VS Code buttons above the conflict:

Button	Action
`Accept Current Change`	Keep HEAD version (debug)
`Accept Incoming Change`	Keep incoming version (audit + timestamp)
`Accept Both Changes`	Include both lines
`Compare Changes`	Side-by-side view

Best resolution - combine both changes:

Click Accept Current Change
Manually add the timestamp:

log.debug('After Submit', 'Customer saved with ID: ' + customerId + ' at ' + new Date());

Validate and complete the merge:

# Validate
Ctrl+Shift+P → SuiteCloud: Validate Project

git add .
git commit -m "Merge bugfix/NS-790: Resolved conflict - debug with timestamp"
git push origin develop

Scenario 3: Production Hotfix

Goal: Fix a critical production issue using the hotfix workflow.

Flow

1. Critical bug in Production!
      │
      ▼
2. git checkout main (branch from MAIN, not develop!)
      │
      ▼
3. git checkout -b hotfix/NS-999
      │
      ▼
4. Fix the bug in VS Code
      │
      ▼
5. Validate with SuiteCloud
      │
      ▼
6. Deploy to Production
      │
      ▼
7. Merge hotfix to main → push
      │
      ▼
8. Sync fix to develop ✅

Developer A: Critical Null Check (NS-999)

# Branch from MAIN (not develop!)
git checkout main
git pull origin main
git checkout -b hotfix/NS-999-null-check

Edit afterSubmit - add null check at the beginning:

function afterSubmit(context) {
    // Hotfix NS-999 - null check
    if (!context.newRecord) {
        log.error('After Submit', 'No record found');
        return;
    }

    var customer = context.newRecord;
    // ... rest of code
}

Validate:

Ctrl+Shift+P → SuiteCloud: Validate Project

Commit and push:

git add .
git commit -m "[NS-999] HOTFIX: Add null check for context.newRecord"
git push origin hotfix/NS-999-null-check

Deploy to Production:

Ctrl+Shift+P → SuiteCloud: Deploy Project → Select Production

Merge to main AND develop:

# Merge to main
git checkout main
git merge hotfix/NS-999-null-check
git push origin main

# Also sync to develop
git checkout develop
git pull origin develop
git merge main
git push origin develop

Scenario 4: Syncing Changes Made in NetSuite UI

Goal: Import and version control changes made directly in NetSuite's web interface.

Flow

1. Someone edited script in NetSuite UI
      │
      ▼
2. Changes are NOT in Git!
      │
      ▼
3. Create sync branch from develop
      │
      ▼
4. Import Files (Ctrl+Shift+P → SuiteCloud: Import Files)
      │
      ▼
5. Import Objects (Ctrl+Shift+P → SuiteCloud: Import Objects)
      │
      ▼
6. Review changes in VS Code
      │
      ▼
7. Commit → Push → Merge to develop ✅

When to Use This

Someone edited a script directly in NetSuite
Custom record was modified via UI
Workflow was updated in NetSuite
Any change made outside of SDF deployment

Step-by-Step Process

# Create sync branch
git checkout develop
git pull origin develop
git checkout -b sync/NS-888-import-ui-changes

Import Files from NetSuite:

Press Ctrl+Shift+P
Type: SuiteCloud: Import Files
Select your account
Navigate to /SuiteScripts/
Select the modified file(s)
Click Import

Import Objects from NetSuite:

Press Ctrl+Shift+P
Type: SuiteCloud: Import Objects
Select your account
Choose object type (e.g., usereventscript)
Select the specific object(s)
Click Import

Commit and merge:

git add .
git commit -m "[NS-888] Sync changes from NetSuite UI

- Imported updated user_event_customer.js
- Imported customscript_ue_customer_validation.xml"

git push origin sync/NS-888-import-ui-changes

# Merge to develop
git checkout develop
git merge sync/NS-888-import-ui-changes
git push origin develop

Best Practice

Discourage direct NetSuite UI edits. Always prefer SDF deployment for version control. Use sync branches only when UI changes were unavoidable.

VS Code SuiteCloud Quick Reference

Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P)

Action	Command
Set up account	`SuiteCloud: Set Up Account`
Deploy entire project	`SuiteCloud: Deploy Project`
Validate project	`SuiteCloud: Validate Project`
Import files from NetSuite	`SuiteCloud: Import Files`
Import objects from NetSuite	`SuiteCloud: Import Objects`
List objects in account	`SuiteCloud: List Objects`
Add dependency references	`SuiteCloud: Add Dependency References`

Right-click on a file in VS Code Explorer:

Option	Description
`Deploy to Account`	Deploy single file to NetSuite
`Compare with Account`	Compare local vs NetSuite version
`Upload File to Account`	Upload without full project deploy

Keyboard Shortcuts

Action	Shortcut
Command Palette	`Ctrl+Shift+P`
Open Terminal	Ctrl+`
Source Control Panel	`Ctrl+Shift+G`
File Explorer	`Ctrl+Shift+E`
Search in Files	`Ctrl+Shift+F`
Save File	`Ctrl+S`
Save All Files	`Ctrl+K S`

Development Workflow Summary

Release to Production Workflow

# Merge develop to main
git checkout main
git pull origin main
git merge develop
git push origin main

# Deploy to production
Ctrl+Shift+P → SuiteCloud: Deploy Project → Production

# Tag the release
git tag -a v1.0.0 -m "Release version 1.0.0"
git push origin v1.0.0

Branch Naming Convention

Type	Format	Example
Feature	`feature/NS-XXX-description`	`feature/NS-123-email-validation`
Bugfix	`bugfix/NS-XXX-description`	`bugfix/NS-456-fix-null-error`
Hotfix	`hotfix/NS-XXX-description`	`hotfix/NS-999-critical-fix`
Sync	`sync/NS-XXX-description`	`sync/NS-888-import-changes`

Git Flow Diagram

main ─────●─────────────────────────●───────●─── (Production)
          │                         │       ↑
          │                    hotfix/NS-999│
          │                         └───────┘
          │
          ↓
develop ──●────●────●────●────●────●────●─────── (Integration)
               │    ↑    │    ↑
               │    │    │    │
      feature/NS-123    bugfix/NS-790
               └────┘    └────┘

Practice Exercises

Exercise 1: No-Conflict Merge

Developer A creates feature/test-a with changes to beforeSubmit
Developer B creates feature/test-b with changes to afterSubmit
Both merge to develop without conflicts

Exercise 2: Conflict Resolution

Developer A creates bugfix/test-a modifying line 50
Developer B creates bugfix/test-b modifying the same line 50
Practice resolving the conflict using VS Code merge editor

Exercise 3: Hotfix Flow

Create a hotfix branch from main
Fix an issue and deploy to production
Sync the hotfix back to develop

Exercise 4: Import from NetSuite

Make a small change to a script in NetSuite UI
Create a sync branch
Import the changes using SuiteCloud commands
Commit and merge to develop

Git Workflows - Detailed feature, bugfix, and hotfix workflows
Managing Merge Conflicts - In-depth conflict resolution
Deployment Workflow Guide - SDF deployment options
New Employee Onboarding - Initial setup guide

Prerequisites​

Git Flow Overview​

Branch Timeline Example​

Two Developer Workflow​

Practice Project Structure​

Scenario 1: Feature Development Without Conflict​

Flow​

Developer A: Add Email Validation (NS-123)​

Developer B: Add Phone Logging (NS-456)​

Merging Both Features (No Conflict)​

Scenario 2: Creating and Resolving Merge Conflicts​

Flow​

Developer A: Change Log Level (NS-789)​

Developer B: Add Timestamp (NS-790)​

The Conflict Occurs​

Resolving the Conflict in VS Code​

Scenario 3: Production Hotfix​

Flow​

Developer A: Critical Null Check (NS-999)​

Scenario 4: Syncing Changes Made in NetSuite UI​

Flow​

When to Use This​

Step-by-Step Process​

VS Code SuiteCloud Quick Reference​

Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P)​

Right-Click Context Menu​

Keyboard Shortcuts​

Development Workflow Summary​

Release to Production Workflow​

Branch Naming Convention​

Git Flow Diagram​

Practice Exercises​

Exercise 1: No-Conflict Merge​

Exercise 2: Conflict Resolution​

Exercise 3: Hotfix Flow​

Exercise 4: Import from NetSuite​

Related Documentation​

Prerequisites

Git Flow Overview

Branch Timeline Example

Two Developer Workflow

Practice Project Structure

Scenario 1: Feature Development Without Conflict

Flow

Developer A: Add Email Validation (NS-123)

Developer B: Add Phone Logging (NS-456)

Merging Both Features (No Conflict)

Scenario 2: Creating and Resolving Merge Conflicts

Flow

Developer A: Change Log Level (NS-789)

Developer B: Add Timestamp (NS-790)

The Conflict Occurs

Resolving the Conflict in VS Code

Scenario 3: Production Hotfix

Flow

Developer A: Critical Null Check (NS-999)

Scenario 4: Syncing Changes Made in NetSuite UI

Flow

When to Use This

Step-by-Step Process

VS Code SuiteCloud Quick Reference

Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P)

Right-Click Context Menu

Keyboard Shortcuts

Development Workflow Summary

Release to Production Workflow

Branch Naming Convention

Git Flow Diagram

Practice Exercises

Exercise 1: No-Conflict Merge

Exercise 2: Conflict Resolution

Exercise 3: Hotfix Flow

Exercise 4: Import from NetSuite

Related Documentation