finishing-a-development-branch

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• SKILL.md

SKILL.md (first lines)

> **Pipeline position:** final stage — runs after all tasks complete — see [`../../reference/pipeline-flow.md`](../../reference/pipeline-flow.md).

# Finishing a Development Branch

## Overview

Guide completion of development work by presenting clear options and handling chosen workflow.

**Core principle:** Verify tests and linting → Present options → Execute choice → Clean up.

**Announce at start:** "I'm using the finishing-a-development-branch skill to complete this work."

## The Process

## PR-Ready Mode

When invoked by scaffolded goal execution, use PR-ready mode. In this mode, after tests and critical lint/format checks pass, pushing the branch and creating a Pull Request is mandatory. Do not present the local merge, keep-as-is, or discard options as the normal completion path.

PR-ready completion must:

1. Run `gh auth status` and stop with a clear blocked state if `gh` is missing or unauthenticated.
2. Push the current branch.
3. Create a PR with `gh pr create`.
4. Update the active goal metadata to `workflow_stage: implementation_pr_open`, `implementation_pr_url`, and `implementation_pr_number`.
5. Stop and state that human review plus PR merge is the acceptance gate.

### Step 1a: Verify Tests

**Before presenting options, verify tests pass:**

```bash
# Run project's test suite
npm test / cargo test / pytest / go test ./...
```

**If tests fail:**

```
Tests failing (<N> failures). Must fix before completing:

[Show failures]

Cannot proceed with merge/PR until tests pass.
```

Stop. Don't proceed to Step 2.

**If tests pass:** Continue to Step 2.

### Step 1b: Verify lint and formatting

```bash
# Run lint and formatting checks
npm run lint / cargo clippy / flake8 / go fmt -l ./...
```

**If formatting and linting fail:**
First define each failure based on if it is critical (e.g. clippy warnings treated as errors) or non-critical (e.g. go fmt issues that can be auto-fixed).

```
<formatter(eg. clippy)> failing (<N> failures). Must fix before completing:

[Show failures]

Cannot proceed with merge/PR until critical formatting linting pass.
```

### Step 2: Determine Base Branch

```bash
# Try common base branches
git merge-base HEAD main 2>/dev/null || git merge-base HEAD master 2>/dev/null
```

Or ask: "This branch split from main - is that correct?"

### Step 3: Present Options

Present exactly these 4 options:

```
Implementation complete. What would you like to do?

1. Merge back to <base-branch> locally
2. Push and create a Pull Request
3. Keep the branch as-is (I'll handle it later)
4. Discard this work

Which option?
```

**Don't add explanation** - keep options concise.

### Step 4: Execute Choice

#### Option 1: Merge Locally

```bash
# Switch to base branch
git checkout <base-branch>

# Pull latest
git pull

# Merge feature branch
git merge <feature-branch>

# Verify tests on merged result
<test command>

# If tests pass
git branch -d <feature-branch>
```

Then: Cleanup worktree (Step 5)

#### Option 2: Push and Create PR

```bash

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