Finish Branch - Post-Merge Cleanup

Finish Branch - Post-Merge Cleanup

Overview

This skill handles the cleanup after a PR has been merged. It will:

1. Verify the PR is actually merged (REQUIRED before any cleanup)
2. Delete the git worktree
3. Delete the local and remote branch
4. Close any related GitHub issues

IMPORTANT: This skill will NOT delete anything unless the PR is confirmed merged.

Usage

Invoke this skill when:

• Your PR has been merged and you want to clean up
• You finished an experiment and the results are merged to main
• You need to remove an old worktree after successful merge

Workflow

Step 1: Identify the Branch and PR

First, ask the user which branch to clean up:

Which branch would you like to finish?

Please provide:
1. Branch name (e.g., exp/​cot-faithfulness or feature/​add-dark-mode)
2. PR number (if known) or I can find it

Step 2: Verify PR is Merged

CRITICAL: Before any deletion, verify the PR is merged:

# Find PR for the branch
gh pr list --head {branch-name} --state merged

# Or check specific PR
gh pr view {pr-number} --json state,mergedAt

# The PR MUST have state: "MERGED" before proceeding

If the PR is NOT merged:

## Cannot Proceed

The PR for branch '{branch-name}' is not yet merged.
Current state: {state}

Options:
1. Wait for the PR to be merged, then run /​finish-branch again
2. Merge the PR now (if you have permissions)
3. Cancel cleanup

What would you like to do?

Step 3: Find Related Issues

# Get the PR body and look for issue references
gh pr view {pr-number} --json body,closingIssuesReferences

# Common patterns to find:
# - "Closes #123"
# - "Fixes #123"
# - "Resolves #123"
# - Issue links in PR body

Step 4: Delete Worktree (if exists)

# List worktrees to find the one for this branch
git worktree list

# Remove the worktree
# The worktree path is usually ../​worktree-{name} or ../​experiment-{name}
git worktree remove ../​worktree-{name}

# If the worktree has uncommitted changes, force removal (after user confirmation)
git worktree remove --force ../​worktree-{name}

Step 5: Delete Local and Remote Branch

# Delete local branch
git branch -d {branch-name}

# If the branch wasn't fully merged (shouldn't happen if PR is merged)
# Ask user before force deleting
git branch -D {branch-name}

# Delete remote branch
git push origin --delete {branch-name}

Step 6: Close Related Issues

# Close each related issue
gh issue close {issue-number} --comment "Closed via merged PR #{pr-number}"

Step 7: Report Results

## Branch Cleanup Complete

**Branch**: {branch-name}
**PR**: #{pr-number} (merged at {merged-at})

### Cleanup Actions
- [x] PR verified as merged
- [x] Worktree removed: ../​worktree-{name}
- [x] Local branch deleted: {branch-name}
- [x] Remote branch deleted: origin/​{branch-name}
- [x] Related issues closed: #{issue-1}, #{issue-2}

### Notes
{any-warnings-or-notes}

Error Handling

PR Not Found

Could not find a PR for branch '{branch-name}'.

Options:
1. Provide the PR number manually
2. Check if the branch was pushed to remote
3. Cancel cleanup

Worktree Not Found

No worktree found for branch '{branch-name}'.
This is fine if you were working in the main repository.

Proceeding with branch deletion...

Branch Has Unmerged Commits

WARNING: Branch '{branch-name}' has commits not in the merged PR.

Unmerged commits:
- {commit-hash}: {commit-message}

Options:
1. Force delete anyway (lose these commits)
2. Cherry-pick commits to a new branch first
3. Cancel cleanup

Issue Close Failed

Could not close issue #{issue-number}: {error}

This might be because:
- Issue doesn't exist
- Issue is already closed
- Insufficient permissions

Proceeding with other cleanup tasks...

Safety Checks

This skill includes several safety measures:

1. PR merge verification is mandatory - Will not proceed without confirmed merge
2. User confirmation for force operations - Always asks before force deleting
3. Unmerged commit detection - Warns if local branch has extra commits
4. Detailed reporting - Shows exactly what was deleted

Examples

Basic Usage

User: /​finish-branch
Assistant: Which branch would you like to finish? Please provide the branch name or PR number.

User: exp/​mi-estimation, PR #42
Assistant: Let me verify PR #42 is merged...
[Checks PR status]
PR #42 is merged. Proceeding with cleanup...
[Performs cleanup]
Branch cleanup complete!

With Related Issues

User: /​finish-branch feature/​add-auth
Assistant: Found PR #55 for branch feature/​add-auth.
PR is merged (merged 2 hours ago).
Found related issues: #50 (Closes), #51 (Fixes)

Proceeding with cleanup...
- Removed worktree: ../​worktree-add-auth
- Deleted branch: feature/​add-auth
- Closed issue #50
- Closed issue #51

All done!

Integration with Research Executor

The research-executor agent MUST use this skill for cleanup. The workflow is:

1. Research executor creates worktree using /​using-git-worktrees skill
2. Experiment is implemented with TDD methodology
3. PR is created and submitted for review
4. ONLY AFTER PR is merged, invoke /​finish-branch for cleanup

The research-executor will prompt:

Experiment complete and PR merged!
Would you like me to clean up the worktree and branch?

Upon confirmation, invoke /​finish-branch with the experiment branch name.

Critical Rules:

• NEVER delete worktrees before PR is merged
• NEVER delete worktrees manually - always use this skill
• This is the ONLY approved cleanup method for experiment branches

This ensures experimental worktrees don't accumulate and the repository stays clean.

Related Skills and Agents

• /​using-git-worktrees - Creates the worktree (this skill cleans it up)
• research-executor agent - The primary user of this skill for experiment cleanup
• /​google-docs-formatter - Used by research-executor for documentation