Finishing a Development Branch

Finishing a Development Branch

Overview

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

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

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

The Process

Step 1: Check Dirty State and Commit

Check for unstaged/​uncommitted changes:

git status --porcelain

If dirty (has unstaged/​uncommitted changes):

# Stage all changes
git add .

# Create final commit
git commit -m "feat: final changes before merge

🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/​claude-code)

Co-Authored-By: Claude <[email protected]>"

If clean: Continue to Step 2.

Step 2: Verify Tests

Before presenting options, verify tests pass:

# 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 3.

If tests pass: Continue to Step 3.

Step 3: Determine Base Branch

# 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 4: 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 5: Execute Choice

Option 1: Merge Locally

# Switch to base branch (typically feature branch)
git checkout {{base-branch}}

# Pull latest
git pull

# Merge worktree branch (regular merge, NOT squash)
git merge {{worktree-branch}}

# Verify tests on merged result
{{test-command}}

# If tests pass
git branch -d {{worktree-branch}}

Note: This is a regular merge (NOT squash) because you're merging worktree → feature branch. Use merging-feature-branches-to-main skill later to squash merge feature branch → main after human review.

Then: Cleanup worktree (Step 6)

Option 2: Push and Create PR

# Push branch
git push -u origin {{feature-branch}}

# Create PR
gh pr create --title "{{title}}" --body "$(cat <<'EOF'
## Summary
{{summary-bullets}}

## Test Plan
- [ ] {{test-steps}}
EOF
)"

Then: Cleanup worktree (Step 6)

Option 3: Keep As-Is

Report: "Keeping branch {{branch-name}}. Worktree preserved at {{worktree-path}}."

Don't cleanup worktree.

Option 4: Discard

Confirm first:

This will permanently delete:
- Branch {{branch-name}}
- All commits: {{commit-list}}
- Worktree at {{worktree-path}}

Type 'discard' to confirm.

Wait for exact confirmation.

If confirmed:

git checkout {{base-branch}}
git branch -d {{feature-branch}}

If deletion fails (branch not merged):

❌ Branch {{feature-branch}} is not fully merged.
Use 'git branch -D {{feature-branch}}' to force delete if you're certain.

Confirm force delete? (yes/​no)

Then: Cleanup worktree (Step 6)

Step 6: Cleanup Worktree

For Options 1, 2, 4:

Check if in worktree:

git worktree list | grep $(git branch --show-current)

If yes, try to remove:

git worktree remove {{worktree-path}}

If removal fails due to dirty state:

Report error and stop. NEVER use --force to delete dirty worktrees.

❌ Cannot remove worktree - contains uncommitted changes
Worktree path: {{path}}
Branch: {{branch-name}}

This indicates uncommitted work was not properly saved.
Please investigate manually before removing.

For Option 3: Keep worktree.

Quick Reference

Common Mistakes

Skipping test verification

• Problem: Merge broken code, create failing PR
• Fix: Always verify tests before offering options

Open-ended questions

• Problem: "What should I do next?" → ambiguous
• Fix: Present exactly 4 structured options

Automatic worktree cleanup

• Problem: Remove worktree when might need it (Option 2, 3)
• Fix: Only cleanup for Options 1 and 4

No confirmation for discard

• Problem: Accidentally delete work
• Fix: Require typed "discard" confirmation

Red Flags

Never:

• Proceed with failing tests
• Merge without verifying tests on result
• Delete work without confirmation
• Force-push without explicit request
• Use --force to remove dirty worktrees
• Skip committing unstaged changes before merge

Always:

• Check for and commit dirty state in Step 1
• Verify tests before offering options
• Present exactly 4 options
• Get typed confirmation for Option 4
• Clean up worktree for Options 1 & 4 only
• Stop if worktree removal fails (indicates uncommitted work)

Integration

Called by:

• subagent-driven-development (Step 7) - After all tasks complete
• executing-plans (Step 5) - After all batches complete

Pairs with:

• using-git-worktrees - Cleans up worktree created by that skill