Finishing a Development Branch

Overview

Guide completion of development work by presenting clear options and handling chosen workflow. This ensures that work is properly verified and integrated or cleaned up.

Core principle: Verify tests → Present options → Present commands → Clean up.

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

When to Use

Use this skill when you have completed the implementation of a feature or bugfix and are ready to merge, create a pull request, or discard the work.

The Process

Step 1: Verify Tests

Before presenting options, verify tests pass:

bash

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

If tests fail:

code

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 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

Use the question tool to present the user with exactly these 4 options.

Tool Call Example:

typescript

question({
  "header": "Branch Complete",
  "question": "Implementation complete. What would you like to do?",
  "options": [
    { "label": "Merge to <base-branch>", "description": "Merge this branch locally into <base-branch> and delete it." },
    { "label": "Create Pull Request", "description": "Push the branch and open a new pull request." },
    { "label": "Keep As-Is", "description": "Do nothing and leave the branch as is." },
    { "label": "Discard Work", "description": "Delete the branch and all its changes permanently." }
  ]
})

Note: Before showing the options, determine the <base-branch> as described in Step 2 and substitute it in the option label.

Step 4: Present Commands

Before presenting the commands for the user's choice, you must resolve these placeholders:

•<feature-branch>: Get this from the current branch name (git branch --show-current).
•<base-branch>: Use the branch name you determined in Step 2.
•<test command>: Use the project's primary test command that you verified in Step 1.
•<title>: For a PR, create a concise, one-line title summarizing the work.
•<worktree-path>: If using git worktrees, get the path from the git worktree list command.

Option 1: Merge Locally

Present the following commands to the user:

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

Present the following commands to the user:

bash

# Push branch
git push -u origin <feature-branch>

# Create PR
gh pr create --title "<title>" --body "$(cat <<'EOF'
## Summary
<2-3 bullets of what changed>

## Test Plan
- [ ] <verification steps>
EOF
)"

Then: Cleanup worktree (Step 5)

Option 3: Keep As-Is

Report: "Keeping branch <feature-branch>. Worktree preserved at <worktree-path>."

Don't cleanup worktree.

Option 4: Discard

Confirm first using the question tool. Present the consequences clearly.

Tool Call Example:

typescript

question({
  "header": "Confirm Discard",
  "question": "This will permanently delete the branch and all of its commits. This action cannot be undone. Are you sure?",
  "options": [
    { "label": "Yes, Discard Branch", "description": "Permanently delete the <feature-branch> branch." },
    { "label": "No, Cancel", "description": "Do not delete the branch." }
  ]
})

If the user confirms, present the following commands:

bash

# Determine base branch to switch to
BASE_BRANCH=$(git merge-base HEAD main 2>/dev/null || git merge-base HEAD master)

# Checkout base branch
git checkout $BASE_BRANCH

# Delete feature branch
git branch -D <feature-branch>

Then: Cleanup worktree (Step 5)

Step 5: Cleanup Worktree

For Options 1, 2, 4:

Check if in worktree:

bash

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

If yes:

bash

git worktree remove <worktree-path>

For Option 3: Keep worktree.

Quick Reference

Option	Merge	Push	Keep Worktree	Cleanup Branch
1. Merge locally	✓	-	-	✓
2. Create PR	-	✓	✓	-
3. Keep as-is	-	-	✓	-
4. Discard	-	-	-	✓ (force)

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:

•Never execute git commands automatically
•Proceed with failing tests
•Merge without verifying tests on result
•Delete work without confirmation
•Force-push without explicit request

Always:

•Verify tests before offering options
•Present exactly 4 options
•Get typed confirmation for Option 4
•Clean up worktree for Options 1 & 4 only

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