Sync Branch Skill

This skill brings the current branch up to date with the main branch using rebase.

Workflow

1. •

   Detect Main Branch

   • •Run gh repo view --json defaultBranchRef -q '.defaultBranchRef.name' to get the default branch
   • •Don't assume it's called "main" - could be "master", "develop", etc.
2. •

   Understand Context First

   • •Run git log --oneline <main>..HEAD to see commits on this branch
   • •Run git diff <main>...HEAD --stat to see what files changed
   • •Read key modified files to understand the intent of the changes
   • •This context is critical for resolving conflicts correctly later
3. •

   Check Current State

   • •Run git status to check for uncommitted changes
   • •If there are uncommitted changes, ask user whether to stash or commit them first
   • •Run git branch --show-current to confirm current branch
4. •

   Fetch Latest

   • •Run git fetch origin <main-branch> to get latest changes
5. •

   Rebase onto Main

   • •Run git rebase origin/<main-branch>
   • •If rebase succeeds with no conflicts, report success
6. •

   Handle Conflicts (if any)

   • •If conflicts occur, list the conflicted files
   • •For each conflict:
     • •Use context from step 2 to understand the intent of your changes
     • •Compare with incoming changes from main
     • •Resolve preserving the intent of both sides
     • •Run git add <file> after resolving
   • •After all conflicts resolved, run git rebase --continue
   • •Repeat until rebase completes
7. •

   Push Updated Branch

   • •Ask user if they want to force push: git push --force-with-lease
   • •--force-with-lease is safer than --force as it checks for upstream changes

Commands Reference

# Detect main branch
gh repo view --json defaultBranchRef -q '.defaultBranchRef.name'

# Check current state
git status
git branch --show-current

# Fetch and rebase
git fetch origin <main>
git rebase origin/<main>

# During conflicts
git status                  # See conflicted files
git diff                    # See conflict details
git add <file>              # Mark as resolved
git rebase --continue       # Continue rebase
git rebase --abort          # Abort if needed

# Push with force
git push --force-with-lease

Guidelines

• •Always understand context first - read the branch's changes before rebasing
• •Always use rebase - keeps history clean and linear
• •Never force push without asking - it rewrites history
• •Use --force-with-lease instead of --force for safety
• •If conflicts are complex, explain them to the user before resolving
• •Stash or commit uncommitted changes before rebasing
• •If rebase gets messy, offer to abort and try a different approach