Branch Creator

Branch Creator

Create a local Git branch with a short, readable name:

• feat/<slug> for normal feature work
• hotfix/<slug> for urgent fixes or production-impacting repairs

Three qualities define a good run, in this order:

1. Accurate — the prefix matches urgency, and the slug names the thing with words the team already uses.
2. Fast — the common case uses two shell calls and a handful of output lines.
3. Short — the slug is 1–3 words, ideally 2; short names get typed by hand, tab-completed, and scanned in PR lists, so every extra word costs more than it informs.

Classify intent first: suggest a name when asked for naming; create when the user asks to create a branch. Reuse authorization already given in the conversation. Ask only when the starting point, ownership of existing changes, or requested action remains unclear after local inspection.

Trigger Examples

Use this skill when the user says things like:

• "帮我创建一个分支做支付成功页修复"
• "起个 feat 分支，做 pricing table cleanup"
• "new branch for login redirect fix"
• "hotfix branch for failed billing confirmation"
• "我要开始做这个功能，先建分支"

Do not use this skill for:

• committing, pushing, opening PRs/MRs, or finishing branches
• renaming or deleting existing branches
• complex release branching strategy design

Decision Rules

Prefix

Pick one prefix:

• Use feat/ for new features, non-urgent product changes, refactors tied to a feature, UI improvements, and planned work.
• Use hotfix/ for urgent fixes, production breakages, release-blocking fixes, payment/auth/data-loss fixes, or when the user explicitly says hotfix.

If urgency is unspecified, use feat/ and state that assumption. Reserve hotfix/ for urgency or release pressure. Preserve an explicitly requested prefix.

Slug

Preserve an exact user-provided branch name if Git accepts it; the naming preferences below apply only when generating a name. Generate the part after the slash from the user's task:

• Use lowercase English words joined by hyphens.
• 1–3 words, prefer 2. Aim for a slug under 16 characters; treat 20 as the ceiling. If the task does not fit in 3 words, pick the first concrete slice or ask one scope question.
• Reuse vocabulary the project already has. If the request or surrounding context mentions an existing script, command, module, or team term (track:gen, paid-success, pricing-table), derive the slug from it (track-gen) instead of re-describing the task in fresh English (tracker-code-generation). The team greps, tab-completes, and recognizes branches by the words they already use, so a shorter borrowed name is also the more accurate one. Do not go searching the repo for vocabulary — only reuse terms already visible in the request or conversation.
• Drop filler words that carry no meaning in context: add, update, fix, new, page, feature, code, logic, issue, support.
• Avoid issue numbers unless the user provided one and clearly wants it included.

Tightening examples — the "loose" names are what to avoid:

For generated names, use this safe character set: letters a-z, numbers 0-9, hyphen -, one slash between prefix and slug. Avoid spaces, uppercase, underscores, dots, quotes, emoji, shell metacharacters, consecutive slashes, and Git-reserved sequences such as .. or @{.

Workflow

Speed matters here: every extra shell command is a round trip the user waits through, and git ls-remote is a network round trip that can take seconds. The common case needs one inspection call and one creation call. Additional checks are justified for an explicit base ref, an interrupted Git operation, or an ambiguous checkout; the call count is a fast path, not a safety limit.

1. Inspect (one command)

git status --short --branch

For the common case, this tells you the needed checkout state: it errors if the directory is not a Git repository (stop and tell the user), the ## ... line shows the current branch, and any remaining lines show uncommitted changes. Do not also run git rev-parse, git branch --show-current, git show-ref, or any remote query during the proposal step.

A dirty working tree is not a blocker when branching from the current HEAD: git switch -c carries the changes onto the new branch. Mention it in one clause and continue. If the user names another base, resolve it locally first; do not substitute HEAD, discard changes, or fetch silently. Stop for conflicts or an in-progress merge/rebase. Ask for a starting branch when HEAD is detached and the intended base is unclear.

2. Name-only request: propose and stop

For a name or command suggestion, reply briefly in the user's language, for example:

推荐分支：feat/track-gen
命令：git switch -c feat/track-gen
原因：<one sentence covering both prefix and slug choice>
（当前 main，工作区干净）

The final line compresses the repository state into one parenthetical. Do not output a checklist that reports each individual check on its own line (格式 / 本地同名 / 远端同名 / …) — that is slower to produce and slower to read, and the checks happen at creation time anyway.

If the user's intent is too vague to name well, ask one concise question instead of proposing. Good branch names depend on small scope.

3. Creation request: create in the same turn

An explicit request such as "帮我创建一个分支做登录跳转" or "create a branch for pricing" is sufficient authorization; it does not need "直接" or a second confirmation. State the chosen name, then create from the verified starting point. A request only to suggest a name does not authorize checkout changes.

If the user confirms a branch you already proposed in the previous turn, use that exact branch name unless the user asks to change it. Do not regenerate the slug.

git check-ref-format --branch <branch-name> && git switch -c <branch-name>

For creation from the verified current HEAD, no duplicate collision pre-check is needed: git switch -c itself fails cleanly if the branch already exists — handle that by offering git switch <branch-name> instead. If git check-ref-format rejects an exact user-provided name, report that result and ask for a replacement; do not silently rename it. For a generated name, simplify and retry validation once. Pass names as quoted arguments or an argument array, never as interpolated shell code. Skip the remote-collision check by default: it costs a network round trip, and a collision surfaces harmlessly at push time anyway. Run git ls-remote --heads origin <branch-name> only if the user explicitly asks about the remote.

Never push, commit, rebase, merge, delete branches, or create a PR/MR as part of this skill.

4. Report (one or two lines)

已创建并切换：feat/track-gen（原 master）
未提交的改动已随分支带过来。

The parenthetical reports the previous branch only. The second line appears only when the working tree was dirty. If creation fails, quote the failing command and the relevant error line, then suggest the smallest safe next step.

Quality Bar

A good result is boring, fast, and short:

• The common case uses two shell calls and no network calls; conditional checks protect an explicit base or unusual Git state.
• Generated slugs are 1–3 words (prefer 2), under 20 characters, reusing visible project vocabulary; exact user names are preserved.
• The prefix communicates urgency correctly.
• Naming suggestions and creation reports are short and reflect the action actually requested.
• Name-only requests leave the checkout unchanged; explicit creation requests finish without a redundant confirmation.