# Dev Flow Commit Merge > Follow this before any commit, PR, or merge. Covers commit identity, branch hygiene, and merge mechanics so agents stop re-deriving the flow and wasting tokens. - Skill: `earayu/dev-flow-commit-merge` (Agent Skill) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add earayu/dev-flow-commit-merge` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/earayu/dev-flow-commit-merge/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: AI & ML - Author: earayu (https://skillmd.com/u/earayu) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/earayu/dev-flow-commit-merge --- # Dev Flow: commit, branch, merge Use this skill whenever you are about to commit, open a PR, or merge. ## Commit identity (never hand-craft) Shared boxes often have no git identity → bare `git commit` fails with `Author identity unknown`. Do **not** `git config --global`. Identity comes from `agent-tools.yaml` (`identity.*`). Prefer the wrapped recipe; if invoking git directly as a fallback: ```sh git -c user.name="$IDENTITY_NAME" -c user.email="$IDENTITY_EMAIL" commit -F - <<'EOF' EOF ``` - Multi-line / non-ASCII / backticks in the message → ALWAYS heredoc (`-F -`). Never `-m "..."` with backticks — the shell mangles it into a truncated commit. - PR body first line MUST be `identity.pr_owner_line` when set. ## Branch hygiene (check BEFORE every commit) ```sh git branch --show-current ``` Real incident: a commit landed on local `main` because the agent assumed it was on the feature branch. Recovery: ```sh git branch -f

# or: git cherry-pick git checkout git branch -f main origin/main # un-pollute local main ``` Remote `main` is only polluted if you `git push` from `main` — never push from `main`. ## PR + merge - One change = one branch = one PR. - Before merge, the branch MUST be caught up with the default branch: `git merge-base --is-ancestor origin/ HEAD`. If behind, `git merge origin/` first — a stale branch either blocks merge or drags an out-of-date tree (and can mask CI matrix drift). - Merge per `github.merge` config: squash + delete-branch + verify the returned merge-commit oid. Honor `require_green`. - Only the work owner reports merge status; don't echo others' merges.