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Run npx skillmds@latest add gustavo-meilus/finishing-a-development-branch in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

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Is Finishing A Development Branch free to use?

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Who published Finishing A Development Branch?

gustavo-meilus (@gustavo-meilus) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Finishing A Development Branch by gustavo-meilus

Name: Finishing A Development Branch
Author: gustavo-meilus

Finishing A Development Branch

Structured integration protocol that enforces a test-verification gate and presents branch disposition options (merge, PR, keep, or discard). Use when implementation is complete, all tests pass, and an integration decision for the development branch is pending.

File contents

Finishing a Development Branch — Integration Protocol

Ensures work is integrated or preserved according to explicit user choice. A mandatory test verification gate is enforced before any options are presented, preventing promotion of broken or unverified code to the base branch.

The Completion Protocol

2. DETERMINE BASE BRANCH

The split point is identified (e.g., git merge-base HEAD main).
The base branch is confirmed with the user if ambiguity exists.

3. PRESENT STRUCTURED OPTIONS

Exactly these four options are presented without modification:
1. Merge back to [base] locally
2. Push and create a Pull Request
3. Keep the branch as-is (Handle later)
4. Discard this work

4. EXECUTE CHOICE

Option 1: Base is checked out, latest is pulled, branch is merged, tests are re-verified, and the feature branch is deleted.
Option 2: Branch is pushed to origin and a PR is created using the gh CLI.
Option 4: Explicit typed confirmation ("discard") is required before destructive deletion.

5. CLEANUP

For Options 1, 2, and 4: The associated git worktree is removed to maintain repository hygiene.

Completion Patterns

Red Flags — STOP

"I'll merge now and fix the tests later." → STOP. Integration of failing code is a SEV-0 failure.
"What should I do next?" → STOP. Present the four structured options defined in the protocol.
"Deleting worktree automatically." → STOP. Option 3 requires worktree preservation.

Rationalization Table

Reference Files

sk-worktree-safety/SKILL.md — Worktree management.
verification-before-completion/SKILL.md — Final evidence gate.
running-a-pipeline/SKILL.md — Integration point for pipeline completion.

---name: finishing-a-development-branchdescription: Structured integration protocol that enforces a test-verification gate and presents branch disposition options (merge, PR, keep, or discard). Use when implementation is complete, all tests pass, and an integration decision for the development branch is pending.---# Finishing a Development Branch — Integration Protocol> Ensures work is integrated or preserved according to explicit user choice. A mandatory test verification gate is enforced before any options are presented, preventing promotion of broken or unverified code to the base branch.<overview>Finishing a Development Branch ensures that work is integrated or preserved according to the user's explicit choice. It enforces a mandatory test verification gate before any options are presented, preventing the promotion of broken or unverified code to the base branch.</overview><glossary> <term name="Base Branch">The target for integration, typically `main` or `master`.</term> <term name="Worktree">An isolated directory for development; must be cleaned after integration.</term> <term name="PR Gate">Option 2, which involves pushing the branch and creating a Pull Request via `gh pr create`.</term></glossary>## The Completion Protocol<protocol>### 1. VERIFY TESTS (THE GATE)- The project's primary test suite is run (e.g., `npm test`, `pytest`).- <HARD-GATE>If tests fail, STOP. Integration options cannot be presented until all tests are green.</HARD-GATE>### 2. DETERMINE BASE BRANCH- The split point is identified (e.g., `git merge-base HEAD main`).- The base branch is confirmed with the user if ambiguity exists.### 3. PRESENT STRUCTURED OPTIONS- Exactly these four options are presented without modification: 1. **Merge back to [base] locally** 2. **Push and create a Pull Request** 3. **Keep the branch as-is (Handle later)** 4. **Discard this work**### 4. EXECUTE CHOICE- **Option 1**: Base is checked out, latest is pulled, branch is merged, tests are re-verified, and the feature branch is deleted.- **Option 2**: Branch is pushed to origin and a PR is created using the `gh` CLI.- **Option 4**: Explicit typed confirmation ("discard") is required before destructive deletion.### 5. CLEANUP- For Options 1, 2, and 4: The associated git worktree is removed to maintain repository hygiene.</protocol><invariants>- NEVER proceed with integration if the verification gate fails.- NEVER cleanup the worktree for Option 3 (Keep as-is).- ALWAYS re-verify tests on the base branch after a local merge (Option 1).- ALWAYS obtain "discard" confirmation before executing Option 4.</invariants>## Completion Patterns<patterns>| Option | Merge | Push | Cleanup Branch | Cleanup Worktree || :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- || **1. Merge Locally** | ✓ | - | ✓ | ✓ || **2. Create PR** | - | ✓ | - | ✓ || **3. Keep As-Is** | - | - | - | - || **4. Discard** | - | - | ✓ (force) | ✓ |</patterns>## Red Flags — STOP- "I'll merge now and fix the tests later." → **STOP**. Integration of failing code is a SEV-0 failure.- "What should I do next?" → **STOP**. Present the four structured options defined in the protocol.- "Deleting worktree automatically." → **STOP**. Option 3 requires worktree preservation.## Rationalization Table<rationalization_table>| Excuse | Reality || :--- | :--- || "PR handles testing anyway." | Local verification prevents broken builds and reduces CI overhead. || "It's just a one-line change." | One-line changes are the leading cause of "it worked in my head" regressions. || "Discarding is faster than cleanup." | Unconfirmed discards cause irreversible data loss. |</rationalization_table>## Reference Files- `sk-worktree-safety/SKILL.md` — Worktree management.- `verification-before-completion/SKILL.md` — Final evidence gate.- `running-a-pipeline/SKILL.md` — Integration point for pipeline completion.

Frequently asked questions