# Create Branch > Creates a Git branch for the work at hand, named `/` using Conventional Commits types as prefixes. Works with no arguments — it derives the name from the current session and the uncommitted changes; an argument is a hint that shapes the name, never literal text. On `main`/`master` it fetches and branches from the remote's real default branch; on an existing working branch it branches from HEAD so stacked work keeps its base. Never pushes, never leaves you committing on the default branch. Use when starting a new piece of work, or when you notice changes are being made directly on the default branch. Trigger on "create a branch", "start a new branch", "branch for this", "new feature branch", "I should be on a branch for this", "stwórz brancha", "zrób nowego brancha", "nowa gałąź", "przełącz na brancha dla tej zmiany". - Skill: `janszewczyk/create-branch` (Agent Skill) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add janszewczyk/create-branch` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/janszewczyk/create-branch/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Productivity - Author: JanSzewczyk (https://skillmd.com/u/janszewczyk) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/janszewczyk/create-branch --- # Create Branch Starting work on the default branch is the mistake this skill exists to prevent, and a branch called `fix-stuff` is the second one. It reads what is actually going on — the uncommitted diff, the current session, an optional hint — and creates one correctly named branch from the correct base. The prefix vocabulary and the English-only rule are shared with the other two skills and live in [`../../references/conventions.md`](../../references/conventions.md). The naming rules below are this skill's own. The one-line version, in case the conventions file is not available: **`/`, always English, prefix from `feature` / `fix` / `chore` / `docs` / `refactor` / `test` / `perf`.** ## Prerequisites Check these first and stop with a plain explanation if either fails — never proceed on a guess. ```bash git --version # git must be on PATH git rev-parse --git-dir # must be inside a Git repository ``` If `git` is missing, say so and point at . If this is not a repository, say so and offer `git init` — do not run it unasked. ## Steps ### 1. Read the situation ```bash git status --short --branch git diff --stat git diff --cached --stat ``` You now know the current branch and what is uncommitted. Do not run `git fetch` yet — whether it is needed depends on step 2. ### 2. Pick the base Detect the remote's real default branch rather than assuming `main`: ```bash git symbolic-ref --short --quiet refs/remotes/origin/HEAD # prints e.g. origin/main # fallback if that ref is not set locally — read the "HEAD branch:" line of the output: git remote show origin ``` Both are plain `git` calls on purpose: the skill's `allowed-tools` only grants `Bash(git:*)`, so a pipe into `sed` or `awk` would fall outside it and prompt for permission. Then branch according to where you are: - **On the default branch** (`main`, `master`, or whatever the command above returned) — fetch and branch from the fresh remote tip, so the new branch does not inherit a stale local base: ```bash git fetch origin git checkout -b origin/ ``` - **On any other branch** — branch from `HEAD`. You are there on purpose; stacked work keeps its base: ```bash git checkout -b ``` Uncommitted changes travel with you in both cases. Do not stash, do not reset, do not block on a dirty tree. ### 3. Derive the name Sources, in order of authority: 1. **The argument**, if given — treat it as an intent hint. Translate it to English, strip filler, compress to 2–5 words. `/create-branch dodaj filtry do listy faktur` → `feature/invoice-list-filters`, not a transliteration of the Polish sentence. 2. **The uncommitted diff** — which files and which unit of the codebase they belong to. 3. **The current session** — if the conversation just designed or implemented something, that is what the branch is for. The shape is fixed: ``` / ``` - **Prefix** from the change's nature: new capability → `feature/`, corrected defect → `fix/`, documentation only → `docs/`, restructuring → `refactor/`, tests only → `test/`, everything else → `chore/`. The full type table is in the conventions file. - **Description** is 2–5 words, lowercase, hyphen-separated, and describes the *outcome*, not the diff: `feature/invoice-list-filters`, never `feature/changed-invoice-page-tsx`. - No trailing slashes, no spaces, no uppercase, no Polish words, no personal names. Do not ask the user what to call it. Deriving the name from context is the whole job. ### 4. Guard against a collision ```bash git rev-parse --verify --quiet refs/heads/ ``` If the branch already exists, **stop**. Report the collision, name the existing branch, and let the user decide — do not switch to it, do not append `-2`. ### 5. Report Say which branch was created, from which base, and why that base. One or two lines. ## Guardrails - **Never commit on the default branch.** If the user asks to commit while on `main`/`master`, create a branch first. - **Never push.** `create-pull-request` sets the upstream when it is actually needed. - **Never invent a repo-specific convention.** Use the conventions file; do not scan `git branch -r` and mimic whatever is there. - **Never ask the user for the branch name.** Missing argument is the normal case, not a blocker. - **English only.** The conversation may be Polish; the branch name is not. - Do not delete, rename, reset or force anything. This skill only creates a branch. ## Examples **Example 1 — no argument, on `main`, dirty tree** Input: `/create-branch` with edits under `src/features/invoices/` Action: detect default branch `main` → `git fetch origin` → `git checkout -b feature/invoice-list-filters origin/main`. Uncommitted edits come along. **Example 2 — Polish hint** Input: `/create-branch popraw wyścig przy odświeżaniu tokenu` Action: `git checkout -b fix/token-refresh-race origin/main` — the hint is translated and compressed, not copied. **Example 3 — already on a working branch** Input: `/create-branch` while on `feature/invoice-list-filters` Action: branch from `HEAD`, no fetch: `git checkout -b test/invoice-filter-cases`. Report that the base was the current branch, not `main`. **Example 4 — collision** Input: `/create-branch add invoice filters`, but `feature/invoice-filters` already exists Action: stop. "Branch `feature/invoice-filters` already exists — tell me whether to work on it or pick a different name." Nothing is created.