Compare Branches Report

Compare Branches Report (No Merge Strategy)

Usage

Run:

• /compare-branches-report <base_branch> <target_branch> Examples:
• /compare-branches-report main feature/login-refactor
• /compare-branches-report develop release/1.9.0

If arguments are missing

1. List local branches.
2. Ask the user to re-run with two branch names.
3. Stop.

0) Resolve inputs

Parse $ARGUMENTS into:

• BASE
• TARGET

If BASE or TARGET is missing:

• Show branches:
  • !git branch --format="%(refname:short)" | head -n 40
  • !git branch -r --format="%(refname:short)" | head -n 40
• Ask: “Re-run: /compare-branches-report <base_branch> <target_branch>”
• Stop.

Verify branches exist (local or remote):

• !git show-ref --verify --quiet "refs/heads/$BASE" && echo "OK local: $BASE" || echo "Not local: $BASE"
• !git show-ref --verify --quiet "refs/heads/$TARGET" && echo "OK local: $TARGET" || echo "Not local: $TARGET"
• !git rev-parse --verify --quiet "$BASE" >/dev/null && echo "OK resolvable: $BASE" || echo "ERROR: cannot resolve $BASE"
• !git rev-parse --verify --quiet "$TARGET" >/dev/null && echo "OK resolvable: $TARGET" || echo "ERROR: cannot resolve $TARGET"

If resolution fails:

• Ask user to fetch or provide correct names.
• Stop.

Optional (safe) fetch:

• !git fetch --all --prune 2>/dev/null || true

Define comparison range as:

• RANGE = $BASE..$TARGET and common ancestor:
• !git merge-base "$BASE" "$TARGET"

1) Rules

• Do not modify files.
• Do not propose or discuss merge strategies (no merge/rebase/squash guidance).
• Focus on “what changed”, “where”, “risk”, and “how to validate”.

2) High-level summary

• Repo root:
  • !git rev-parse --show-toplevel 2>/dev/null || pwd
• Current HEAD:
  • !git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD
• Compare:
  • Base: $BASE
  • Target: $TARGET

3) File-level impact

3.1 Diff stats

• !git diff --stat "$BASE..$TARGET"
• !git diff --shortstat "$BASE..$TARGET"
• !git diff --numstat "$BASE..$TARGET" | head -n 200

3.2 Changed files (by status)

• !git diff --name-status "$BASE..$TARGET" | head -n 300

3.3 Categorize by file type / area

Generate a quick breakdown (frontend/backend/config/tests/docs):

• !git diff --name-only "$BASE..$TARGET" | awk -F/ '{print $1}' | sort | uniq -c | sort -nr | head -n 30

Also highlight common important folders if present:

• !git diff --name-only "$BASE..$TARGET" | rg -n "^(src|apps|libs|packages|server|backend|api|infra|.github|docker|k8s|helm|migrations|test|tests|docs)/" | head -n 200 || true

4) Commit-level summary

4.1 Commits in target not in base

• !git log --oneline --decorate "$BASE..$TARGET" --max-count=80

4.2 Grouped commit messages (optional signal)

• !git log --pretty=format:"%s" "$BASE..$TARGET" | head -n 120

4.3 Authors (useful for coordination)

• !git log --format="%an" "$BASE..$TARGET" | sort | uniq -c | sort -nr | head -n 20

5) Key diffs (content)

Pick the most important files to open and summarize:

• Prioritize:
  • config changes: package.json, lockfiles, tsconfig, eslint, env, CI
  • routing/auth/security layers
  • shared libraries/utilities
  • API contracts / DTOs / schemas
  • database migrations

Helpful commands:

• Show patch for a specific file:
  • git diff "$BASE..$TARGET" -- <path>
• Show only function-level context:
  • git diff "$BASE..$TARGET" -U3 -- <path>

If too large:

• Focus on “what changed” bullets per file rather than full diff reproduction.

6) Hotspot detection (risk areas)

Scan changed files for typical risky patterns (only within changed files list):

1. Collect changed file list:

• !git diff --name-only "$BASE..$TARGET" > /tmp/changed_files.txt && wc -l /tmp/changed_files.txt

2. Search for risk keywords:

• auth/security:
  • !cat /tmp/changed_files.txt | xargs -I{} sh -c 'test -f "{}" && rg -n "(auth|token|jwt|csrf|cors|oauth|role|permission)" "{}" || true' | head -n 120 || true
• API/HTTP:
  • !cat /tmp/changed_files.txt | xargs -I{} sh -c 'test -f "{}" && rg -n "(fetch\\(|axios\\.|HttpClient|http\\.(get|post|put|delete)|endpoint|route)" "{}" || true' | head -n 120 || true
• breaking change hints:
  • !cat /tmp/changed_files.txt | xargs -I{} sh -c 'test -f "{}" && rg -n "(BREAKING|deprecated|remove|rename|migration)" "{}" || true' | head -n 120 || true

(If xargs fails due to spaces, re-run with a safer approach or summarize without it.)

7) Output format (final report)

Produce a report with these sections:

1) Executive Summary

• What changed overall (size, areas touched)
• High-level intent (from commit messages + diffs)

2) Change Overview

• Total files changed + shortstat
• Top folders impacted
• Notable file types (config, code, tests, docs)

3) Detailed Changes by Area

For each area (e.g., Frontend, Backend, Shared, Infra/CI, Docs):

• List key files and what changed
• Note any API/contract changes
• Note any behavior changes

4) Risk & Attention Points

• Potential breaking changes
• Security/auth implications
• Config/dependency changes
• Migration concerns

5) Suggested Validation Checklist (No merge strategy)

• What to run / verify (tests, build, lint, e2e, smoke checks)
• Any manual QA scenarios inferred from changes

6) Appendices

• Commit list
• Changed file list

Important: Do not mention merge strategy. Do not recommend rebase/merge/squash.

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