How do I install the Flatten And Rebase skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add vforge/flatten-and-rebase 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 Flatten And Rebase free to use?

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Who published Flatten And Rebase?

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

Flatten And Rebase by vforge — Agent Skill

Name: Flatten And Rebase
Author: vforge

Flatten And Rebase

Flatten the current branch's commits into one (or N, if given) and rebase onto the latest main/master/origin or a specified base branch. Use when asked to "flatten and rebase", "squash and rebase", "flatten my branch", or "squash all commits onto main".

vforge d49a8c0 2.7 KB Updated Sep 17, 2026

File contents

flatten-and-rebase

Squash the current branch down to N commits (default 1), then rebase it onto the updated base branch (origin/<base>, auto-detected as the repo default unless given).

1. Resolve inputs

Parse $ARGUMENTS: a bare integer → commit count (default 1); any other token → base branch name.
Base branch default: git symbolic-ref refs/remotes/origin/HEAD (strip refs/remotes/origin/), falling back to main or master, whichever exists.
Current branch: git branch --show-current. Bail if empty (detached HEAD) or if it equals the base branch — nothing to flatten.
Working tree must be clean (git status --porcelain) — bail and ask the user to commit or stash otherwise.

2. Safety net

Before rewriting anything:

git branch backup/<branch>-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S) HEAD

Mention this branch in your final report as the rollback path.

3. Update the base

git fetch origin <base>

Rebase target is origin/<base> — never mutate the user's local base branch.

4. Flatten to N commits

merge_base=$(git merge-base HEAD origin/<base>)
n_commits=$(git rev-list --count "$merge_base"..HEAD)

If n_commits <= N, skip flattening — nothing to squash.

N = 1 (default):

git reset --soft "$merge_base"
git commit -m "<message>"

Ask the user for the commit message, or default to the branch's first commit subject.

N > 1: split git rev-list --reverse "$merge_base"..HEAD into N contiguous chunks (oldest-first order = todo order). Build a rebase todo marking each chunk's first commit pick and the rest squash, then run it non-interactively — no editor ever opens, so this is safe for a non-TTY shell:

GIT_SEQUENCE_EDITOR="cp <generated-todo-file>" GIT_EDITOR=true \
  git rebase -i "$merge_base"

(GIT_EDITOR=true accepts the auto-combined commit message for each squash step — fine for a mechanical flatten.)

5. Rebase onto the updated base

git rebase origin/<base>

On conflicts: stop, surface them to the user, and let them resolve and run git rebase --continue — or git rebase --abort to bail out (the backup branch from step 2 is still there regardless).

6. Report — don't push

Show git log --oneline origin/<base>..HEAD as confirmation. History was just rewritten, so do not push automatically. Ask the user first; only on explicit confirmation run:

git push --force-with-lease origin <branch>

---name: flatten-and-rebasedescription: Flatten the current branch's commits into one (or N, if given) and rebase onto the latest main/master/origin or a specified base branch. Use when asked to "flatten and rebase", "squash and rebase", "flatten my branch", or "squash all commits onto main".---# flatten-and-rebaseSquash the current branch down to N commits (default 1), then rebase it ontothe updated base branch (`origin/<base>`, auto-detected as the repo defaultunless given).## 1. Resolve inputs- Parse `$ARGUMENTS`: a bare integer → commit count (default `1`); any other token → base branch name.- Base branch default: `git symbolic-ref refs/remotes/origin/HEAD` (strip `refs/remotes/origin/`), falling back to `main` or `master`, whichever exists.- Current branch: `git branch --show-current`. Bail if empty (detached HEAD) or if it equals the base branch — nothing to flatten.- Working tree must be clean (`git status --porcelain`) — bail and ask the user to commit or stash otherwise.## 2. Safety netBefore rewriting anything:```git branch backup/<branch>-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S) HEAD```Mention this branch in your final report as the rollback path.## 3. Update the base```git fetch origin <base>```Rebase target is `origin/<base>` — never mutate the user's local basebranch.## 4. Flatten to N commits```merge_base=$(git merge-base HEAD origin/<base>)n_commits=$(git rev-list --count "$merge_base"..HEAD)```If `n_commits <= N`, skip flattening — nothing to squash.**N = 1 (default):**```git reset --soft "$merge_base"git commit -m "<message>"```Ask the user for the commit message, or default to the branch's firstcommit subject.**N > 1:** split `git rev-list --reverse "$merge_base"..HEAD` into Ncontiguous chunks (oldest-first order = todo order). Build a rebase todomarking each chunk's first commit `pick` and the rest `squash`, then run itnon-interactively — no editor ever opens, so this is safe for a non-TTYshell:```GIT_SEQUENCE_EDITOR="cp <generated-todo-file>" GIT_EDITOR=true \ git rebase -i "$merge_base"```(`GIT_EDITOR=true` accepts the auto-combined commit message for each squashstep — fine for a mechanical flatten.)## 5. Rebase onto the updated base```git rebase origin/<base>```On conflicts: stop, surface them to the user, and let them resolve and run`git rebase --continue` — or `git rebase --abort` to bail out (the backupbranch from step 2 is still there regardless).## 6. Report — don't pushShow `git log --oneline origin/<base>..HEAD` as confirmation. History wasjust rewritten, so **do not push automatically**. Ask the user first; onlyon explicit confirmation run:```git push --force-with-lease origin <branch>```

Frequently asked questions