Finishing a development branch

Finishing a Development Branch

Overview

Guide completion of development work by presenting clear options and handling chosen workflow.

Core principle: Verify tests → Present options → Execute choice → Clean up.

Announce at start: "I'm using the finishing-a-development-branch skill to complete this work."

The Process

Step 1: Verify Tests

Before presenting options, verify tests pass:

# Run project's test suite
npm test / cargo test / pytest / go test ./...

If tests fail:

Tests failing (<N> failures). Must fix before completing:

[Show failures]

Cannot proceed with merge/PR until tests pass.

Stop. Don't proceed to Step 2.

If tests pass: Continue to Step 2.

Step 2: Determine Base Branch

Determine the trunk this branch was cut from — do not assume main. master and main are equally valid; some setups deliberately use master.

# Print whichever trunk this repo actually has (does not privilege main):
git rev-parse --verify --quiet master >/dev/null && echo master
git rev-parse --verify --quiet main   >/dev/null && echo main

If exactly one prints, that is the base branch. If both or neither print, ask: "This branch split from <trunk> - is that correct?"

Step 2.5: External code review (decision gate)

Now that the base branch is known, and before presenting options, recommend an independent second-model review of the finished feature:

Tests pass. Before we integrate, I recommend an external code review (an
independent second model via `superartes:external-code-review`) of the
whole feature against <base-branch>. Want me to run it? [yes / skip]

If anything specific might influence the user's decision — context they need to make the call (e.g. the feature touches auth or a data migration, or a large diff) — include it in this message.

• If yes, invoke superartes:external-code-review with the --base <base-branch> scope, triage findings via superartes:receiving-code-review, and address anything Critical/Important before continuing.
• If skip (or the change is trivial — only comments/docs), continue.
• If no user is present to make the call (autonomous run), default to running the review automatically, per superartes:external-code-review.

This is a decision gate: do not proceed to Step 3 until the decision is resolved — and, if the review runs, until it has completed and any Critical/Important findings are addressed. It still does not change the four options below.

Step 3: Present Options

Present exactly these 4 options:

Implementation complete. What would you like to do?

1. Merge back to <base-branch> locally
2. Push and create a Pull Request
3. Keep the branch as-is (I'll handle it later)
4. Discard this work

Which option?

Don't add explanation - keep options concise.

Step 4: Execute Choice

Option 1: Merge Locally

# Switch to base branch
git checkout <base-branch>

# Pull latest
git pull

# Merge feature branch
git merge <feature-branch>

# Verify tests on merged result
<test command>

# If tests pass
git branch -d <feature-branch>

Option 2: Push and Create PR

# Push branch
git push -u origin <feature-branch>

# Create PR
gh pr create --title "<title>" --body "$(cat <<'EOF'
## Summary
<2-3 bullets of what changed>

## Test Plan
- [ ] <verification steps>
EOF
)"

Option 3: Keep As-Is

Report: "Keeping branch <name>. You can return to it later."

Option 4: Discard

Confirm first:

This will permanently delete:
- Branch <name>
- All commits: <commit-list>

Type 'discard' to confirm.

Wait for exact confirmation.

If confirmed:

git checkout <base-branch>
git branch -D <feature-branch>

Quick Reference

Option	Merge	Push	Cleanup Branch
1. Merge locally	yes	-	yes
2. Create PR	-	yes	-
3. Keep as-is	-	-	-
4. Discard	-	-	yes (force)

Common Mistakes

Skipping test verification

• Problem: Merge broken code, create failing PR
• Fix: Always verify tests before offering options

Open-ended questions

• Problem: "What should I do next?" → ambiguous
• Fix: Present exactly 4 structured options

No confirmation for discard

• Problem: Accidentally delete work
• Fix: Require typed "discard" confirmation

Red Flags

Never:

• Proceed with failing tests
• Merge without verifying tests on result
• Delete work without confirmation
• Force-push without explicit request

Always:

• Verify tests before offering options
• Present exactly 4 options
• Get typed confirmation for Option 4

Integration

Called by:

• subagent-driven-development (Step 7) - After all tasks complete
• executing-plans (Step 5) - After all batches complete

Pairs with:

• using-feature-branches - Creates the branch this skill finishes
• commit-message - Use for commit and merge commit message formatting