About

Imported from nickcrew/claude-cortex (skills/finishing-a-development-branch/SKILL.md). Install upstream with npx skills add nickcrew/claude-cortex --skill finishing-a-development-branch. Copyright stays with the author.

Finishing a Development Branch

Name: finishing-a-development-branch
Author: nickcrew

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

# Try common base branches
git merge-base HEAD main 2>/dev/null || git merge-base HEAD master 2>/dev/null

Or ask: "This branch split from main - is that correct?"

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>

Then: Cleanup worktree (Step 5)

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
)"

Then: Cleanup worktree (Step 5)

Option 3: Keep As-Is

Report: "Keeping branch . Worktree preserved at ."

Don't cleanup worktree.

Option 4: Discard

Confirm first:

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

Type 'discard' to confirm.

Wait for exact confirmation.

If confirmed:

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

Then: Cleanup worktree (Step 5)

Step 5: Cleanup Worktree

For Options 1, 2, 4:

Check if in worktree:

git worktree list | grep $(git branch --show-current)

If yes:

git worktree remove <worktree-path>

For Option 3: Keep worktree.

Quick Reference

Option	Merge	Push	Keep Worktree	Cleanup Branch
1. Merge locally	✓	-	-	✓
2. Create PR	-	✓	✓	-
3. Keep as-is	-	-	✓	-
4. Discard	-	-	-	✓ (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

Automatic worktree cleanup

Problem: Remove worktree when might need it (Option 2, 3)
Fix: Only cleanup for Options 1 and 4

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
Clean up worktree for Options 1 & 4 only

Integration

Called by:

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

Pairs with:

using-git-worktrees - Cleans up worktree created by that skill

Use it

Copy one of these into your project. Installing also returns the manifest and these snippets.

yaml

targets:
  - https://api.opensmartroute.ai/api/v1/registry/nickcrew-claude-cortex-finishing-a-development-branch/manifest   # or paste the manifest below

Manifest

An Open Capability Manifest: the router reads it to know what this does, what it costs and when to pick it.

nickcrew-claude-cortex-finishing-a-development-branch.ocm.jsonjson

{
  "ocm": "1",
  "id": "nickcrew-claude-cortex-finishing-a-development-branch",
  "kind": "skill",
  "name": "finishing-a-development-branch",
  "description": "Use when implementation is complete, all tests pass, and you need to decide how to integrate the work - guides completion of development work by presenting structured options for merge, PR, or cleanup",
  "publisher": "nickcrew",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "capabilities": {
    "domains": [
      "coding"
    ],
    "tags": [
      "skill-md",
      "cleanup-branch",
      "code-review",
      "finish-branch",
      "merge-branch",
      "pull-request",
      "skills-sh"
    ],
    "languages": [
      "en"
    ]
  },
  "quality_prior": 0.6,
  "examples": [
    "Use when implementation is complete, all tests pass, and you need to decide how to integrate the work - guides completion of development work by presenting structured options for merge, PR, or cleanup"
  ],
  "primary": false,
  "metadata": {
    "source": {
      "provider": "skills.sh",
      "repository": "https://github.com/nickcrew/claude-cortex",
      "path": "skills/finishing-a-development-branch/SKILL.md",
      "ref": "HEAD",
      "url": "https://github.com/nickcrew/claude-cortex/blob/HEAD/skills/finishing-a-development-branch/SKILL.md",
      "key": "nickcrew/claude-cortex/skills/finishing-a-development-branch/SKILL.md"
    }
  },
  "instructions": "# Finishing a Development Branch\n\n## Overview\n\nGuide completion of development work by presenting clear options and handling chosen workflow.\n\n**Core principle:** Verify tests → Present options → Execute choice → Clean up.\n\n**Announce at start:** \"I'm using the finishing-a-development-branch skill to complete this work.\"\n\n## The Process\n\n### Step 1: Verify Tests\n\n**Before presenting options, verify tests pass:**\n\n```bash\n# Run project's test suite\nnpm test / cargo test / pytest / go test ./...\n```\n\n**If tests fail:**\n```\nTests failing (<N> failures). Must fix before completing:\n\n[Show failures",
  "cost": {
    "context_tokens": 992
  }
}

Fetch it by URL: GET /api/v1/registry/nickcrew-claude-cortex-finishing-a-development-branch/manifest?version=1.0.0

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