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 ( 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 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

Pull latest

git pull

Merge feature branch

git merge

Verify tests on merged result

If tests pass

git branch -d

Then: Cleanup worktree (Step 5)

Option 2: Push and Create PR

Push branch

git push -u origin

Create PR

gh pr create --title "<title>" --body "$(cat <<'EOF'

Summary

<2-3 bullets of what changed>

Test Plan

• [ ] 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 - All commits: - Worktree at

Type 'discard' to confirm.

Wait for exact confirmation.

If confirmed:

git checkout git branch -D

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

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