Stack Branch

Create Stacked Branch

Create a new branch based on an existing PR branch (not main) for dependent work.

Usage

/stack-branch AB-456
/stack-branch AB-456 feature/parent-branch    # Explicit parent

Instructions

1. Get the Jira Ticket

The first argument is the Jira ticket number for the new work.

Use the /jira-ticket skill or the Jira MCP tools directly to get ticket details:

mcp__jira__jira_get with:
  path: /rest/api/3/issue/{ticketNumber}
  jq: "{key: key, summary: fields.summary, issuetype: fields.issuetype.name}"

2. Identify Parent Branch

If parent branch not specified:

# Check if currently on a feature branch
git branch --show-current

If on a feature branch (not main), offer to use it as the parent. Otherwise, ask the user which branch to stack on.

3. Ensure Parent is Up to Date

# Fetch the parent branch
git fetch origin {parent-branch}

# Check out and update local copy
git checkout {parent-branch}
git pull origin {parent-branch}

4. Create Branch Name

Map the Jira issue type to conventional commit prefix:

| Issue Type | Prefix | |------------|--------| | Story | feat | | Task | feat | | Bug | fix | | Improvement | feat | | Spike | chore | | Sub-task | inherit from parent |

Create branch name:

{prefix}/{TICKET}-{summary-in-kebab-case}

Example: feat/AB-456-add-caching-layer

5. Create the Branch

git checkout -b {new-branch-name}

6. Push and Set Upstream

git push -u origin {new-branch-name}

7. Inform User

Tell the user:

• Created branch {new-branch-name} based on {parent-branch}
• When creating a PR, target {parent-branch} not main
• When {parent-branch} is merged, use /rebase-merged-parent to rebase onto main

8. Optional: Create Draft PR

Ask if the user wants to create a draft PR now:

Check for a repo-specific PR template at .github/pull-request-template.md or .github/pull_request_template.md. If found, use that format. If not, ask user for confirmation on generating the body ourselves.

Create the PR targeting parent branch

~/.claude/skills/stack-branch/scripts/gh-pr-create.sh --draft --base {parent-branch} --title "{type}({scope}): {description}" --body "$(cat <<'EOF'
{body}
EOF
)"

If the script is unavailable, fall back to:

gh pr create --draft --base {parent-branch} --title "{type}({scope}): {description}" --body "$(cat <<'EOF'
{body}
EOF
)"

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: flurdy
• Source: flurdy/agent-skills
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.