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 ( 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 the user: "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?

Keep options concise.

Step 4: Execute Choice

Option 1: Merge Locally

1. Switch to base branch: git checkout
2. Pull latest: git pull
3. Merge feature branch: git merge
4. Verify tests on merged result.
5. If tests pass, delete feature branch: git branch -d

Option 2: Push and Create PR

1. Push branch: git push -u origin
2. Create PR using gh CLI if available, or provide the URL to the user.

Option 3: Keep As-Is

Report: "Keeping branch ."

Option 4: Discard

Ask for confirmation: "Are you sure you want to discard ALL changes on ?"

Step 5: Cleanup

Clean up any temporary files or worktrees created during development.

Remember

• Verify tests pass before offering merge/PR.
• Follow the chosen workflow exactly.
• Always include the Junie co-authored trailer in any final commits if needed: --trailer "Co-authored-by: Junie "
• Ensure the user is informed at each step.

Source & license

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

• Author: himmelreich-it
• Source: himmelreich-it/agent-skill-converter
• License: Apache-2.0

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