onboard-branch

Onboard Branch

Use this skill when you want a fresh agent to get up to speed on the current Git branch and pick up work where a previous agent or session left off.

IMPORTANT: DO NOT run any tests or compiler.

Assume that the project is valid. You will be told if anything is failing.

Step 1: Gather Git Context

Run the following commands to understand the current Git state:

1. Current Branch:

   git branch --show-current
   

2. Recent Commits: Find commits unique to this branch. Attempt to identify the base branch (origin/main, origin/master, main, or master) and log the commits:

   # Find merge base and log commits unique to branch; fallback to last 5 commits if range is invalid
   git log --oneline --graph $(git merge-base HEAD origin/main 2>/dev/null || git merge-base HEAD main 2>/dev/null || git merge-base HEAD origin/master 2>/dev/null || git merge-base HEAD master 2>/dev/null)..HEAD 2>/dev/null || git log --oneline --graph -n 5
   

   Note: If the commit history is tangled, no base branch is found, or it is unclear which commits represent the current work, ask the user directly.

3. Uncommitted Changes Status:

   git status --porcelain
   

4. Capture Full Diff: Get the diff of all changes (committed on this branch + uncommitted) against the base branch:

   # Resolve the base commit
   BASE_COMMIT=$(git merge-base HEAD origin/main 2>/dev/null || git merge-base HEAD main 2>/dev/null || git merge-base HEAD origin/master 2>/dev/null || git merge-base HEAD master 2>/dev/null || git rev-parse HEAD~1 2>/dev/null || echo HEAD)
   
   # 1. Run stats first to check scale of changes
   git diff --stat $BASE_COMMIT
   
   # 2. Capture diff. If --stat shows a large diff (e.g. > 500 lines or > 10 files),
   # check files of interest individually instead of dumping the whole diff.
   git diff $BASE_COMMIT
   

Step 2: Look for Handoffs or Active Plans

Check if there are any active plans or handoffs in the project root that might provide high-level context: