git-operations

Git Operations Skill

Purpose

Core git command patterns, branching strategies, and safety protocols for a project.

Current branch: !git branch --show-current 2>/dev/null || true

Branching Convention

Branch Pattern	Purpose
main	Production branch, always stable
scaffolding/{task_id[:12]}	Worktree task branches (auto-created)
backup/{task_id[:12]}	Safety backup before destructive ops

Safe Operation Patterns

Before Any Destructive Operation

git status
git stash list
git log --oneline -5
git branch backup/$(date +%s) HEAD

Merge Strategy

git merge --no-commit --no-ff branch_name
git diff --cached --stat
git merge --continue  # or --abort

Conflict Resolution

git diff --name-only --diff-filter=U
git checkout --ours path/to/file    # keep ours
git checkout --theirs path/to/file  # keep theirs

Cherry-Pick

git cherry-pick --no-commit <commit>
git diff --cached --stat
git cherry-pick --continue

Common Error Patterns

Error	Fix
fatal: not a git repository	Verify path, check .git exists
CONFLICT (content)	Use conflict resolution protocol
cannot lock ref	Wait and retry, check stale locks
worktree is not clean	Stage+commit or stash

Push Operations

Standard Push (after workflow)

# 1. Verify unpushed commits exist
git log --oneline origin/main..HEAD

# 2. Push to remote
git push origin main

# 3. Verify push succeeded
git log --oneline origin/main..HEAD  # should be empty

Push Safety Rules

• NEVER use --force or --force-with-lease without explicit user confirmation
• Always verify unpushed commits BEFORE push
• Always verify push success AFTER push
• If push fails due to divergence, report to user -- do NOT auto-rebase

Finishing Flow

After work is complete on a branch, execute one of these four actions based on context.

Merge to Main

git checkout main
git merge --ff-only <branch>  # try fast-forward first
# if ff fails: git merge --no-ff <branch>
git branch -d <branch>
git worktree remove .scaffolding/worktrees/<task_id> 2>/dev/null
git worktree prune