finish-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.

Announce at start: "I'm using the finish-branch skill to complete this work."

The Process

Step 1: Verify Tests

Skip the re-run when verification is already fresh. If build-flow's final Verify stage (or another full-suite run this session) passed AND nothing has changed since — check git status is clean relative to that run and no files were edited after it — do not re-run. Report: "Tests verified by build-flow's final verification; no changes since." and continue to Step 2. Your human partner can always ask for a re-run.

Otherwise, verify tests pass:

# Run project's test suite — read the summary, not the full output
npm test / cargo test / pytest / go test ./...  2>&1 | tail -30

Never read full passing test output into your context — the summary line is the evidence. On failure, extract only the failing cases.

If tests fail:

Tests failing (<N> 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

Identify the base branch (typically main or master). If uncertain, 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 <base-branch> locally
2. Commit, push, and create a draft 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

Your human partner should run /commit first to commit their changes.

Staging guidance:

• Do NOT stage docs/plans/*.md (design docs, implementation plans)