Research Branch Merge

Overview

Handles the complete workflow for processing research branches created during Claude Code Web sessions:

1. Detect research branches
2. Preview content for user approval
3. Squash-merge to main branch
4. Move docs to standardized location
5. Create GitHub issue from findings
6. Clean up remote branch

Trigger: Called by pop-next-action skill when research branches detected, or directly via /popkit:research merge.

User Interaction Pattern

ALWAYS use AskUserQuestion for merge decisions:

Use AskUserQuestion tool with:
- question: "Found research branch: [topic]. How should we process it?"
- header: "Research"
- options:
  - label: "Merge and create issue"
    description: "Squash-merge, move docs, create GitHub issue, delete branch"
  - label: "Merge only"
    description: "Squash-merge content without creating issue"
  - label: "Skip for now"
    description: "Leave branch for later processing"
  - label: "Delete branch"
    description: "Discard research (cannot be undone)"
- multiSelect: false

Processing Workflow

Step 1: Detect Research Branches

Use the research_branch_detector.py utility:

import sys
sys.path.insert(0, "hooks/utils")
from research_branch_detector import (
    fetch_remotes,
    get_research_branches,
    format_branch_table,
    get_branch_content_preview,
    parse_research_doc,
    generate_issue_body
)

# Fetch and detect
fetch_remotes()
branches = get_research_branches()

if not branches:
    print("No research branches detected.")
    return

# Show table
print("## Research Branches Detected\n")
print(format_branch_table(branches))

Step 2: Preview Content

For each branch, show a preview before prompting:

for branch in branches:
    print(f"\n### {branch.short_name}")
    print(f"**Topic:** {branch.topic}")
    print(f"**Created:** {branch.created_ago}")
    print(f"**Commits:** {branch.commit_count} ahead of master")

    if branch.doc_paths:
        print(f"\n**Documentation:**")
        for path in branch.doc_paths:
            print(f"- `{path}`")

        # Show summary preview
        previews = get_branch_content_preview(branch, max_lines=20)
        for path, content in previews.items():
            parsed = parse_research_doc(content)
            if parsed.get("summary"):
                print(f"\n**Summary:** {parsed['summary'][:200]}...")

Step 3: User Decision

Use AskUserQuestion for each branch:

Use AskUserQuestion tool with:
- question: f"Process '{branch.topic}' research? ({branch.commit_count} commits, {len(branch.doc_paths)} docs)"
- header: "Merge"
- options:
  - label: "Merge + Issue"
    description: "Full processing: merge, organize docs, create issue"
  - label: "Merge Only"
    description: "Just merge the content"
  - label: "Skip"
    description: "Process later"
  - label: "Delete"
    description: "Discard this research"
- multiSelect: false

Step 4: Execute Merge

Based on user choice:

Option A: Merge + Issue (Full Processing)

# 1. Ensure clean working directory
git status --porcelain
# If dirty, prompt user to commit or stash first

# 2. Squash merge the research branch
git merge --squash origin/claude/research-[topic]-[session-id]

# 3. Organize docs (if not already in docs/research/)
mkdir -p docs/research
# Move any root-level research docs
git mv RESEARCH*.md docs/research/ 2>/dev/null || true
git mv *_RESEARCH.md docs/research/ 2>/dev/null || true

# 4. Commit with standard message
git commit -m "docs(research): merge [topic] research from web session

Merged from: [branch-name]
Created: [created-ago]

🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.ai/claude-code)

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>"

# 5. Create GitHub issue
gh issue create --title "[Research] [Topic Title]" --body "[generated-body]" --label "research,documentation"

# 6. Delete remote branch
git push origin --delete claude/research-[topic]-[session-id]

Option B: Merge Only

git merge --squash origin/claude/research-[topic]-[session-id]
git commit -m "docs(research): merge [topic] research

Merged from: [branch-name]

🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.ai/claude-code)

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>"

# Optionally delete branch
# Ask: "Delete the remote branch?"

Option C: Skip

No action - branch remains for future processing.

Option D: Delete

# Confirm deletion
# "Are you sure? This research will be permanently lost."

git push origin --delete claude/research-[topic]-[session-id]

Step 5: Summary Report

After processing all branches:

## Research Processing Complete

| Branch | Action | Result |
|--------|--------|--------|
| research-claude-code | Merged + Issue | Issue #182 created |
| research-audio-hooks | Skipped | - |
| research-old-test | Deleted | - |

**Next Steps:**
- Review created issues
- Run `/popkit:next` to see updated recommendations

Issue Generation

Title Format

[Research] {Topic Title}

Examples:

• [Research] Claude Code v2.0.65 Features Integration
• [Research] Audio Feedback Hooks Architecture

Body Format

## Summary

{Executive summary from research doc}

## Source

- **Branch:** `{full_branch_name}`
- **Created:** {created_ago}
- **Files:** {file_count} changed

## Documentation

- `docs/research/{doc_name}.md`

## Implementation Tasks

- [ ] {Task 1 from research}
- [ ] {Task 2 from research}

---
*Auto-generated from research branch by PopKit*

Labels

Automatically apply:

• research - Marks as research output
• documentation - Contains documentation

Optionally detect from content:

• enhancement - If implementation tasks found
• P1-high / P2-medium / P3-low - From priority metadata

Error Handling

Situation	Response
Dirty working directory	Prompt to commit/stash first
Merge conflicts	Show conflicts, offer manual resolution
gh CLI unavailable	Skip issue creation, note in output
No doc files	Merge anyway, create minimal issue
Branch already merged	Skip, note in output

Research Document Standard

For best results, research docs should follow this format:

# Research: [Topic Name]

**Research Date:** YYYY-MM-DD
**Status:** Research Document
**Priority:** P1-high | P2-medium | P3-low

## Executive Summary

[Brief summary of findings - becomes issue body]

## Key Findings

[Main research content]

## Implementation Tasks

- [ ] Task 1 [becomes checklist in issue]
- [ ] Task 2
- [ ] Task 3

## References

[Links and sources]

Integration Points

Component	Role
pop-next-action	Calls this skill when branches detected
research_branch_detector.py	Core detection logic
/popkit:next	Entry point for auto-detection
/popkit:routine morning	Can include in morning routine
GitHub Issues	Output destination for findings

Related

• /popkit:next - Primary entry point
• /popkit:routine morning - Can detect in morning check
• hooks/utils/research_branch_detector.py - Detection utility
• output-styles/research-summary.md - Output formatting