Post-Merge Cleanup

Overview

This skill automates the cleanup process after a PR has been merged:

• Removes git worktrees
• Deletes local and remote feature branches
• Updates task status (STATUS.md or Linear)
• Commits and pushes status changes

Usage

/git-workflow:post-merge-cleanup task-013          # Auto-detect source
/git-workflow:post-merge-cleanup PROJ-123          # Linear issue (auto-detected)
/git-workflow:post-merge-cleanup task-013 --dry-run # Preview only

Parameters

Parameter	Required	Description
task_id	Yes	Task identifier (e.g., task-013, PROJ-123)
--linear	No	Force Linear as task source
--file	No	Force filesystem (STATUS.md) as source
--dry-run	No	Preview changes without executing
--no-status-update	No	Skip task status update, only cleanup git
--keep-local	No	Keep local branch (only delete remote)

Workflow

Step 1: Parse Input & Detect Task Source

1. Extract task_id from user input
2. Check for flags: --dry-run, --linear, --file, --no-status-update, --keep-local

Linear Detection (if task_id matches [A-Z]+-\d+ pattern OR --linear flag):

Call: mcp__plugin_linear_linear__get_issue(id: <task_id>)
Store: issue title, current state, project info

Filesystem Detection (default for task-NNN pattern):

# Search for STATUS.md files
glob ".plans/**/STATUS.md"

# Parse markdown table for task row matching task_id
# Store: file path, current status, line location

If neither source found: Display error with suggestions.

Step 2: Resolve Git Assets

Find all git assets associated with the task:

# 1. Check for worktrees
git worktree list | grep -i "<task_id>"

# 2. Check local branches
git branch | grep -iE "(feature/)?(task-)?<task_id>"

# 3. Check remote branches
git branch -r | grep -iE "(feature/)?(task-)?<task_id>"

Display summary to user:

Found git assets for <task_id>:
  Worktree: .worktrees/task-013
  Local branch: feature/task-013-admin-dashboard
  Remote branch: origin/feature/task-013-admin-dashboard

If --dry-run: Display what would be cleaned up and exit.

Step 3: Verify PR Status (Safety Check)

# Check if PR was merged
gh pr list --search "<task_id>" --state merged --limit 5

If no merged PR found:

• Display warning: "No merged PR found for <task_id>"
• Ask user: "Continue anyway? This will delete branches that may not be merged."
• Require explicit confirmation to proceed

If merged PR found:

• Display: "PR #<number> merged on <date>"
• Proceed automatically

Step 4: Execute Git Cleanup

Execute in order (skip if asset not found):

4.1 Remove Worktree:

git worktree remove .worktrees/<task_id> --force

• If worktree has uncommitted changes, warn user and require confirmation

4.2 Delete Local Branch (unless --keep-local):

git branch -d <branch_name>

• If branch not fully merged, ask for confirmation before using -D

4.3 Delete Remote Branch:

git push origin --delete <branch_name>

• Skip if branch doesn't exist on remote (already deleted)

4.4 Prune Stale References:

git fetch --prune

Step 5: Update Task Status (unless --no-status-update)

For Linear Issues:

Call: mcp__plugin_linear_linear__update_issue(
  id: <task_id>,
  state: "Done"  # Or equivalent completed state for the project
)

• First call mcp__plugin_linear_linear__list_issue_statuses to find correct "completed" state

For Filesystem (STATUS.md):

1. Read current file content

2. Find task row in markdown table:

   • Pattern: | <task_id> | or | NNN | (where NNN matches task number)

3. Update status in row:

   • Replace status indicators:
     • pending / ⬜ / todo → ✅ completed
     • in_progress / 🔄 / doing → ✅ completed

4. Recalculate progress (if present):

   • Find progress summary row (e.g., | **Total** | ... | XX% |)
   • Count completed vs total tasks
   • Update percentage and story points

5. Update "Next Steps" section (if present):

   • Remove completed task from "Immediately Available" list
   • Add newly unblocked tasks based on dependency graph

Step 6: Commit & Push Changes (Filesystem only)

If STATUS.md was modified:

# Stage changes
git add <status_file_path>

# Commit with conventional message
git commit -m "✅ chore: Mark <task_id> as completed"

# Push to remote
git push

Output Examples

Successful cleanup:

Post-Merge Cleanup for task-013
================================

Task Source: Filesystem (.plans/subscribeflow-mvp/STATUS.md)
PR Status: #15 merged on 2026-02-03

Git Cleanup:
  ✓ Worktree removed: .worktrees/task-013
  ✓ Local branch deleted: feature/task-013-admin-dashboard
  ✓ Remote branch deleted: origin/feature/task-013-admin-dashboard
  ✓ Stale references pruned

Status Update:
  ✓ Task status: in_progress → completed
  ✓ Progress updated: 80% → 89% (78/88 SP)
  ✓ Changes committed and pushed

Cleanup complete!

Dry-run output:

Post-Merge Cleanup for task-013 (DRY RUN)
==========================================

Would perform the following actions:

Git Cleanup:
  • Remove worktree: .worktrees/task-013
  • Delete local branch: feature/task-013-admin-dashboard
  • Delete remote branch: origin/feature/task-013-admin-dashboard

Status Update:
  • Update .plans/subscribeflow-mvp/STATUS.md
  • Change task-013 status: in_progress → completed
  • Recalculate progress: 80% → 89%

Run without --dry-run to execute.

Error Handling

Worktree has uncommitted changes:

Warning: Worktree .worktrees/task-013 has uncommitted changes.
  Modified: src/components/Dashboard.tsx

Options:
  1. Commit changes first
  2. Discard changes and remove (--force)
  3. Abort cleanup

Choice [1/2/3]:

Branch not fully merged:

Warning: Branch feature/task-013-foo is not fully merged.
This may indicate the PR was not merged, or was squash-merged.

Options:
  1. Force delete anyway (-D)
  2. Keep branch and continue
  3. Abort cleanup

Choice [1/2/3]:

Linear API error:

Error: Could not update Linear issue PROJ-123
  Reason: Insufficient permissions

Status update skipped. Git cleanup completed successfully.
Please update the issue manually in Linear.

Supported STATUS.md Formats

Format A (Table with ID column):

| ID  | Task           | Status         |
|-----|----------------|----------------|
| 013 | Admin Dashboard| 🔄 in_progress |

Format B (Task name as identifier):

| Task      | Status    |
|-----------|-----------|
| task-013  | pending   |

Recognized Status Values:

Status Type	Recognized Values
Pending	pending, ⬜, todo, open, backlog
In Progress	in_progress, 🔄, doing, active, started
Completed	completed, ✅, done, closed, finished

References

• STATUS.md Format Guide
• Troubleshooting