Finishing a Development Branch

PURPOSE: Guide the completion of development work through a structured decision flow: verify tests pass, present clear integration options, execute the chosen option, and clean up.

GIT HOST: PR creation in Option 2 uses GitHub (gh) as the default. If git-host in jig.config.md is not github, read framework/GIT_HOST.md for the platform-specific command equivalents.

Core principle: Verify tests -> Present options -> Execute choice -> Clean up.

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

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When to Use

Invoke this skill when:

• Implementation is complete and all tasks are done
• sdd or team-dev reaches the end of execution
• The user says "we're done", "let's wrap up", "finish this branch", or "/finish"
• All planned tasks are implemented and tested

Do NOT use when:

• Tests are still failing (fix them first)
• Tasks remain in the implementation plan
• The review stage has not been completed

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The Process

Step 1: Verify Tests

Before presenting options, verify tests pass.

Run the project's test suite:

<project-test-command>

REQUIRED: Use verify -- run the actual command, read the output, confirm zero failures before proceeding.

If tests fail:

Tests failing (N failures). Must fix before completing:

[Show failures]

Cannot proceed with merge/PR until tests pass.

Stop. Do not proceed to Step 2. Fix the failures first.

If tests pass: Continue to Step 2.

Step 2: Determine Base Branch

Read main-branch from jig.config.md (default: main).

git merge-base HEAD <main-branch>

Or ask: "This branch split from <main-branch> -- is that correct?"

Step 3: Present Options

Present exactly these 4 options:

Implementation complete. All tests pass. What would you like to do?

1. Merge back to <base-branch> locally
2. Push and create a Pull Request
3. Keep the branch as-is (I'll handle it later)
4. Discard this work

Which option?

Do not add explanation -- keep options concise. Wait for the user's choice.

Step 4: Execute Choice

Option 1: Merge Locally

# Switch to base branch
git checkout <base-branch>

# Pull latest
git pull

# Merge feature branch
git merge <feature-branch>

# Verify tests on merged result
<test-command>

# If tests pass, delete the feature branch
git branch -d <feature-branch>

If merge conflicts occur:

• Show the conflicts to the user
• Ask how to resolve (do not auto-resolve)
• After resolution, run tests again before completing

If tests fail after merge:

• Report the failures
• Ask whether to abort the merge or fix forward

Then: Cleanup worktree (Step 5)

Option 2: Push and Create PR

# Push branch
git push -u origin <feature-branch>

Then create the PR. Read jig.config.md for:

• require-ticket-reference -- whether to include ticket reference
• ticket-system -- which system to reference
• branching.format -- to extract ticket number from branch name

# Create PR with structured description
gh pr create --title "<title>" --body "$(cat <<'EOF'
## Summary
<2-3 bullets of what changed>

## Test Plan
- [ ] <verification steps>
EOF
)"

If the project has the pr-create skill, defer to it for PR creation.

Then: Cleanup worktree (Step 5)

Option 3: Keep As-Is

Report:

Keeping branch <name>. Worktree preserved at <path>.

Do not clean up the worktree.

Option 4: Discard

Confirm first:

This will permanently delete:
- Branch: <name>
- All commits: <commit-list>
- Worktree at <path> (if applicable)

Type 'discard' to confirm.

Wait for exact confirmation. Do not proceed without it.

If confirmed:

git checkout <base-branch>
git branch -D <feature-branch>

Then: Cleanup worktree (Step 5)

Step 5: Cleanup Worktree

For Options 1, 2, and 4:

Check if working in a worktree:

git worktree list

If the current directory is a worktree (not the main working tree):

# Navigate out of the worktree first
cd <main-working-tree-path>

# Remove the worktree
git worktree remove <worktree-path>

If the project uses a worktree management command (check jig.config.md or project scripts), use that instead.

For Option 3: Keep the worktree intact.

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Quick Reference

Option	Merge	Push	Keep Worktree	Cleanup Branch
1. Merge locally	Yes	No	No	Yes (soft delete)
2. Create PR	No	Yes	Yes (for PR updates)	No
3. Keep as-is	No	No	Yes	No
4. Discard	No	No	No	Yes (force delete)

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Common Mistakes

Mistake	Consequence	Fix
Skipping test verification	Merge broken code, create failing PR	Always verify tests before offering options
Open-ended questions	"What should I do next?" is ambiguous	Present exactly 4 structured options
Automatic worktree cleanup	Remove worktree when user might need it	Only cleanup for Options 1 and 4
No confirmation for discard	Accidentally delete work	Require typed "discard" confirmation
Merging without pulling latest	Merge conflicts discovered after merge	Always pull latest before merging
Not running tests after merge	Merge introduced regressions	Test the merged result before deleting branch

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Red Flags

Never:

• Proceed with failing tests
• Merge without verifying tests on the merged result
• Delete work without typed confirmation
• Force-push without explicit user request
• Auto-select an option without asking the user
• Clean up worktree for Option 3 (keep as-is)

Always:

• Verify tests before offering options
• Present exactly 4 options
• Get typed confirmation for Option 4
• Run tests after merge (Option 1) before deleting the branch
• Check for worktree before cleanup

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Integration

Called by:

• sdd (terminal state) -- after all tasks complete and final review passes
• team-dev (terminal state) -- after all tasks complete and integration review passes

Related skills:

• verify -- used in Step 1 to verify tests pass
• pr-create -- can be used in Option 2 for more structured PR creation
• review -- should have been completed before reaching this skill

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Post-Completion

After the chosen option is executed and cleanup is done, suggest:

"Work complete. If this was a feature or complex improvement, consider running /postmortem to capture lessons learned."

Do not auto-invoke the postmortem -- just suggest it.