Finishing A Development Branch

---
name: finishing-a-development-branch
description: "Use when implementation is complete and tests pass — presents structured options for merge, PR, or cleanup to integrate the work."
version: 1.0.0
---

# 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 → Clean up.

**Announce at start:** "I'm using the coordinator:finishing-a-development-branch skill to complete this work."

## The Process

### Step 1: Acceptance-Oracle Early Feedback + Test Verification

#### Step 1a: Acceptance-Oracle Early Feedback (non-authoritative)

<!-- spec-backlink: docs/plans/2026-05-24-acceptance-oracle-with-teeth.md §2.3 — finishing-a-development-branch early non-authoritative gate -->

Run the acceptance oracle as early advisory feedback before presenting options.

**Plan-path threading:** When invoked from `coordinator:execute-plan` Phase 4b, the plan path is passed explicitly from that context — use it directly. When invoked standalone with no plan path available, emit a skip-with-offer and continue.

- **Plan path known (passed from execute-plan or provided by invoker):**
  ```bash
  bash bin/check-acceptance-oracle.sh <plan-path>
  ```
  - **Exit 0:** Log _"Acceptance oracle: all gate-bound tests pass."_ Continue to Step 1b.
  - **Non-zero exit:** Log the verdict (the script names which rows are red). This is advisory — do NOT block here. Continue to Step 1b and note: _"You have red acceptance tests — consider iterating before merging, since the authoritative gate at /merging-to-main Step 0a will hard-block on these."_
  - **Script not found:** Skip silently and continue to Step 1b.

- **No plan path available (standalone invocation):**
  Emit skip-with-offer: _"Acceptance oracle can be validated with `bash bin/check-acceptance-oracle.sh <plan-path>` — provide a plan path if this branch has one."_ Continue to Step 1b. Never scan the working directory for plan files (concurrent EMs would pick the wrong one).

#### Step 1b: Verify Tests

**Before presenting options, verify tests pass:**

```bash
# Run project's test suite
npm test / cargo test / pytest / go test ./...
```

**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

```bash
# Try common base branches
git merge-base HEAD main 2>/dev/null || git merge-base HEAD master 2>/dev/null
```

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

### Step 3: Present Options

Present exactly these 3 options:

```
Implementation complete. What would you like to do?

1. Merge to main via PR (recommended)
2. Create a Pull Request (manual merge later)
3. Keep the branch as-is (I'll handle it later)

Which option?
```

**Don't add explanation** - keep options concise.

**Why no "discard" option:** when this skill fires, work is reviewed, tested, and committed. Offering discard as a peer of "merge" treats the choice as ambivalent when it isn't. If the PM genuinely wants to throw the work away, they'll say so explicitly — and that path goes through deliberate destructive-action confirmation, not a numbered menu.

### Step 4: Execute Choice

#### Option 1: Merge to main via PR (Recommended)

Invoke the `merging-to-main` skill. This creates a PR, waits for CI checks, and merges
on success. Branch is deleted after merge.

If on a worktree: worktree is removed after merge (Step 5).

#### Option 2: Create a Pull Request (manual merge later)

Push the feature branch and create a PR, but do NOT merge. Use this when:
- You want the PM to review the PR before merging
- CI needs to pass but you're not ready to merge yet
- You want to come back to this later

```bash
git push -u origin <feature-branch>

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

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

If on a worktree: keep the worktree active.

#### Option 3: Keep the branch as-is

Don't merge, don't create PR. Branch stays. Use this when:
- Work is in progress and not ready for review
- You plan to continue in another session

Report: "Keeping branch <name>. Worktree preserved at <path>."

If on a worktree: keep the worktree active.

### Step 5: Cleanup Worktree

<!-- Review: the Staff Engineer — Option 2 keeps worktree active; contradicted the quick reference table -->
**For Option 1:**

Check if in worktree:
```bash
git worktree list | grep $(git branch --show-current)
```

If yes:
```bash
git worktree remove <worktree-path>
```

**For Options 2 and 3:** Keep worktree.

## Quick Reference

| Option | PR | Merge | Keep Worktree | Cleanup Branch |
|--------|-----|-------|---------------|----------------|
| 1. Merge via PR | ✓ | ✓ (CI-gated) | - | ✓ |
| 2. PR only | ✓ | - | ✓ | - |
| 3. Keep as-is | - | - | ✓ | - |

## Common Mistakes

**Skipping test verification**
- **Problem:** Merge broken code, create failing PR
- **Fix:** Always verify tests before offering options

**Open-ended questions**
- **Problem:** "What should I do next?" → ambiguous
- **Fix:** Present exactly 3 structured options

**Automatic worktree cleanup**
- **Problem:** Remove worktree when might need it (Option 2, 3)
- **Fix:** Only cleanup for Option 1

**Offering discard as a numbered option**
- **Problem:** When work is reviewed, tested, and committed, presenting "discard" as a peer of "merge" treats the choice as ambivalent and invites accidental selection.
- **Fix:** Don't include discard in the menu. If the PM wants to throw work away, they'll say so explicitly — and that path is deliberate destructive-action confirmation, not a numbered choice.

## Red Flags

**Never:**
- Proceed with failing tests
- Merge without verifying tests on result
- Offer discard as a numbered menu option
- Force-push without explicit request

**Always:**
- Verify tests before offering options
- Present exactly 3 options
- Clean up worktree for Option 1 only

## Integration

**Called by:**
<!-- Review: the Staff Engineer — ghost caller references; subagent-driven-development and executing-plans no longer exist -->
- **Executor-dispatch workflow** (`docs/wiki/delegate-execution.md`) — After all tasks complete
- **/execute-plan** (Step 3) — After all batches complete

**Pairs with:**
- No worktrees — worktrees are forbidden. Use the active workstream branch for WIP parking.