Finishing a Development Branch

commit-workflow gets changes into commits, release ships a version, and github-pr-workflow manages PRs that already exist. None of them answer the question that comes right after implementation finishes: what happens to this branch now? This skill closes that gap.

Core principle: Verify tests → detect environment → present options → execute the choice → clean up.

When to Use

• Implementation on a feature/fix branch is complete and its own tests pass
• You need to decide between merging locally, opening a PR, leaving the branch for later, or discarding it — and the workspace (worktree vs. normal checkout) affects how cleanup should work
• A subagent-driven-development-style task loop (see fleet-parallel §5-A) just finished its final whole-branch review and needs a clean handoff

When NOT to Use

Instead of finishing-a-development-branch	Use
You need conventional commit messages while still working	commit-workflow
The branch is already merged and you are cutting a version	release
You need PR-lifecycle operations (labels, review requests, merge) once a PR exists	github-pr-workflow
You just need to create or remove a worktree, independent of a merge decision	using-git-worktrees

Workflow

1. Verify tests pass

npm test  # or the project's actual test command

If tests fail, stop here. Report the failures and do not proceed to any option below — a failing branch has nothing to finish yet.

2. Detect the workspace environment

$gitDir = git rev-parse --git-dir
$gitCommon = git rev-parse --git-common-dir

State	Menu	Cleanup behavior
$gitDir == $gitCommon	Standard 4 options (below)	No worktree involved
$gitDir != $gitCommon, named branch (a worktree)	Standard 4 options	Worktree removed only for Merge/Discard, per Step 4
$gitDir != $gitCommon, detached HEAD	Reduced 3 options (no local merge)	Externally managed — do not remove

3. Determine the base branch

git merge-base HEAD main 2>$null
if (-not $?) { git merge-base HEAD master 2>$null }

If neither resolves, ask which branch this work should integrate into.

4. Present options and execute the choice

Normal repo or named-branch worktree:

Implementation complete. 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
4. Discard this work

Detached HEAD:

Implementation complete (detached HEAD — externally managed workspace).
1. Push as a new branch and create a Pull Request
2. Keep as-is
3. Discard this work

Keep the menu terse — do not pad it with explanation.

Option	Action	Worktree cleanup
Merge locally	See Merging from a worktree below, then delete the branch	Yes — remove after merge succeeds
Push + PR	Named branch: git push -u origin <branch>. Detached HEAD: git checkout -b <new-branch-name> first, then git push -u origin <new-branch-name>. Either way, hand off to github-pr-workflow	No — the worktree must stay alive for review iteration
Keep as-is	Report the branch name (or commit SHA, if detached) and worktree path; do nothing else	No
Discard	Require the user to type the literal word discard to confirm, listing the commits and worktree path that will be deleted. Named branch: force-delete the branch, then remove the worktree. Detached HEAD: this workspace is externally managed (see Step 2) — do not remove it or the branch; report which commits are being abandoned and let the host harness reclaim the workspace	Named branch only — remove before/instead of deleting the branch. Never for detached HEAD

Never remove a worktree for "Push + PR" or "Keep as-is" — the whole point of those two options is that the workspace must remain usable afterward. Never remove a detached-HEAD workspace yourself under any option — Step 2 already established it is externally managed.

Merging from a worktree

If the base branch is already checked out somewhere else (the common case when this branch lives in its own worktree), running git checkout <base> from inside the feature worktree fails with fatal: '<base>' is already checked out at .... Merge from the worktree/checkout that actually owns the base branch instead of the feature worktree:

# Resolve the main checkout (where the base branch actually lives)
$mainRoot = git -C "$(git rev-parse --git-common-dir)/.." rev-parse --show-toplevel

# Merge in the main checkout, not the feature worktree
Push-Location $mainRoot
git checkout <base-branch>
git pull
git merge <feature-branch>
<test command>   # re-verify tests on the merged result before cleanup
Pop-Location

Only proceed to worktree cleanup (Step 5) and branch deletion after the merge and its test run both succeed. If $mainRoot equals the current directory (normal repo, no worktree), the Push-Location/Pop-Location pair is a no-op and the merge runs in place as expected.

5. Clean up the workspace (Merge and Discard only)

$worktreePath = git rev-parse --show-toplevel

• If $gitDir == $gitCommon: no worktree exists — nothing to remove.

• If the worktree lives under a path this workflow (or using-git-worktrees) created, remove it and prune stale registrations from the main checkout:

  $mainRoot = git -C "$(git rev-parse --git-common-dir)/.." rev-parse --show-toplevel
  Push-Location $mainRoot
  git worktree remove $worktreePath
  git worktree prune
  Pop-Location
  

• Otherwise, a host harness or externally managed environment owns the workspace — do not remove it yourself. Use the platform's own workspace-exit mechanism if one exists, or leave it in place.

Examples

Finishing a fleet task-loop branch

After fleet-parallel §5-A's final whole-branch review passes:

> Implementation complete. What would you like to do?
> 1. Merge back to main locally
> 2. Push and create a Pull Request
> 3. Keep the branch as-is
> 4. Discard this work
"2" — push and open a PR so the team can review before merge.

Discarding an abandoned spike

> This will permanently delete:
> - Branch spike/cache-experiment
> - 4 commits
> - Worktree at .worktrees/spike-cache
> Type 'discard' to confirm.
"discard"

Common Rationalizations

Rationalization	Reality
"Tests passed in CI earlier, skip re-checking now"	Re-verify at the point of decision — commits may have landed since the last CI run.
"I'll just delete the worktree, the branch can go too"	Options 2 and 3 exist specifically because the worktree must survive; always match cleanup to the chosen option.
"Discard is obviously fine, no need to list what's lost"	Force-delete is irreversible — always show the exact branch, commits, and path before requiring explicit confirmation.

Red Flags

• A branch is merged or discarded without first re-running its tests
• A worktree is removed after "Push and create a Pull Request" or "Keep as-is"
• A discard proceeds without the user typing the literal confirmation word
• The workspace state (worktree vs. normal checkout, attached vs. detached HEAD) was never checked before presenting options

Verification

• Tests were re-verified immediately before presenting options
• The workspace state (worktree/detached HEAD) was detected before choosing a menu
• The executed action matches the option chosen — no extra cleanup on Push/Keep, no missing cleanup on Merge/Discard
• Discard required an explicit typed confirmation naming what will be deleted

See Also

• commit-workflow — atomic commits while work is still in progress
• release — version tagging and publishing once work is merged
• github-pr-workflow — PR lifecycle once a PR exists
• using-git-worktrees — creating and managing the worktrees this skill may clean up
• fleet-parallel — §5-A's final whole-branch review hands off here