Sync Changes

Sync the current session branch with its upstream branch, or publish the current session branch to a remote. Use when the user asks to sync a branch, pull latest changes, rebase onto upstream, push current branch, publish branch, or set upstream.

Guidelines

• Never force-push (--force, --force-with-lease) without explicit user approval.
• Never skip pre-push hooks (do not use --no-verify).
• Never rewrite or drop commits during rebase without asking the user.
• When in doubt about conflict resolution — ask the user.

Workflow

1. Check for uncommitted changes first. If there are uncommitted changes, use the /commit skill to commit them before continuing.
2. Check whether the current session branch has an upstream branch.
3. If the current session branch has an upstream branch: 3.1. Fetch the upstream remote first so tracking refs are up to date.

   git fetch <upstream-remote>
   

   3.2. Check ahead/behind counts. If the branch is already in sync (0 ahead, 0 behind), stop and report that no sync is needed.

   git rev-list --left-right --count HEAD...@{u}
   

   3.3. If behind, rebase onto the upstream tracking branch.

   git rebase @{u}
   

   3.4. If there are merge conflicts, resolve them by preserving the intent of both sides. Stage the resolved files and continue the rebase.

   git add <resolved-files>
   git rebase --continue
   

   If conflict resolution is unclear, ask the user how to proceed. If the user wants to stop the rebase, abort it:

   git rebase --abort
   

   3.5. If the branch has local commits (ahead > 0), push them to the remote after a successful rebase.

   git push
   

   If the push is rejected because the rebase rewrote history, explain the situation to the user and ask for approval before force-pushing.
4. If the current session branch does not have an upstream branch: 4.1. Determine the remote to publish to.
   • If there is only one remote, use it.
   • If there are multiple remotes, use the #tool:vscode/askQuestions tool to ask which remote to use. 4.2. Publish the current branch and set upstream in one step.

   git push -u <remote> HEAD
   

Validation

After the workflow completes, validate the result with explicit checks:

1. Verify the working tree is clean:

   git status --porcelain
   

2. Verify sync state (ahead/behind counts are both 0):

   git rev-list --left-right --count HEAD...@{u}
   

3. If the branch was newly published, verify the upstream branch is configured:

   git rev-parse --abbrev-ref --symbolic-full-name @{u}