nbl.finishing-a-development-branch

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 (merge if selected) → Clean up.

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

NON-NEGOTIABLE: All worktree operations MUST use scripts from nbl.using-git-worktrees skill. Never use raw git worktree commands directly.

The Process

Step 1: Verify Tests

Before presenting options, verify tests pass:

# 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 Execution Mode

Check which mode produced this branch:

# Check if a merge worktree exists (parallel mode indicator)
ls .worktrees/*-merge 2>/dev/null

Mode	Detection	Worktree Layout
Inline	No worktree, on dev branch directly	Working on dev branch itself
Serial	Single worktree from dev branch	.worktrees/{name}/
Parallel	Merge worktree exists	.worktrees/{name}-merge/ + (task worktrees already cleaned)

If parallel mode detected: Execute Step 2A (detect only, no auto-merge).

Step 2A: Detect Parallel Mode (No Auto-Merge)

Parallel mode detected when merge worktree exists (feature/{name}-merge branch at .worktrees/{name}-merge/).

The merge worktree contains all accumulated changes from all parallel tasks. Do NOT merge automatically. The merge will be performed after user selection in Step 5. Continue directly to Step 3.

Step 3: Determine Base Branch

# Get the primary worktree's current branch (first entry in git worktree list)
# This is the branch we created the current worktree from — the correct merge target
PRIMARY_WORKTREE=$(git worktree list | head -1)
BASE_BRANCH=$(echo "$PRIMARY_WORKTREE" | sed -n 's/.*\[\(.*\)\]$/\1/p')

# Fallback if branch name could not be extracted
if [[ -z "$BASE_BRANCH" ]]; then
  if git show-ref --verify --quiet refs/heads/main; then
    BASE_BRANCH="main"
  else
    BASE_BRANCH="master"
  fi
fi

Logic:

1. git worktree list first entry is always the primary worktree — the branch it's on is where this worktree was created from
2. Extract branch name from [...] at end of line
3. Fallback to main/master only if extraction fails
4. Ask user to confirm: "This branch split from <base-branch> - is that correct?"

Step 4: Present Options

Present exactly these 4 options:

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 (I'll handle it later)
4. Discard this work

Which option?

Don't add explanation - keep options concise.

Step 5: Execute Choice

Option 1: Merge Locally

Parallel mode only: First merge merge branch to development branch:

# Switch to development branch (base branch in parallel mode)
git checkout <development-branch>

# Merge the completed merge branch
git merge --ff-only feature/<name>-merge

# Verify tests on merged result
<test command>

If tests fail: Stop and fix before proceeding.

If tests pass: Continue with merge to base branch:

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

# Pull latest
git pull

# Merge development branch
git merge <feature-branch>

# Verify tests on merged result
<test command>

# If tests pass
git branch -d <feature-branch>

Then: Cleanup worktree (Step 6)

Option 2: Push and Create PR

Parallel mode only: First merge merge branch to development branch:

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

# Merge the completed merge branch
git merge --ff-only feature/<name>-merge

# Verify tests on merged result
<test command>

If tests fail: Stop and fix before proceeding.

If tests pass: Continue with push:

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

# Create PR/MR body template
PR_BODY=$(cat <<'EOF'
## Summary
<2-3 bullets of what changed>

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

# Create PR/MR - auto-detect GitHub/GitLab
if command -v gh >/dev/null 2>&1; then
  # GitHub CLI
  gh pr create --title "<title>" --body "$PR_BODY"
elif command -v glab >/dev/null 2>&1; then
  # GitLab CLI
  glab mr create --title "<title>" --description "$PR_BODY"
else
  echo "No GitHub CLI (gh) or GitLab CLI (glab) found."
  echo "Branch pushed to <feature-branch>, please create your PR/MR manually."
fi

Then: Cleanup worktree (Step 6)

Option 3: Keep As-Is

Parallel mode: Do NOT merge merge branch to development branch. Do NOT cleanup merge worktree.

Report: "Keeping branch . Merge worktree preserved at .worktrees/{name}-merge/. You can finish the merge later."

Don't cleanup any worktree.

Serial/Inline mode: Same as before - keep worktree as-is.

Option 4: Discard

Confirm first:

This will permanently delete:
- Branch <name>
- All commits in merge branch: <commit-list>
- Merge worktree at <path>

Type 'discard' to confirm.

Wait for exact confirmation.

If confirmed:

# Parallel mode: Delete merge branch directly, do not merge
git checkout <base-branch>
git branch -D feature/<name>-merge

Then: Cleanup merge worktree (Step 6)

Step 6: Cleanup Worktree

NON-NEGOTIABLE: All cleanup MUST be performed via nbl.using-git-worktrees skill. The skill provides proper safety checks and handles platform detection.

For Options 1, 2, 4:

Invoke nbl.using-git-worktrees cleanup:

Invoke via: /nbl.using-git-worktrees cleanup <base_name> [--force]

Parallel mode additional cleanup:

After cleaning up the main worktree, also clean up the merge worktree:

Invoke via: /nbl.using-git-worktrees cleanup <name>-merge --force

For Option 3: Keep worktree.

Quick Reference

Option	Auto-merge Merge WT → Dev	Merge Dev → Base	Push	Keep Worktree	Cleanup Branch	Cleanup Merge WT
1. Merge locally	✓	✓	-	-	✓	✓ (parallel only)
2. Create PR	✓	-	✓	-	-	✓ (parallel only)
3. Keep as-is	✗	-	-	✓	-	- (keep)
4. Discard	✗ (no merge)	-	-	-	✓ (force)	✓ (parallel only)

Key change (parallel mode): Merge from merge worktree to development branch only happens after user selects Option 1 or 2. Option 3 keeps everything as-is for later completion.

Mode-Specific Behavior

Inline Mode (executing-plans)

• No worktree cleanup needed (working directly on dev branch)
• Just present options for the dev branch

Serial Mode (subagent-driven-development)

• One worktree to clean up: .worktrees/{name}/
• Use cleanup-worktree script with base_name

Parallel Mode (parallel-subagent-driven-development)

• Merge worktree: .worktrees/{name}-merge/ — NOT merged automatically
• Task worktrees already cleaned up during execution (by sub-to-sub-merge script)
• Merge to development branch only happens when user selects Option 1 or 2
• Option 3 keeps merge worktree for later completion
• Cleanup only happens after user selection, never automatically

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 4 structured options

Using raw git commands for worktree cleanup

• Problem: Bypasses safety checks (unmerged commit detection, branch validation)
• Fix: Always invoke nbl.using-git-worktrees skill for cleanup

Forgetting merge worktree in parallel mode

• Problem: Merge worktree left dangling after parallel tasks
• Fix: Option 1/2 triggers merge to dev branch then cleanup; Option 3 preserves for later

No confirmation for discard

• Problem: Accidentally delete work
• Fix: Require typed "discard" confirmation

Red Flags

Never:

• Proceed with failing tests
• Merge without verifying tests on result
• Delete work without confirmation
• Force-push without explicit request
• Use raw git worktree commands — always invoke nbl.using-git-worktrees skill

Always:

• Verify tests before offering options
• Present exactly 4 options
• Get typed confirmation for Option 4
• Invoke nbl.using-git-worktrees skill for all worktree cleanup operations
• Clean up merge worktree in parallel mode

Integration

Called by:

• nbl.subagent-driven-development - After all tasks complete
• nbl.executing-plans - After all batches complete
• nbl.parallel-subagent-driven-development - After all tasks complete

Pairs with:

• nbl.using-git-worktrees - REQUIRED for all worktree cleanup operations. Use its scripts exclusively.