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 finishing-a-development-branch skill to complete this work."

The Process

Step 1: Verify Tests

Run project's test suite using scripts/run-tests for auto-detection. If tests fail: show failures, stop — cannot proceed until tests pass. If tests pass: continue.

Step 2: Determine Base Branch

git merge-base HEAD main 2>/dev/null || git merge-base HEAD master 2>/dev/null

Step 3: 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 4: Execute Choice

See references/option-details.md for detailed execution steps for each option.

Common Mistakes

Mistake	Fix
Skipping test verification	Always verify tests before offering options
Open-ended questions	Present exactly 4 structured options
Automatic worktree cleanup	Only cleanup for Options 1 and 4
No confirmation for discard	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.

Always: Verify tests first, present exactly 4 options, get typed confirmation for Option 4, clean up worktree for Options 1 & 4 only.

Integration

Called by: plan-execution
Pairs with: using-git-worktrees (cleans up worktree created by that skill)