microsoft

sync

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.

microsoft 189,708 41,847 Updated 5mo ago
GitHub

Install

npx skillscat add microsoft/vscode/sync

Install via the SkillsCat registry.

SKILL.md

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}

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