Finishing a Development Branch

Overview

When work is complete on a branch, follow a structured process to decide how to integrate and clean up.

Announce at start: "I'm using the nobody-finishes-a-development-branch skill to wrap this up."

Pre-Completion Checklist

Before offering integration options:

• All tests pass (run them fresh)
• No uncommitted changes
• All plan tasks marked complete
• Code review passed (or self-reviewed with checklist)
• No debug code, TODOs, or temporary hacks remaining

Integration Options

Present these options to the user:

Option 1: Merge to main

git checkout main
git merge --no-ff feature/branch-name
git branch -d feature/branch-name

Best for: solo work, small changes, when you are the reviewer.

Option 2: Create Pull Request

git push origin feature/branch-name
# Then create PR via GitHub/GitLab

Best for: team work, significant changes, when review is needed.

Option 3: Keep branch (not done yet)

Continue working. Note what remains.

Option 4: Discard

git checkout main
git branch -D feature/branch-name

For: abandoned experiments, wrong approach.

Worktree Cleanup

If using git worktrees:

# Return to main worktree
cd /path/to/main

# Remove the worktree
git worktree remove .worktrees/branch-name

# Verify
git worktree list

Summary Report

After integration, provide:

## Completed
- What was built
- Files changed: [count]
- Tests: [pass count]

## Key Decisions
- Notable design choices

## Follow-up
- Any remaining work or future improvements