---
name: branch-lifecycle
description: "Evaluate feature branches and decide whether to merge, salvage, keep open, or delete based on branch health, PR status, and stale-branch heuristics"
type: ops
version: v0.0
argument-hint: "[--force] [list | pr [branch...] | review <branch-or-pr> | merge <branch-or-pr> | salvage <branch-or-pr> [--onto <base>] [--commits <sha,...>] | cleanup]"
---

# Branch Lifecycle

Invoke as `$branch-lifecycle`.

Evaluate feature branches after review and drive one of four outcomes: `merge`, `salvage`, `keep-open`, or `delete`.

This is an exception workflow. The default repository policy is direct-to-primary development on `main`/`master`; use this skill for legacy branches, externally introduced branches, explicit user requests for branch/PR work, or `agent-team` lane branches created by an approved parallel plan.

## Arguments

- **No args** or **`list`**: inventory candidate branches and recommend an action for each.
- **`pr [branch...]`**: create PRs for branches that do not already have one and pass basic readiness checks.
- **`review <branch-or-pr>`**: classify a branch or PR as `merge`, `salvage`, `keep-open`, or `delete`.
- **`merge <branch-or-pr>`**: merge only if the strict merge gate passes.
- **`salvage <branch-or-pr> [--onto <base>] [--commits <sha,...>]`**: cherry-pick selected commits onto a fresh target branch.
- **`cleanup`**: delete merged branches and prompt for stale unmerged branches.
- **`--force`**: skip confirmations for safe-destructive actions (PR creation, approved merge, merged-branch deletion). Never skips confirmation for deleting an unmerged branch.

## Process

1. **Resolve repository context:**
   - Detect the base branch in this order: repository default branch, `main`, then `master`.
   - Run `git status` and report uncommitted changes before any mutating action.
   - Use `gh` for PR metadata and merge operations when available. If `gh` is unavailable or unauthenticated, report that limitation and continue with local-only facts where possible.
   - State clearly that normal solo-dev work should land directly on the base branch, not stay on a feature branch.

2. **Build branch inventory:**
   - Enumerate local branches except the current branch and base branch.
   - For each branch, gather:
     - Ahead/behind counts vs base: `git rev-list --left-right --count <base>...<branch>`
     - Last commit date/author: `git log -1 --format="%cr|%an" <branch>`
     - Unique commits vs base: `git log --reverse --oneline <base>..<branch>`
     - PR status and checks, when a PR exists
   - Flag a branch as **stale** when it has no open PR and its last commit is older than 30 days.

3. **Apply the decision policy:**
   - **Merge** only when all strict-gate checks pass:
     - focused scope
     - passing CI/tests or no required checks
     - no merge conflicts
     - approval requirements satisfied, or no required review
     - no unresolved high-severity review findings
   - **Salvage** when the branch is outdated, mixed in scope, or not merge-ready but contains specific commits worth keeping.
   - **Keep-open** when the branch is active and still worth finishing on its current line of development.
   - **Delete** when the branch is stale or below standards and no clearly valuable commits remain.
   - Increase confidence in a `delete` recommendation when stale is combined with any of:
     - behind base by 10 or more commits
     - failing or missing checks on an abandoned PR
     - obviously mixed or abandoned scope

4. **Execute the requested subcommand** using the rules below.

## Subcommand Actions

### `list`

1. Print a table with:
   - branch
   - age
   - ahead/behind
   - PR status
   - checks
   - recommendation
2. Use `merge`, `salvage`, `keep-open`, or `delete` in the recommendation column.
3. Include a brief reason for non-merge recommendations, such as `stale`, `mixed scope`, `behind base`, or `failing checks`.

### `pr [branch...]`

1. Use the supplied branches, or find local branches without an open PR.
2. Refuse to create a PR for:
   - the current branch
   - the base branch
   - branches already marked `delete`
3. For each eligible branch:
   - summarize commits unique to the branch
   - confirm with the user unless `--force`
   - create the PR with `gh pr create`
4. If a branch is a better `salvage` candidate than a PR candidate, say so and do not open the PR automatically.

### `review <branch-or-pr>`

1. Resolve the target to a branch and, if present, its PR.
2. Evaluate:
   - scope focus
   - CI/tests
   - conflicts
   - approval state
   - stale status
   - whether the branch contains a small set of clearly reusable commits
3. Output:
   - target summary
   - branch facts
   - findings
   - recommended action: `merge`, `salvage`, `keep-open`, or `delete`
   - the reason tied to the decision policy

### `merge <branch-or-pr>`

1. Resolve the target to an open PR. If the branch has no PR, stop and recommend `pr` or `salvage`.
2. Re-check the strict merge gate.
3. If any merge gate fails, stop and explain which requirement failed.
4. Confirm with the user unless `--force`.
5. Merge with squash by default: `gh pr merge <number> --squash`
   - Respect `CLAUDE.md` if it specifies a different merge strategy.
6. Report the merged PR and resulting commit hash.

### `salvage <branch-or-pr> [--onto <base>] [--commits <sha,...>]`

1. Resolve the source branch and target base branch.
   - Default target base is the detected repository base branch.
   - If `--onto` is provided, use that branch as the target base.
2. Show the commit list unique to the source branch in chronological order.
3. Determine which commits to keep:
   - if `--commits` is provided, use those SHAs in the given order
   - otherwise, ask the user to choose commits explicitly
4. Create a fresh target branch from the chosen base, using a name derived from the source branch such as `salvage/<source>-<date>`.
5. Cherry-pick the selected commits in order.
6. If a conflict occurs:
   - stop immediately
   - report the conflicted files and the standard `git cherry-pick --continue` / `--abort` next steps
   - do not auto-resolve or continue
7. Report the new branch name and the preserved commits.
8. Never delete the source branch automatically after salvage.

### `cleanup`

1. Find merged branches and confirm deletion unless `--force`.
2. Delete local merged branches with `git branch -d`.
3. If the matching remote branch exists, delete it too after the same confirmation scope.
4. Identify stale unmerged branches and print their recommendation reasons.
5. Ask for confirmation before deleting each unmerged branch individually.
   - Even with `--force`, never auto-delete an unmerged branch.
6. If a stale branch looks salvageable, recommend `salvage` instead of deleting it immediately.

## Constraints

- Never force-push or rewrite history.
- Never merge a PR that fails the strict gate.
- Never auto-delete an unmerged branch.
- Never auto-delete a source branch after salvage.
- Never cherry-pick the full branch implicitly; salvage is commit-selective by default.
- If the working tree is dirty and the requested action is mutating, warn first and stop unless the user explicitly wants to continue.
- Prefer reporting and stopping over making branch-history decisions silently.


## Alignment Page

When this skill produces durable deliverables (research, specs, plans, reports, prototypes, or any document output), build a full-depth HTML alignment page at `alignment/branch-lifecycle-{topic}.html`. Use a normalized topic slug derived from the app, feature, research subject, report subject, or output filename.

**Full content requirement.** The alignment page must contain the complete content of every proposed markdown deliverable -- every section, every finding, every detail, every list item. It is a thorough interactive review document, not a summary. Render the full deliverable content in clean, readable HTML with appropriate hierarchy, styling, and navigation. If the skill writes multiple scoped deliverables in one run, build one alignment page that contains all deliverables with anchor-linked navigation. Durable tracker artifacts, such as `research/assumption-tracker.md`, remain canonical markdown outputs but must also be fully rendered into the alignment page before approval.

**Dark-mode styling.** Use a dark color scheme by default. Base CSS variables: `--bg: #0d1117; --surface: #161b22; --border: #30363d; --text: #c9d1d9; --text-muted: #8b949e; --accent: #58a6ff; --green: #3fb950; --red: #f85149; --orange: #d29922; --purple: #bc8cff;`. Apply `background: var(--bg); color: var(--text);` on body. Use `--surface` for cards, nav, and table headers. Use `--border` for all borders. Use `--purple` for question blocks and gate headings. Use `--accent` for links and section headings. Keep headings `color: #fff` or `var(--accent)` for hierarchy. Question block backgrounds should use `#1c2333`.

**Alignment gates.** Treat gates as explicit review sections inside the HTML page. A gate blocks finalization until its required inline questions are answered and compiled into YAML. Include every gate that applies to the skill output, and include these gate types whenever relevant: evidence coverage, assumptions/confidence, scope/non-goals, candidate/verdict decisions, artifact destination, proposed file changes, coverage checkpoint, and post-approval route.

**Report-only research gates.** For report-only or pre-approval research skills, the alignment page must explicitly contain evidence coverage, assumptions/confidence, recommended path, proposed file changes, and approval gates before any canonical research, spec, or task file is created or updated.


**Required inline questions.** Each gate must contain at least one required inline question placed directly under the content it governs, inside a visually distinct question block. Each question must use radio-button inputs and include two standing options after the skill-generated choices: "Other / None of the above" backed by a multi-line text box for free-form input, and "Need clarification" backed by an optional notes box where the user can explain what is unclear. When any radio option other than "Other" or "Need clarification" is selected, show an optional "Additional notes" text box beneath it so the user can qualify their choice. Generate questions based on what genuinely needs user input -- do not add filler questions. Do not create a separate bottom "Decisions & Clarifications" section.

**Gate YAML contract.** At the bottom of the page, include a "Compile Answers" button that aggregates answers from all inline gate questions throughout the page, including free-text notes. The button remains disabled until every required question has a selection, shows a count of remaining unanswered questions, and scrolls to the first unanswered question if clicked early. When every question is answered, generate a structured YAML block with one item per gate answer using this stable shape: `section`, `gate_type`, `status` (`answered`, `other`, or `needs-clarification`), `answer`, optional `notes`, and optional `target_artifact` or `target_path` when the gate controls file output. After successful compilation, automatically attempt to copy the YAML to the clipboard with the Clipboard API, display copy status, and display the YAML in a read-only textarea with an explicit "Copy YAML" button. The copy button must retry clipboard copy when supported and fall back to selecting the textarea contents when clipboard access is unavailable or blocked.

**Pre-approval stop.** Before user approval, the next action is review of the HTML alignment page, not downstream routing. Ask the user to review the page and provide the compiled YAML answers. Do not include `Recommended next skill`, `Recommended next command`, or downstream routing language until after compiled YAML has been provided and the approved artifacts have been written or updated.

**Diff highlighting on updates.** When the agent updates an existing alignment page after receiving compiled answers, highlight what changed since the previous version. The agent chooses inline annotation or side-by-side layout per situation.

**Archiving.** Before replacing an existing alignment page, archive it to `docs/history/archive/YYYY-MM-DD/HHMMSS/alignment/branch-lifecycle-{topic}.html`.

**Browser open.** Attempt to open the resulting HTML page in the browser and report whether the open succeeded or was blocked. A blocked browser-open attempt does not make the skill fail when the files were written correctly.

## Default Shipping Contract

- **Default next-step routing:** when reporting completion, include either `Recommended next skill: <command>` or the two-line pair `**Next work:** <specific task or "none">` and `**Recommended next command:** <one command or route>` so the next operator has a concrete handoff.
- If this skill creates or modifies tracked repository files, finish by committing and pushing all intended changes to the repository primary branch (`main` when present, otherwise `master`) before stopping, even if the user did not explicitly ask for commit/push.
- Do not leave tracked changes or unpushed commits behind. If unrelated tracked work is already present, either include it in sensible commits too or stop and explain the blocker.
- This contract does not override stricter safety rules about secrets, destructive history changes, release publication/tag confirmation, or production deploy confirmation.
