Finishing a Development Branch

Overview

Guide completion of development work by presenting clear options and handling chosen workflow.

Core principle: Verify tests -> Code review -> Red-team -> Present options -> Execute choice -> Clean up.

Announce at start: "I'm using the finish skill to complete this work."

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: Code Review (Mandatory)

Before presenting options, run a full code review.

REQUIRED SUB-SKILL: Use crucible:code-review

Get base and head SHAs:

BASE_SHA=$(git merge-base HEAD main 2>/dev/null || git merge-base HEAD master)
HEAD_SHA=$(git rev-parse HEAD)

Check diff size to determine review approach:

git diff --stat $(git merge-base HEAD main 2>/dev/null || git merge-base HEAD master)...HEAD

Dispatch a code review subagent (general-purpose) using the code-review/code-reviewer.md template with:
- What was implemented (summary of branch work)
- The plan or requirements it was built against
- Base and head SHAs
- Brief description
- For large diffs (20+ files changed): provide the --stat summary and key files list, let the reviewer pull targeted diffs rather than receiving the entire diff. Consider splitting into multiple focused reviewers -- one per subsystem.
Act on feedback:
- Critical issues: Fix immediately. Re-run tests. Do NOT proceed.
- Important issues: Fix before proceeding. Re-run tests.
- Minor issues: Note them. Fix if quick, otherwise include in PR description.
If fixes were made, re-run tests to confirm nothing broke.

Do NOT skip this step. The orchestrator did lightweight review during execution -- this is the comprehensive review before integration.

Step 2.5: Forge Retrospective

RECOMMENDED SUB-SKILL: Use crucible:forge (retrospective mode) — capture what happened vs what was planned while execution context is still fresh. Run this BEFORE red-team so the retrospective has access to the full execution state.

Step 3: Red-Team the Implementation (Mandatory)

After code review passes, red-team the full implementation.

REQUIRED SUB-SKILL: Use crucible:red-team

Dispatch crucible:red-team on the full implementation:
- Artifact: the complete set of changes on this branch (provide git diff --stat and key files)
- Context: the design doc or plan this was built against
- Fix mechanism: dispatch fix subagent for any findings
The red-team skill handles the iterative loop (fresh Devil's Advocate each round, stagnation detection)
Fix all Fatal/Significant findings before proceeding

Do NOT skip this step. Code review checks quality; red-teaming checks whether the system will actually work and survive real use.

Step 4: Determine Base Branch

# Try common base branches
git merge-base HEAD main 2>/dev/null || git merge-base HEAD master 2>/dev/null

Or ask: "This branch split from main - is that correct?"

Step 5: 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 6: Execute Choice

Option 1: Merge Locally

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

# Pull latest
git pull

# Merge feature branch
git merge <feature-branch>

# Verify tests on merged result
<test command>

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

Then: If using a worktree, clean it up (Step 7)

Option 2: Push and Create PR

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

# Create PR
gh pr create --title "<title>" --body "$(cat <<'EOF'
## Summary
<2-3 bullets of what changed>

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

Then: If using a worktree, clean it up (Step 7)

Option 3: Keep As-Is

Report: "Keeping branch ."

If using a worktree: "Worktree preserved at ."

Option 4: Discard

Confirm first:

This will permanently delete:
- Branch <name>
- All commits: <commit-list>

Type 'discard' to confirm.

Wait for exact confirmation.

If confirmed:

git checkout <base-branch>
git branch -D <feature-branch>

Then: If using a worktree, clean it up (Step 7)

Step 7: Cleanup Worktree (If Applicable)

Skip this step if not using git worktrees.

For Options 1, 2, and 4:

Check if in worktree:

git worktree list | grep $(git branch --show-current)

If yes:

git worktree remove <worktree-path>

For Option 3: Keep worktree.

Quick Reference

Option	Merge	Push	Cleanup Branch	Cleanup Worktree (if applicable)
1. Merge locally	Yes	-	Yes	Yes
2. Create PR	-	Yes	-	Yes
3. Keep as-is	-	-	-	-
4. Discard	-	-	Yes (force)	Yes

Common Mistakes

Skipping test verification

Problem: Merge broken code, create failing PR
Fix: Always verify tests before offering options

Skipping code review

Problem: Subtle bugs, architectural violations, and style drift make it into the branch
Fix: Always run crucible:code-review before presenting options. The orchestrator's lightweight review during execution is not sufficient.

Open-ended questions

Problem: "What should I do next?" -> ambiguous
Fix: Present exactly 4 structured options

Automatic worktree cleanup

Problem: Remove worktree when might need it
Fix: Only cleanup worktree for Options 1, 2, and 4 -- and only if actually using worktrees

No confirmation for discard

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

Red Flags

Never:

Proceed with failing tests
Skip code review because "it looks fine" or "subagents already reviewed it"
Skip red-team because "code review already passed"
Merge without verifying tests on result
Delete work without confirmation
Force-push without explicit request

Always:

Verify tests before code review
Run full code review before presenting options
Run red-team after code review passes, before presenting options
Fix Critical/Important review findings before proceeding
Present exactly 4 options
Get typed confirmation for Option 4
Clean up worktree (if applicable) for Options 1, 2 & 4 only

Integration

Called by:

build (Phase 4) - After all tasks complete

Pairs with:

worktree - Cleans up worktree (if applicable)
crucible:red-team — Adversarial review before presenting options. Note: finish uses crucible:red-team directly rather than crucible:quality-gate because it doesn't produce a typed artifact — it's a pre-completion sanity check, not an iterative gate.

Recommended:

crucible:forge — Retrospective between code review and red-team (Step 2.5)