/finishing-a-development-branch

name: finishing-a-development-branch
description: The terminal step of /feature and /sprint. Routed to once commit-gate has cleared, to decide the branch's fate — merge via PR, open a PR, or discard. Direct merge to the default branch is forbidden; every change lands through a PR. Under /sprint the skill auto-selects "open PR" and surfaces the merge decision to the user.

finishing-a-development-branch

The work is committed and green. Now decide where it goes. Routed to by `/feature` and `/sprint` after `commit-gate` clears — never before.

Pre-flight

Read these, or STOP and surface the gap — never guess the branch name or the default branch:

• `{{PROJECT_DIR}}/.codearbiter/CONTEXT.md` — the default-branch name and project context.
• The discovered authoritative spec/plan pair for the pipeline, when `/feature`

or `/sprint` produced one. Use the exact selected `.md` or `.html` plan as the yardstick for "is the work complete." Re-run the private bridge resolver `_resolve_workflow_pair` with the trusted project root and pipeline slug rather than reconstructing either path. Load `{{PLUGIN_ROOT}}/includes/artifacts.md` for HTML and obtain HTML plan state only through the installed engine `identity`, `index`, and symbol-scoped `read` operations. The finishing step must not create, convert, or consult a counterpart.

• `{{PROJECT_DIR}}/.codearbiter/last-checkpoint` — the most recent gate results; confirms `commit-gate` cleared on this branch.
• `{{PLUGIN_ROOT}}/includes/verification-boundary.md` — the exact-head hosted-CI evidence required before merge.

For an HTML pair, query the engine `identity` and `eligible` again after process recreation. Require `all_accepted_and_current: true` for the exact spec and plan identities, with their acceptance receipts still bound in engine state and the commit-gate proof. Finalization must not parse rendered HTML and must not consult a shadow Markdown ledger; displayed labels, status words, checkboxes, or digests cannot establish completion.

Enforce that requirement by invoking the installed bridge's `_preflight_current_acceptance` with the exact `_resolve_workflow_pair` result, repository-bound client, and engine-returned spec/plan IDs. Carry its returned identity/receipt proof into state assembly. Any refusal blocks terminal options; do not recreate the proof from the PR description, checkpoint prose, or labels.

`commit-gate` MUST have cleared on the current HEAD. If it has not, this skill does not run — return to it.

Phase 1 — State assembly · gate: BLOCK

Assemble the facts the decision needs. Nothing is presented until all are in hand:

• **Branch** — the current branch name and its base. Confirm it is NOT the default branch; if HEAD is the default branch, STOP — there is nothing to finish and merge-to-default is forbidden.
• **Diff summary** — files changed, insertions/deletions, and the commit list since the base. Read it, do not paraphrase from memory.
• **Gate results** — `commit-gate` outcome and the `last-checkpoint` record. Surface any open `[NEEDS-TRIAGE]` markers left in the diff as out-of-scope findings.
• **Plan delta** — when a plan exists, state which plan items the branch satisfied and which remain open. Open items are surfaced, not hidden.
• **ADR source ancestry** — when `.codearbiter/decisions/adr-lifecycle.jsonl` exists, select

the merge method from the exact fetched target commit and PR head commit. Run the installed verifier: `python "{{PLUGIN_ROOT}}/hooks/adr-merge-method.py" --root "{{PROJECT_DIR}}" --base-ref <base-sha> --current-ref <head-sha> --merge-method`. It validates committed lifecycle evidence and prints `merge` if any bound source is absent from the base ancestry, otherwise `squash`. Every acceptance/evidence `source_commit` and baseline `observed_commit` must resolve and be an ancestor of the head; each is checked against the base too. The self-contained verifier reads committed ADR paths and source bytes, checks their digests and status, and enforces the exact ledger prefix. It admits no baseline newly introduced after the base; an inherited baseline is not authorization for another migration. No repository-local verifier, dirty working-tree bytes, or network fallback can substitute for this proof. ADR lifecycle proof requires Git 2.45.0+ with `--no-lazy-fetch`. The verifier enforces that flag capability and reports an upgrade prerequisite when unavailable. Missing objects block verification; neither failure triggers a retry that fetches proof implicitly. An unavailable verifier, malformed record, missing object, or source outside head ancestry blocks the offer. Never infer retention from local object availability or remote branch/PR refs. A source absent from base requires a true merge commit; squash and rebase would lose its identity. Record the exact base, head, and selected method in the PR body. If merge commits are unavailable, STOP and surface the conflict; do not change repository settings or rewrite the ledger. Revalidate immediately before a merge offer or authorized merge, and use `gh pr merge <PR> --merge --match-head-commit <head-sha>` when `merge` is required. If all sources are already in base ancestry, retain the project's usual merge convention.

Gate: branch confirmed non-default, diff summary read, gate results and plan delta in hand.

Phase 2 — Present terminal options · gate: STOP

Present exactly three terminal options with the Phase 1 state attached, then STOP for the choice:

1. **Open a PR** — push the branch and open a pull request against the default branch, then stop. The PR stays open; the merge happens later, by the user or reviewers. 2. **Merge via PR** — push the branch, open the PR, and once its current exact-head merge-readiness aggregate is green, merge it **through the PR** so the work lands on the default branch now. Missing, stale, cancelled, mismatched, or red hosted evidence blocks this option. Distinc