/git-workflow

name: git-workflow
description: "Guided git workflows: prepare PRs, clean up branches, resolve merge conflicts, handle monorepo tags, squash-and-merge patterns. Use when asked to prepare a PR, clean branches, resolve conflicts, or tag a release."
compatibility: claude-code-only

Git Workflow

Guided workflows for common git operations that benefit from structured steps.

PR Preparation

When preparing a pull request:

1. **Gather context**

• `git log main..HEAD --oneline` — list all commits on the branch
• `git diff main...HEAD --stat` — see all changed files
• `git status` — check for uncommitted work

2. **Draft PR content**

• Title: under 70 chars, describes the change (not the branch name)
• Body: summarise the "why", list key changes, add test plan
• Use the commit history to write the summary — don't rely on memory

3. **Push and create**

   git push -u origin HEAD
   gh pr create --title "..." --body "$(cat <<'EOF'
   ## Summary
   - ...

   ## Test plan
   - [ ] ...

   🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)
   EOF
   )"

4. **Verify** — `gh pr view --web` to open in browser

Branch Cleanup

Clean up merged branches safely:

1. **Switch to main and pull latest**

   git checkout main && git pull

2. **List merged branches** (excludes main/master/develop)

   git branch --merged main | grep -vE '^\*|main|master|develop'

3. **Delete local merged branches**

   git branch --merged main | grep -vE '^\*|main|master|develop' | xargs -r git branch -d

4. **Prune remote tracking refs**

   git fetch --prune

5. **List remote branches with no local tracking** (optional)

   git branch -r --merged origin/main | grep -vE 'main|master|develop|HEAD'

Merge Conflict Resolution

When a PR has conflicts:

1. **Assess the conflict scope**

   git fetch origin
   git merge origin/main --no-commit --no-ff
   git diff --name-only --diff-filter=U  # List conflicted files

2. **For each conflicted file**, read the file and resolve:

• Keep both changes if they're in different areas
• If architecturally incompatible, prefer the main branch's approach and re-apply the PR's intent on top

3. **If rebase is cleaner** (few commits, no shared history):

   git rebase origin/main
   # Resolve conflicts per commit, then:
   git rebase --continue

4. **If rebase is messy** (many conflicts, architectural divergence):

• Abort: `git rebase --abort` or `git merge --abort`
• Extract useful code: `git show origin/branch:path/to/file > /tmp/extracted.txt`
• Apply changes manually to main
• Close original PR with explanation

5. **Verify** — run tests, check the diff looks right

Monorepo Release Tags

In monorepos, scope tags to the package:

# ❌ Ambiguous in monorepos
git tag v2.1.0

# ✅ Scoped to package
git tag contextbricks-v2.1.0
git push origin contextbricks-v2.1.0

Pattern: `{package-name}-v{semver}`

.gitignore-First Init

When creating a new repo, always create `.gitignore` BEFORE the first `git add`:

cat > .gitignore << 'EOF'
node_modules/
.wrangler/
dist/
.dev.vars
*.log
.DS_Store
.env
.env.local
EOF

git init && git add . && git commit -m "Initial commit"

**If node_modules is already tracked:**

git rm -r --cached node_modules/
git commit -m "Remove node_modules from tracking"

Private Repo License Audit

Before publishing or sharing a private repo:

gh repo view --json visibility -q '.visibility'

If `PRIVATE`, ensure:

• `LICENSE` contains proprietary notice (not MIT/Apache)
• `package.json` has `"license": "UNLICENSED"` and `"private": true`
• No `CONTRIBUTING.md` or "contributions welcome" in README