/merge-strategy

name: merge-strategy
description: >
  Git merge strategies, conflict resolution approaches, merge vs rebase
  recommendations, and branch integration patterns in sidecar. Covers pull
  strategy menu, direct merge workflow, squash merge, commit message templates,
  configurable defaults, and protected branches. Use when working on git merge
  features or making decisions about merge strategies.

Merge Strategy Configuration

This skill covers sidecar's git merge and pull operations, their current implementation, known gaps, and recommended configuration patterns.

Current Implementation

Git Status Plugin Pull Strategies

Location: `internal/plugins/gitstatus/pull_menu.go`, `internal/plugins/gitstatus/remote.go`

The git-status plugin offers four pull strategies via a modal menu:

| Strategy | Command | Use Case | |----------|---------|----------| | Pull (merge) | `git pull` | Creates merge commit, preserves branch topology | | Pull (rebase) | `git pull --rebase` | Replays local commits on top of upstream | | Pull (fast-forward only) | `git pull --ff-only` | Only pulls if fast-forward possible (safest) | | Pull (rebase + autostash) | `git pull --rebase --autostash` | Rebase with automatic stash/unstash |

Workspace Plugin Merge Workflows

Location: `internal/plugins/workspace/merge.go`

**PR Workflow:** 1. Push branch to remote 2. Create PR via `gh pr create` 3. Wait for PR merge (polling) 4. Cleanup: delete worktree, branches, pull base

**Direct Merge (No PR)** at `merge.go:430-498`:

1. git fetch origin <baseBranch>
2. git checkout <baseBranch>
3. git pull origin <baseBranch>
4. git merge <branch> --no-ff -m "Merge branch '<branch>'"  // Hardcoded --no-ff
5. git push origin <baseBranch>

**Post-Merge Pull** at `merge.go:500-551`:

• When on base branch: `git pull --ff-only origin <branch>` (hardcoded)
• Otherwise: `git fetch` + `git update-ref`

**Divergence Resolution** at `merge.go:644-705`:

• Rebase option: `git pull --rebase origin <branch>`
• Merge option: `git pull origin <branch>`

Known Issues and Gaps

1. **No configurable defaults** -- users must select strategy every time 2. **Limited merge strategies** -- direct merge hardcoded to `--no-ff`, missing `--ff`, `--ff-only`, `--squash`, rebase-based integration 3. **No squash merge support** -- no clean-history option for main branch 4. **Hardcoded commit messages** -- `fmt.Sprintf("Merge branch '%s'", branch)`, no templates 5. **Missing safety options** -- no GPG signing, no `--verify-signatures`, no `--force-with-lease` 6. **Autostash inconsistency** -- available for pull-rebase but not post-merge pull or divergence resolution 7. **No upstream tracking config** -- remote always `origin`, no configurable tracking 8. **Limited conflict recovery** -- only abort or dismiss, no continue/skip rebase 9. **No interactive rebase** -- no squash/reorder/edit before merge

Recommended Configuration Schema

Add to `internal/config/config.go`:

type GitConfig struct {
    DefaultPullStrategy  string   `json:"defaultPullStrategy,omitempty"`  // "merge", "rebase", "ff-only", "autostash"
    DefaultMergeStrategy string   `json:"defaultMergeStrategy,omitempty"` // "no-ff", "ff", "ff-only", "squash", "rebase"
    MergeCommitTemplate  string   `json:"mergeCommitTemplate,omitempty"`  // Go template: .Branch, .BaseBranch, .PRTitle, .PRNumber
    SignCommits          bool     `json:"signCommits,omitempty"`
    SignMerges           bool     `json:"signMerges,omitempty"`
    AutostashOnPull      bool     `json:"autostashOnPull,omitempty"`
    DefaultRemote        string   `json:"defaultRemote,omitempty"`        // Default: "origin"
    SetUpstreamOnPush    bool     `json:"setUpstreamOnPush,omitempty"`
    ProtectedBranches    []string `json:"protectedBranches,omitempty"`    // e.g. ["main", "master", "release/*"]
    PreMergeChecks       []string `json:"preMergeChecks,omitempty"`       // e.g. ["go test ./..."]
}

Add to `PluginsConfig`:

type PluginsConfig struct {
    Git       GitConfig             `json:"git"`
    GitStatus GitStatusPluginConfig `json:"git-status"`
    // ... existing fields
}

Example user config (`~/.config/sidecar/config.json`):

{
  "plugins": {
    "git": {
      "defaultPullStrategy": "rebase",
      "defaultMergeStrategy": "squash",
      "mergeCommitTemplate": "Merge {{.Branch}} into {{.BaseBranch}}",
      "signCommits": true,
      "autostashOnPull": true,
      "protectedBranches": ["main", "production"]
    }
  }
}

Implementation Priorities

Priority 1: Default Pull Strategy

**Files:** `internal/config/config.go`, `internal/plugins/gitstatus/pull_menu.go`, `internal/plugins/gitstatus/update_handlers.go`

• If `defaultPullStrategy` is set, execute directly (skip menu)
• If unset, show menu as today
• Consider adding "Always use this" option to menu

Priority 2: Default Merge Strategy

**File:** `internal/plugins/workspace/merge.go` -- `performDirectMerge()`

func (p *Plugin) performDirectMerge(wt *Worktree) tea.Cmd {
    strategy := p.ctx.Config.Plugins.Git.DefaultMergeStrategy
    if strategy == "" {
        strategy = "no-ff" // backward compatible default
    }
    var mergeArgs []string
    switch strategy {
    case "ff":
        mergeArgs = []string{"merge", branch, "-m", mergeMsg}
    case "ff-only":
        mergeArgs = []string{"merge", branch, "--ff-only"}
    case "squash":
        mergeArgs = []string{"merge", branch, "--squash"}
    case "rebase":
        // 1. git rebase baseBranch branch
        // 2. git checkout baseBranch
        // 3. git merge branch --ff-only
    default: // "no-ff"
        mergeArgs = []string{"merge", branch, "--no-ff", "-m", mergeMsg}
    }
}

Priority 3: Squash Merge Support

After `git merge --squash`, a separate commit is needed:

case "squash":
    mergeCmd := exec.Command("git", "merge", branch, "--squash")
    // execute...
    commitMsg := fmt.Sprintf("Squash merge branch '%s'", b