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/sync

Sync the current session branch with its upstream branch, or publish the current session branch to a remote. Use when the user asks to sync a branch, pull latest changes, rebase onto upstream, push current branch, publish branch, or set upstream.

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vscode
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Install
$ npx -y skills add microsoft/vscode --skill sync --agent claude-code

How it fires

How this skill gets triggered: by you, by Claude, or both.

  • Fires itselfAuto-invocation. Claude auto-loads it when your prompt matches the work.Auto-invocation is when the right skill fires by itself at the right moment, driven by a FLOW.md router and a hook, instead of you invoking it by name. It is the difference between a skill being installed and a skill actually getting used.Read the full definition →
  • You can call itInvoke it directly when you want it.
  • Slash command/sync

Context preview

The summary Claude sees to decide when to auto-load this skill.

Sync the current session branch with its upstream branch, or publish the current session branch to a remote. Use when the user asks to sync a branch, pull latest changes, rebase onto upstream, push current branch, publish branch, or set upstream.

SKILL.md

sync.SKILL.md
name: sync
description: Sync the current session branch with its upstream branch, or publish the current session branch to a remote. Use when the user asks to sync a branch, pull latest changes, rebase onto upstream, push current branch, publish branch, or set upstream.

<!-- Customize this skill and select save to override its behavior. Delete that copy to restore the built-in behavior. -->

Sync Changes

Sync the current session branch with its upstream branch, or publish the current session branch to a remote. Use when the user asks to sync a branch, pull latest changes, rebase onto upstream, push current branch, publish branch, or set upstream.

Guidelines

  • **Never force-push** (`--force`, `--force-with-lease`) without explicit user approval.
  • **Never skip pre-push hooks** (do not use `--no-verify`).
  • **Never rewrite or drop commits** during rebase without asking the user.
  • When in doubt about conflict resolution — ask the user.

Workflow

1. Check for uncommitted changes first. If there are uncommitted changes, use the `/commit` skill to commit them before continuing. 2. Check whether the current session branch has an upstream branch. 3. If the current session branch has an upstream branch: 3.1. Fetch the upstream remote first so tracking refs are up to date.

      git fetch <upstream-remote>

3.2. Check ahead/behind counts. If the branch is already in sync (0 ahead, 0 behind), stop and report that no sync is needed.

      git rev-list --left-right --count HEAD...@{u}

3.3. If behind, rebase onto the upstream tracking branch.

      git rebase @{u}

3.4. If there are merge conflicts, resolve them by preserving the intent of both sides. Stage the resolved files and continue the rebase.

      git add <resolved-files>
      git rebase --continue

If conflict resolution is unclear, ask the user how to proceed. If the user wants to stop the rebase, abort it:

      git rebase --abort

3.5. If the branch has local commits (ahead > 0), push them to the remote after a successful rebase.

      git push

If the push is rejected because the rebase rewrote history, explain the situation to the user and ask for approval before force-pushing. 4. If the current session branch does not have an upstream branch: 4.1. Determine the remote to publish to.

  • If there is only one remote, use it.
  • If there are multiple remotes, use the #tool:vscode/askQuestions tool to ask which remote to use.

4.2. Publish the current branch and set upstream in one step.

      git push -u <remote> HEAD

Validation

After the workflow completes, validate the result with explicit checks:

1. Verify the working tree is clean:

   git status --porcelain

2. Verify sync state (ahead/behind counts are both 0):

   git rev-list --left-right --count HEAD...@{u}

3. If the branch was newly published, verify the upstream branch is configured:

   git rev-parse --abbrev-ref --symbolic-full-name @{u}
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58m ago
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Repo: microsoft/vscode