branch-hygiene

name	branch-hygiene
description	One task per branch on fleet-generator. Clean up after merge. Never commit directly to integration branches.
when_to_use	Creating a branch. Naming a branch. Cleaning up after a merge. Trigger phrases: branch, branch hygiene, one task per branch, cleanup, branch from develop, never commit to main.
status	active
tags	["skill"]
updated	2026-05-07T00:00:00.000Z

Branch Hygiene

The rules

1. One task per branch. Never mix unrelated changes.
2. Name branches descriptively. Include the task name.
3. Branch from the correct base. Usually main or develop.
4. Clean up after merge. Delete the branch locally and remotely.
5. Never commit directly to main / develop. Always use a branch.

Naming

<type>/<short-name> or <short-name> — pick one and stay consistent.

Good:

• feature/social-login
• fix/parser-crash
• refactor/extract-user-model

Bad:

• branch-1 — meaningless
• woodstock-stuff — branches don't belong to agents
• fix — too vague

Lifecycle

# Create
git checkout -b feature/x main

# Work
# ...commits...

# Push
git push -u origin feature/x

# Merge (typically via PR / review)
# ...

# Cleanup
git checkout main
git pull
git branch -d feature/x
git push origin --delete feature/x

What goes in one branch

One task = one logical unit of work. Examples:

• "Add password reset" → one branch
• "Fix parser bug" → one branch
• "Add password reset AND fix parser bug" → two branches

If you're tempted to mix, the test is: would these two changes be reviewed as one PR or two? If two, they're two branches.

Stale branches

Branches that have been open for more than a week without progress are stale. Either finish, abandon (delete), or rebase onto current main/develop and continue.

The graveyard of "branches I'll get to" is real. Burn them periodically.