symphony-pull

name	symphony-pull
description	Sync the current branch with origin/main via merge (not rebase) and resolve any conflicts. Use whenever Symphony's workflow says "merge origin/main into the branch" — at Step 1 setup, before push, and as part of the Land procedure.

Pull

Goals

• Bring origin/main into the working branch with a real merge commit so reviewers can see the integration.
• Resolve conflicts in code (not by deleting state). Never use git reset --hard, git push --force*, or git clean -f* to "make it go away".
• After merging, the PR should report MERGEABLE and CLEAN/HAS_HOOKS/UNSTABLE — never CONFLICTING/DIRTY.

Steps

1. Working tree must be clean. Either commit (symphony-commit skill) or git stash first.
2. Enable rerere once per workspace so repeated conflicts auto-resolve:

   git config rerere.enabled true
   git config rerere.autoupdate true
   

3. Fetch refs: git fetch origin.
4. If a remote feature branch is ahead (e.g. CI auto-formatted), fast-forward first:

   git pull --ff-only origin "$(git branch --show-current)" || true
   

5. Merge origin/main with a clearer conflict style:

   git -c merge.conflictstyle=zdiff3 merge origin/main
   

6. Resolve conflicts (see below), then git add <files> and git merge --continue (or git commit if the merge auto-paused).
7. Re-run the target repository's documented validation gate before pushing.
8. Record the result in the workpad's ### Notes (e.g. merge origin/main: clean or conflicts resolved: <files>) and the new short SHA.

Resolving conflicts

• git status lists the conflicted files; git diff shows hunks.
• merge.conflictstyle=zdiff3 produces <<<<<<< ours, ||||||| base, >>>>>>> theirs markers with surrounding shared context trimmed — focus on the differing core.
• For each file, decide the intent of both sides before editing:
  • What is each side trying to do? (bugfix, refactor, rename, behavior change.)
  • Is one side strictly newer / superseding? Or are they orthogonal and both must be kept?
  • What invariant must hold after the merge?
• Prefer minimal, intent-preserving edits. Don't silently drop one side; if you intend to drop something, do it explicitly.
• For generated files, regenerate after resolving the source-of-truth files (don't hand-merge generated output).
• For import lists where intent is unclear, accept both sides, then let lint/typecheck strip what isn't used.
• After every file: git diff --check — if it complains about conflict markers, you missed one.
• Use git checkout --ours <file> / --theirs <file> only when you are certain one side wins entirely.

Don't ask the human

The Symphony workflow runs unattended. Make the call from the diff + intent, document the rationale in the merge commit body, and proceed. Only escalate (move to In Review with a blocker brief in the workpad) when the conflict crosses a user-visible contract or an irreversible side effect with no obvious safe default.