- name
- merge-queue
- description
- Process open PRs — merge when CI passes, handle rebases, file issues for failures. Run in a dedicated window.
# Merge Queue
Process all open PRs. Merge what's ready, rebase what's behind, file issues for failures.
Run this in a dedicated terminal window. Invoke periodically with `/merge` while other windows do `/work`.
## Step 1: Scan
```bash
# Check CI status on main — failing main blocks the entire queue
gh run list --branch main --limit 1 --json status,conclusion
# List open PRs. Drafts are excluded — `isDraft: true` is an explicit
# author signal of "not ready for merge", and some long-lived draft PRs
# may exist as deploy targets that must never be merged or rebased by this skill.
gh pr list --json number,title,headRefName,statusCheckRollup,mergeable,body,reviewRequests,reviews,labels,isDraft \
--jq 'map(select(.isDraft | not))'
```
**If main CI is failing:** file a P0 beads issue (if one doesn't already exist), report prominently, and stop. Nothing can merge until main is green.
```bash
bd create "CI failing on main: <summary>" -t bug -p 0 --json
```
## Step 2: Categorize
For each PR, determine its state:
| State | Action |
|-------|--------|
| CI passing, mergeable, no pending review, no `needs-human-review` label | Merge |
| CI passing, mergeable, `needs-human-review` label, not approved | Skip, report "awaiting human review" |
| CI passing, mergeable, review requested but not approved | Skip, report |
| CI passing, mergeable, review approved | Merge |
| CI pending | Skip, report status |
| CI failing | File issue, report |
| Not mergeable (behind main) | Attempt rebase |
## Step 3: Decide Merge Order
When multiple PRs are ready, use judgment to balance:
- **Impact**: prefer merging high-impact features first
- **Merge conflict risk**: larger changes sitting unmerged cause more conflicts for other PRs
- **Goal**: keep changes flowing. Don't always defer large changes — that makes the conflict problem worse
## Step 4: Choose Merge Strategy
Before merging each PR, inspect its commits to decide how to merge:
```bash
gh pr view <number> --json commits --jq '.commits[] | "\(.oid[:8]) \(.messageHeadline)"'
```
Pick one of three strategies:
| Strategy | When to use | Command |
|----------|-------------|---------|
| **Squash** | All commits serve a single logical change, OR commits are messy/WIP (fixups, "wip", "try again", etc.) | `gh pr merge <number> --squash` |
| **Merge** | Commits represent distinct, well-structured concerns (e.g. "add handler" + "add tests" + "update docs") that are valuable to preserve individually | `gh pr merge <number> --merge` |
| **Rebase cleanup** | Commits mix good structure with noise — some are worth preserving but others should be squashed together. **Use sparingly** — only when clearly beneficial. | Rebase in worktree, force-push, wait for CI, then `gh pr merge <number> --merge` |
**Decision guide:**
1. **Single commit?** Always squash (no difference, but squash keeps PR link in message).
2. **Multiple commits, single feature?** Squash. Example: "implement login" + "fix lint" + "address review" → squash.
3. **Multiple commits, distinct concerns, clean messages?** Merge. Example: "add practice mode handler" + "add rate limiting middleware" + "enable practice UI in student page" → merge.
4. **Mixed quality?** If 1-2 WIP commits pollute an otherwise clean history, rebase to clean up, then merge. If it's mostly noise, just squash.
**When in doubt, squash.** A clean single commit is always better than a messy multi-commit history.
## Step 5: Merge
For each mergeable PR (in priority order), using the chosen strategy:
```bash
gh pr merge <number> --squash|--merge # per Step 4
```
**After each merge:**
1. Parse beads issue IDs from PR body (look for `Beads: id1, id2` line)
2. Close each:
```bash
bd close <id> --reason "Merged in PR #<number>" --json
```
3. Note any `Closes #<number>` lines — GitHub auto-closes those issues on merge. Include them in the summary.
4. Remove worktree if it exists:
```bash
git worktree remove ../<project>-<branch-name> 2>/dev/null
```
5. Delete feature branch:
```bash
git branch -d feature/<branch-name> 2>/dev/null
```
6. Pull main:
```bash
git pull origin main
```
**Important:** after each merge, re-check remaining PRs — merging one PR may make others unmergeable (need rebase) or may resolve conflicts.
## Step 6: Handle Rebases
When a PR is not mergeable (behind main):
1. **Locate or create a worktree for the PR branch:**
```bash
# Use existing worktree if present, otherwise create one
git worktree add ../<project>-rebase-<number> <branch>
```
2. **Try fast-path rebase first** (inline bash — no subagent):
```bash
cd ../<project>-rebase-<number>
git fetch origin main
git rebase origin/main && echo "REBASE: OK"
```
3. **If fast-path succeeds:** force-push and proceed to CI polling.
```bash
git push --force-with-lease
```
4. **If fast-path fails (conflict):** abort and spawn the rebase subagent:
```bash
git rebase --abort
```
Then spawn with context:
```
ROLE: Rebase Agent (Conflict Resolution)
SKILL: Read and follow .claude/skills/rebase/SKILL.md
SOURCE: <branch>
TARGET: origin/main
WORKTREE: ../<project>-rebase-<number>
CLEANUP: false
PR_NUMBER: <number>
```
5. **On `RESULT: PASS`:** force-push the rebased branch, then **wait for CI to finish and merge** (see below).
```bash
cd ../<project>-rebase-<number>
git push --force-with-lease
```
6. **On `RESULT: FAIL`:** file a beads issue describing the conflict using details from the sub-agent output, and report to the user.
```bash
bd create "Rebase conflict on PR #<number>: <summary>" -t bug -p 1 --json
```
Include in the issue body: which files conflicted, why the conflict is ambiguous, and the PR reference.
**After a clean rebase, poll CI and merge when it passes.** Don't just report "rebased, CI re-running" and stop — unmerged PRs accumulate conflicts. Poll every 60 seconds until CI completes:
```bash
# Poll until all checks finish
gh pr checks <number> --watch
# Then merge (using strategy from Step 4)
gh pr merge <number> --squash|--merge
```
If CI fails after the rebase, follow Step 7 (file an issue). But if it passes, merge immediately — don't wait for the user to re-run `/merge`.
## Step 7: Handle CI Failures
**Test failures are real. Never rerun. Never ignore.**
When CI fails on a PR:
1. Fetch failure logs:
```bash
gh pr checks <number>
gh run view <run-id> --log-failed
```
2. File a beads issue with:
- The failure details (which test, error message)
- PR reference
- Priority based on severity
```bash
bd create "CI failure on PR #<number>: <summary>" -t bug -p 1 --json
```
3. Report to user with the beads issue ID
## Step 8: Report Summary
After processing all PRs, output a summary:
```
Merge Queue Summary:
- PR #12: Merged (closed bd-abc, bd-def, GitHub #45)
- PR #15: CI passing, awaiting your review
- PR #18: Rebased, CI re-running
- PR #20: CI failing — filed bd-xyz
- PR #22: CI pending (2/3 checks done)
Action needed:
- bd-xyz: Test failure on PR #20, needs /work bd-xyz
- PR #15: Awaiting your review on GitHub
```
Always include beads issue IDs so the user can dispatch `/work` for fixes.
If there are no open PRs, report "No open PRs."
## What This Agent Does NOT Do
- Write code or fix test failures (file issues for `/work` instead)
- Resolve merge conflicts (file issues instead)
- Rerun failed CI (test failures are real)
- Close beads issues without a successful merge
- Merge PRs with pending review requests
View on GitHub