merge-pr

name	merge-pr
description	Merge a GitHub PR via squash after /preparepr. Use when asked to merge a ready PR. Do not push to main or modify code. Ensure the PR ends in MERGED state and clean up worktrees after success.

Merge PR

See also: pr-workflow for the full PR workflow and maintainer checkpoints.

Overview

Merge a prepared PR via gh pr merge --squash and clean up the worktree after success.

Inputs

• Ask for PR number or URL.
• If missing, auto-detect from conversation.
• If ambiguous, ask.

Safety

• Use gh pr merge --squash as the only path to main.
• Do not run git push at all during merge.
• Do not run gateway stop commands. Do not kill processes. Do not touch port 18792 (browser CDP relay) or 19001 (gateway).

Execution Rule

• Execute the workflow. Do not stop after printing the TODO checklist.
• If delegating, require the delegate to run commands and capture outputs.

Known Footguns

• If you see "fatal: not a git repository", you are in the wrong directory. Use workspace root (git rev-parse --show-toplevel) or ask user.
• Read .local/review.md and .local/prep.md in the worktree. Do not skip.
• Clean up the real worktree directory .worktrees/pr-<PR> only after a successful merge.
• Expect cleanup to remove .local/ artifacts.

Completion Criteria

• Ensure gh pr merge succeeds.
• Ensure PR state is MERGED, never CLOSED.
• Record the merge SHA.
• Run cleanup only after merge success.

First: Create a TODO Checklist

Create a checklist of all merge steps, print it, then continue and execute the commands.

Setup: Use a Worktree

Use an isolated worktree for all merge work.

REPO_ROOT=$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)
cd "$REPO_ROOT"
# Sanity: confirm you are in the repo
git rev-parse --show-toplevel

WORKTREE_DIR=".worktrees/pr-<PR>"

Run all commands inside the worktree directory.

Load Local Artifacts (Mandatory)

Expect these files from earlier steps:

• .local/review.md from /reviewpr
• .local/prep.md from /preparepr

ls -la .local || true

if [ -f .local/review.md ]; then
  echo "Found .local/review.md"
  sed -n '1,120p' .local/review.md
else
  echo "Missing .local/review.md. Stop and run /reviewpr, then /preparepr."
  exit 1
fi

if [ -f .local/prep.md ]; then
  echo "Found .local/prep.md"
  sed -n '1,120p' .local/prep.md
else
  echo "Missing .local/prep.md. Stop and run /preparepr first."
  exit 1
fi

Steps

1. Identify PR meta

gh pr view <PR> --json number,title,state,isDraft,author,headRefName,baseRefName,headRepository,body --jq '{number,title,state,isDraft,author:.author.login,head:.headRefName,base:.baseRefName,headRepo:.headRepository.nameWithOwner,body}'
contrib=$(gh pr view <PR> --json author --jq .author.login)
head=$(gh pr view <PR> --json headRefName --jq .headRefName)
head_repo_url=$(gh pr view <PR> --json headRepository --jq .headRepository.url)

2. Run sanity checks

Stop if any are true:

• PR is a draft.
• Required checks are failing.
• Branch is behind main.

# Checks
gh pr checks <PR>

# Check behind main
git fetch origin main
git fetch origin pull/<PR>/head:pr-<PR>
git merge-base --is-ancestor origin/main pr-<PR> || echo "PR branch is behind main, run /preparepr"

If anything is failing or behind, stop and say to run /preparepr.

3. Merge PR and delete branch

If checks are still running, use --auto to queue the merge.

# Check status first
check_status=$(gh pr checks <PR> 2>&1)
if echo "$check_status" | grep -q "pending\|queued"; then
  echo "Checks still running, using --auto to queue merge"
  gh pr merge <PR> --squash --delete-branch --auto
  echo "Merge queued. Monitor with: gh pr checks <PR> --watch"
else
  gh pr merge <PR> --squash --delete-branch
fi

If merge fails, report the error and stop. Do not retry in a loop. If the PR needs changes beyond what /preparepr already did, stop and say to run /preparepr again.

4. Get merge SHA

merge_sha=$(gh pr view <PR> --json mergeCommit --jq '.mergeCommit.oid')
echo "merge_sha=$merge_sha"

5. Optional comment

Use a literal multiline string or heredoc for newlines.

gh pr comment <PR> -F - <<EOF
Merged via squash.

- Merge commit: $merge_sha

Thanks @$contrib!
EOF

6. Verify PR state is MERGED

gh pr view <PR> --json state --jq .state

7. Clean up worktree only on success

Run cleanup only if step 6 returned MERGED.

# From worktree, main repo is parent of .git dir
MAIN_REPO=$(dirname "$(git rev-parse --git-dir)")
cd "$MAIN_REPO"

git worktree remove ".worktrees/pr-<PR>" --force

git branch -D temp/pr-<PR> 2>/dev/null || true
git branch -D pr-<PR> 2>/dev/null || true

Guardrails

• Worktree only.
• Do not close PRs.
• End in MERGED state.
• Clean up only after merge success.
• Never push to main. Use gh pr merge --squash only.
• Do not run git push at all in this command.