| name | update-branch |
| description | Rebases or merges the current PR branch onto main to resolve conflicts or catch up with upstream changes. Local replacement for the agent-update-branch GitHub workflow. Use when user says "update branch", "rebase", "sync with main", "/update-branch", or when a PR is out of date with main. |
Update Branch
Rebases current PR branch onto latest main.
Invoke
/update-branch # updates current branch
/update-branch 42 # checks out PR #42 branch and updates it
Flow
1. Identify branch
If PR number given:
gh pr view <PR> --json headRefName,state
git fetch origin
git checkout <branch>
Refuse if PR is closed or merged.
2. Fetch latest main
git fetch origin main
Check if update needed:
git merge-base --is-ancestor origin/main HEAD && echo "up to date" || echo "behind"
If already up to date: report and stop.
3. Rebase
git rebase origin/main
On conflict:
- Read both sides of each conflict carefully
- Resolve using the intent of both changes — do not blindly pick one side
- If conflict is ambiguous: stop, show the conflict to user, ask which to keep
- After resolving all:
git rebase --continue
4. Run checks
pnpm typecheck
pnpm test
If checks fail after rebase: diagnose, fix, amend affected commits.
5. Push
git push --force-with-lease origin <branch>
Force-with-lease is safe: fails if remote was updated by someone else since last fetch.
6. Report
Post summary to PR:
gh pr comment <PR> --body "Branch rebased onto main (<sha>). <N> commits ahead, checks passing."
Rules
- Always rebase (not merge) to keep linear history
- Never force-push without --force-with-lease
- Stop on ambiguous conflicts — do not guess intent
- Run checks after rebase before pushing
