gitlab-create-branch

name	gitlab-create-branch
description	Create a GitLab feature branch for a story. Use when the user says 'create a branch', 'start a branch for story X', or 'create feature branch' in a GitLab project.

GitLab — Create Feature Branch

Goal

Create a feature branch for a story using the configured naming pattern. Always checks if a branch already exists first before creating.

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Prerequisite Check

Check integrations.gitlab in _superml/config.yml. If missing: "Run gitlab-connect first."

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Step 1: Identify Story

Ask: "Which story is this branch for?" (accept S-ID, title, or GitLab issue number)

Load the story and extract:

• Issue or ticket reference: {ref}
• Story title slug: lowercase, hyphens, max 40 chars

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Step 2: Compute Branch Name

Apply the configured branch pattern:

branch_name = "feature/{ref}-{slug}"
e.g., "feature/42-add-user-authentication"

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Step 3: Conflict Check

git fetch --all --quiet
git branch -a | grep -i "{branch_name}"

Or via CLI:

glab api "projects/:fullpath/repository/branches/{branch_name}" 2>/dev/null | jq '.name'

If found:

"⚠️ Branch {branch_name} already exists. Confirm before proceeding."

⏸️ STOP — ask for confirmation.

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Step 4: Create Branch

Ensure default branch is up to date:

git checkout {default_branch}
git pull origin {default_branch}

Create and push:

git checkout -b {branch_name}
git push -u origin {branch_name}

Or via CLI:

glab api -X POST "projects/:fullpath/repository/branches" \
  -F "branch={branch_name}" \
  -F "ref={default_branch}"

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Step 5: Update Story File

Add branch reference to story frontmatter:

gitlab_branch: "{branch_name}"
branch_created: "{date}"

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Done

✅ Branch {branch_name} created and pushed to GitLab.