swain-teardown

name	swain-teardown
description	Full session shutdown — digest, retro, merge worktree branches, worktree cleanup, close session state, and commit handoff. This is the single entry point for ending a session. Triggers on: 'teardown', 'clean up', 'wrap up', 'session end', 'end session', 'close session', 'done', 'log off', 'sign off', or automatically when the decision budget is reached.
user-invocable	true
license	MIT
allowed-tools	Bash, Read, Write, Edit, Glob, Grep, Skill, EnterWorktree, ExitWorktree
metadata	{"short-description":"Full session shutdown sequence","version":"3.0.0","author":"cristos","source":"swain"}

Session Teardown

Single entry point for ending a session. Runs the full shutdown sequence: digest, retro, merge, cleanup, close, commit. Replaces the former swain-session close handler (ADR-023).

REPO_ROOT="$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel 2>/dev/null || pwd)"
bash "$REPO_ROOT/.agents/bin/swain-session-check.sh" 2>/dev/null

If session-chain is NOT passed and the JSON output has "status" other than "active", inform the operator: "No active session to tear down." Exit cleanly with code 0.

---

What this skill does

Session teardown runs a sequence of hygiene checks before a session closes:

1. Orphan worktree detection — finds worktrees with no corresponding session bookmark (SPEC-233: actionable with safety checks)
2. Git dirty-state check — surfaces uncommitted changes before the operator leaves
3. Completion pipeline check — verifies BDD, smoke, and retro ran; invokes missing steps (SPEC-258)
4. Ticket sync prompt — prompts the operator to verify tickets match what was done (SPEC-234: notes degraded state if no session)
5. Handoff summary — appends a session summary to SESSION-ROADMAP.md

Note on retro: The SPEC-level retro now runs as part of the completion pipeline (Step 3 / swain-do Step 2d). The EPIC-level retro is invoked by swain-session's close handler. Teardown invokes retro only as a catch-up if the pipeline's retro step was missed.

---

Step 0 — Release current lockfile claim (SPEC-247)

If the current session is running in a worktree with an active lockfile, release the claim. This runs first so that subsequent orphan detection does not flag the current worktree as active.

REPO_ROOT="$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel 2>/dev/null || pwd)"
LOCKFILE_SCRIPT="$REPO_ROOT/.agents/bin/swain-lockfile.sh"
GIT_COMMON=$(git rev-parse --git-common-dir 2>/dev/null)
GIT_DIR=$(git rev-parse --git-dir 2>/dev/null)

if [ "$GIT_COMMON" != "$GIT_DIR" ] && [ -f "$LOCKFILE_SCRIPT" ]; then
  BRANCH=$(git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD 2>/dev/null)
  bash "$LOCKFILE_SCRIPT" release "$BRANCH" 2>/dev/null || true
fi

Step 1 — Orphan worktree check (SPEC-233, SPEC-247)

This step reads worktree bookmarks from the worktrees array in session.json and cross-references lockfile state (SPEC-247). Orphan worktrees are offered for operator-confirmed removal with safety checks. This step always runs regardless of --session-chain.

REPO_ROOT="$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel 2>/dev/null || pwd)"
SESSION_FILE="$REPO_ROOT/.agents/session.json"
LOCKFILE_SCRIPT="$REPO_ROOT/.agents/bin/swain-lockfile.sh"

# Build a list of bookmarked worktree paths from session.json
bookmarked_wts=$(jq -r '(.worktrees // [])[] | .path' "$SESSION_FILE" 2>/dev/null)

orphan_candidates=()
orphan_results=()
ready_candidates=()

# Get all physical worktrees
git worktree list --porcelain 2>/dev/null | grep "^worktree " | while read -r line; do
  wt_path="${line#worktree }"
  wt_branch="$(git -C "$wt_path" rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD 2>/dev/null)"

  # Skip trunk (protected)
  if [ "$wt_path" = "$REPO_ROOT" ]; then
    echo "protected: $wt_path (trunk)"
    continue
  fi

  # Check lockfile state (SPEC-247)
  if [ -f "$LOCKFILE_SCRIPT" ]; then
    lock_branch="${wt_branch##*/}"  # strip refs/heads/ prefix
    lockfile="$REPO_ROOT/.agents/worktrees/${lock_branch}.lock"
    if [ -f "$lockfile" ]; 
      
       grep -q   2>/dev/null; 
         
        ready_candidates+=()
        
      
      
       ! bash  is-stale  >/dev/null 2>&1; 
         
        
      
    
  

  
  is_orphan=
  reason=
     | grep -qF ; 
    is_orphan=
     
  

   [  =  ]; 
    
     [  =  ]; 
      reason=
     [ -n  ]; 
      reason=
     ! git merge-base --is-ancestor  trunk 2>/dev/null; 
      reason=
    
      reason=
      orphan_candidates+=()
    
     
    orphan_results+=()
  

If orphan worktrees are found, display the message: "The following worktrees have no active session bookmark — consider removing them."

Auto-remove ready_for_cleanup worktrees (SPEC-247)

Worktrees marked ready_for_cleanup have been merged and pushed — safe to remove without operator confirmation. Archive session.json first (SPEC-248):

ARCHIVE_SCRIPT="$REPO_ROOT/.agents/bin/swain-session-archive.sh"
for candidate in "${ready_candidates[@]}"; do
  IFS='|' read -r wt_path wt_branch lockfile <<< "$candidate"

  # Archive session.json before deletion
  if [ -f "$ARCHIVE_SCRIPT" ]; then
    bash "$ARCHIVE_SCRIPT" save "$wt_path" 2>/dev/null || true
  fi

  if git worktree remove "$wt_path" 2>/dev/null; then
    rm -f "$lockfile"  # Clean up lockfile (SPEC-247 AC3)
    bash "$REPO_ROOT/.agents/bin/swain-bookmark.sh" worktree remove "$wt_path" 2>/dev/null || true
    echo "Auto-removed (ready_for_cleanup): $wt_path"
  fi
done

Operator confirmation for safe orphans

Only offer orphans with reason="safe to remove" for removal. For each safe orphan:

removed_worktrees=()
for candidate in "${orphan_candidates[@]}"; do
  wt_path="${candidate%%|*}"
  wt_branch="${candidate##*|}"

  echo "> Remove orphan worktree $wt_path ($wt_branch)? [y/N]"
  read -r response
  if [ "$response" = "y" ] || [ "$response" = "Y" ]; then
    # Archive session.json before deletion (SPEC-248)
    if [ -f "$ARCHIVE_SCRIPT" ]; then
      bash "$ARCHIVE_SCRIPT" save "$wt_path" 2>/dev/null || true
    fi
    if git worktree remove "$wt_path" 2>/dev/null; then
      removed_worktrees+=("$wt_path|$wt_branch")
      # Clean up lockfile if present (SPEC-247 AC3)
      lock_branch="${wt_branch##*/}"
      rm -f "$REPO_ROOT/.agents/worktrees/${lock_branch}.lock" 2>/dev/null || true
      # Clear the bookmark from session.json
      bash "$REPO_ROOT/.agents/bin/swain-bookmark.sh" worktree remove 
       
    
       
    
  

Safety rules (SPEC-233 AC1-AC3, AC7)

• Current directory: Never offer for removal. Flag as reason="current directory".
• Uncommitted changes: Never offer for removal. Flag as reason="uncommitted changes".
• Unmerged branch: Never offer for removal. Flag as reason="branch not fully merged".
• Trunk: Never offer for removal. Always show as protected: <repo_root> (trunk).
• Confirmation required: Always prompt operator. Never auto-remove.

---

Step 2 — Git dirty-state check

REPO_ROOT="$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel 2>/dev/null || pwd)"

cd "$REPO_ROOT"
git_status=$(git status --porcelain 2>/dev/null)

if [ -n "$git_status" ]; then
  echo "WARN: Dirty git working tree — uncommitted changes detected."
  echo "Changes:"
  echo "$git_status" | head -20
else
  echo "OK: Working tree is clean."
fi

Report findings with an actionable recommendation.

---

Step 3 — Completion pipeline check (SPEC-258)

Before proceeding to ticket sync, verify that the completion pipeline ran for any finished work in this worktree. If steps were missed, run them now.

3a — Detect pipeline state

REPO_ROOT="$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel 2>/dev/null || pwd)"
STATE_FILE="$REPO_ROOT/.agents/completion-state.json"
SWAIN_TEST="$REPO_ROOT/.agents/bin/swain-test.sh"

If completion-state.json exists: read it and find incomplete steps:

PENDING_STEPS=$(jq -r '.steps | to_entries[] | select(.value.status == "pending" or .value.status == "failed") | .key' "$STATE_FILE" 2>/dev/null)
SPEC_ID=$(jq -r '.spec_id // empty' "$STATE_FILE" 2>/dev/null)

• If PENDING_STEPS is empty → all steps passed or were skipped. Display "Completion pipeline: all steps done." and proceed.
• If PENDING_STEPS is not empty → display which steps need attention and run them (see 3b).

If completion-state.json does not exist: check whether the worktree has closed tasks:

export PATH="$REPO_ROOT/.agents/bin:$PATH"
CLOSED_COUNT=$(ticket-query '.status == "closed"' 2>/dev/null | wc -l | tr -d ' ')

• If CLOSED_COUNT > 0 → work was done but the pipeline never started. Create the state file with all steps pending and run them:

  # Try to find the SPEC ID from the plan epic
  EPIC_ID=$(ticket-query '.type == "epic"' 2>/dev/null | head -1 | jq -r '.id // empty')
  SPEC_ID=$(tk show "$EPIC_ID" 2>/dev/null | grep -i 'external_ref' | awk '{print $NF}')
  mkdir -p "$REPO_ROOT/.agents"
  jq -n --arg spec "${SPEC_ID:-unknown}" --arg branch "$(git branch --show-current)" \
    '{spec_id: $spec, branch: $branch, pipeline_started: (now | todate), steps: {bdd_tests: {status: "pending", timestamp: null, detail: null}, smoke_test: {status: "pending", timestamp: null, detail: null}, retro: {status: "pending", timestamp: null, detail: null}}}' \
    > "$STATE_FILE.tmp" && mv "$STATE_FILE.tmp" "$STATE_FILE"
  

• If CLOSED_COUNT == 0 → no finished work, skip this step silently.

3b — Run missing steps

For each step in the pipeline order (bdd_tests → smoke_test → retro), check its status. Skip steps that are passed or skipped. Run steps that are pending or failed.

bdd_tests:

BDD_STATUS=$(jq -r '.steps.bdd_tests.status' "$STATE_FILE")

If BDD_STATUS is pending or failed:

• If swain-test.sh exists:

  BDD_OUTPUT=$(bash "$SWAIN_TEST" --artifacts "$SPEC_ID" 2>&1)
  BDD_EXIT=$?
  

  • Exit 0 → update to passed with detail from first 5 lines of output.
  • Non-zero → update to failed with detail from last 10 lines. Ask: "BDD failed. retry, skip, or abort?"
    • retry → re-run this step
    • skip → set to skipped with detail "operator skipped during teardown"
    • abort → stop teardown entirely, do not proceed to sync

• If swain-test.sh does not exist: set to skipped with detail "swain-test.sh not available". Display warning.

Use the atomic jq update pattern from DESIGN-018 for all state writes:

jq --arg step "$STEP" --arg status "$STATUS" --arg detail "$DETAIL" \
  '.steps[$step].status = $status | .steps[$step].timestamp = (now | todate) | .steps[$step].detail = $detail' \
  "$STATE_FILE" > "$STATE_FILE.tmp" && mv "$STATE_FILE.tmp" "$STATE_FILE"

smoke_test:

If pending or failed:

• If swain-test.sh exists: extract the ## SMOKE section from swain-test output and present to the operator. Ask: "Did the smoke test pass? (yes / no / skip)"

  • yes → set to passed with detail "operator confirmed during teardown"
  • no → set to failed. Ask: "retry, skip, or abort?"
  • skip → set to skipped with detail "operator skipped during teardown"

• If swain-test.sh does not exist: set to skipped with detail "swain-test.sh not available".

retro:

If pending or failed:

Invoke swain-retro using the Skill tool:

Use the Skill tool: invoke swain-retro with args: "Teardown catch-up — run retro for <SPEC-ID> before sync."

• On success → set to passed with detail "retro captured during teardown"
• On failure → ask: "Retro failed. retry or abort?" (retro cannot be skipped)

3c — Force bypass

If the operator invoked teardown with --force (detected via the invocation args containing "force" or "--force"):

# Mark all pending steps as skipped
for step in bdd_tests smoke_test retro; do
  STEP_STATUS=$(jq -r ".steps.$step.status" "$STATE_FILE")
  if [ "$STEP_STATUS" = "pending" ] || [ "$STEP_STATUS" = "failed" ]; then
    jq --arg step "$step" \
      '.steps[$step].status = "skipped" | .steps[$step].timestamp = (now | todate) | .steps[$step].detail = "operator forced bypass"' \
      "$STATE_FILE" > "$STATE_FILE.tmp" && mv "$STATE_FILE.tmp" "$STATE_FILE"
  fi
done

Display: "Force bypass — all pending pipeline steps marked as skipped." Proceed to Step 4.

3d — Pipeline gate

After running or skipping all steps, verify:

REMAINING=$(jq -r '.steps | to_entries[] | select(.value.status == "pending" or .value.status == "failed") | .key' "$STATE_FILE")

• If empty → proceed to Step 4
• If not empty → teardown is blocked. Display which steps remain and stop.

---

Step 4 — Ticket sync prompt (SPEC-234 AC3, renumbered from Step 3)

Always run this step. Note degraded state if no active session:

REPO_ROOT="$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel 2>/dev/null || pwd)"
session_check=$(bash "$REPO_ROOT/.agents/bin/swain-session-check.sh" 2>/dev/null)
session_status=$(echo "$session_check" | jq -r '.status // "none"')

If session_status is not "active":

• If --session-chain was passed, proceed anyway (caller already confirmed).
• Otherwise, inform the operator: "No active session. Run /swain-init to start one, or proceed with cleanup only?" If they proceed, skip Steps 1-2 (digest/retro need session state) and jump to Step 3 (merge).

---

Step 1 — Session digest

Generate the session digest while the session is still active.

REPO_ROOT="$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel 2>/dev/null || pwd)"
SESSION_ID="$(jq -r '.session_id // empty' "$REPO_ROOT/.agents/session-state.json" 2>/dev/null)"

if [ -n "$SESSION_ID" ]; then
  bash "$REPO_ROOT/.agents/bin/swain-session-digest.sh" \
    --session-id "$SESSION_ID" \
    --output "$REPO_ROOT/.agents/session-log.jsonl" 2>/dev/null
fi

If the digest script is missing or fails, log a warning and continue. The digest is useful but not blocking.

---

Step 2 — Retro (session still active)

Critical: The session must still be active when retro runs so it can read session state. Do not close the session before this step.

Invoke swain-retro:

Skill("swain-retro", "Session is closing. Run retro to capture learnings before session state is cleared.")

If swain-retro is not available, log "Retro skill not found — skipping" and continue. The shutdown sequence must not fail because a skill is missing.

---

Step 3 — Merge worktree branches

For each active worktree (excluding trunk), offer to merge its branch into trunk. This is the step that was missing from the old teardown — without it, worktrees could never be "safe to remove" because their branches were never merged.

3.1 — Enumerate worktrees

REPO_ROOT="$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel 2>/dev/null || pwd)"
TRUNK=$(bash "$REPO_ROOT/.agents/bin/swain-trunk.sh" 2>/dev/null || echo "trunk")

git worktree list --porcelain 2>/dev/null | grep "^worktree " | while read -r line; do
  wt_path="${line#worktree }"
  # Skip trunk
  [ "$wt_path" = "$REPO_ROOT" ] && continue
  wt_branch="$(git -C "$wt_path" rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD 2>/dev/null)"
  echo "$wt_path|$wt_branch"
done

3.2 — Triage each worktree

For each worktree, classify its state:

State	Condition	Action
Already merged	git merge-base --is-ancestor "$wt_branch" "$TRUNK"	Skip merge, mark safe for cleanup
Clean, unmerged	No uncommitted changes, branch not merged	Offer merge
Dirty	git -C "$wt_path" status --porcelain has output	Warn operator, offer to commit first
Current directory	"$wt_path" = "$(pwd)"	Must exit first via ExitWorktree

3.3 — Merge unmerged branches

For each "clean, unmerged" worktree, ask the operator:

Worktree {path} (branch {branch}) has unmerged changes. Options:

1. Merge — merge branch into {trunk} now
2. PR — push branch and create a pull request
3. Skip — leave branch as-is (worktree will be preserved)

If merge:

REPO_ROOT="$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel 2>/dev/null || pwd)"
TRUNK=$(bash "$REPO_ROOT/.agents/bin/swain-trunk.sh" 2>/dev/null || echo "trunk")

# Link safety — scan for worktree-specific path links before merging
DETECT_SCRIPT="$REPO_ROOT/.agents/bin/detect-worktree-links.sh"
RESOLVE_SCRIPT="$REPO_ROOT/.agents/bin/resolve-worktree-links.sh"
if [ -x "$DETECT_SCRIPT" ]; then
  MERGE_BASE=$(git -C "$wt_path" merge-base HEAD "origin/$TRUNK" 2>/dev/null || true)
  CHANGED_FILES=$([ -n "$MERGE_BASE" ] && git -C "$wt_path" diff --name-only "$MERGE_BASE" HEAD 2>/dev/null || true)
  if [ -n "$CHANGED_FILES" ]; then
    if ! echo "$CHANGED_FILES" | xargs "$DETECT_SCRIPT" --repo-root "$REPO_ROOT" > /dev/null 2>&1; then
      echo "[link-safety] Found suspicious links in $wt_branch. Resolving..."
      echo "$CHANGED_FILES" | xargs "$RESOLVE_SCRIPT" --repo-root "" 2>/dev/null || 
    
  



 
git fetch origin 2>/dev/null
git merge  --no-edit

If the merge has conflicts, report them to the operator and skip this worktree. Do not force-resolve.

If PR:

cd "$wt_path"
git push -u origin "$wt_branch" 2>/dev/null
SUBJECT=$(git log -1 --pretty=format:'%s')
gh pr create --base "$TRUNK" --head "$wt_branch" --title "$SUBJECT" --body "Teardown PR — branch from session teardown."

Report the PR URL.

If skip: Mark the worktree as preserved. It will not be removed in Step 4.

3.4 — Handle "current directory" worktree

If the operator is currently inside a worktree, handle it last. After all other worktrees are processed:

1. Ask if they want to merge this branch too (same options as 3.3).
2. If merge or PR: commit any uncommitted changes first, then call ExitWorktree to return to trunk.
3. If skip: call ExitWorktree with action: "keep" to preserve the branch.

---

Step 4 — Worktree cleanup

After merges, clean up worktrees whose branches are now merged.

4.1 — Re-enumerate and check merge status

REPO_ROOT="$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel 2>/dev/null || pwd)"
TRUNK=$(bash "$REPO_ROOT/.agents/bin/swain-trunk.sh" 2>/dev/null || echo "trunk")

git worktree list --porcelain 2>/dev/null | grep "^worktree " | while read -r line; do
  wt_path="${line#worktree }"
  [ "$wt_path" = "$REPO_ROOT" ] && continue
  wt_branch="$(git -C "$wt_path" rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD 2>/dev/null)"

  # Safety checks
  if [ "$wt_path" = "$(pwd)" ]; then
    echo "SKIP: $wt_path — current directory"
    continue
  fi
  if [ -n "$(git -C "$wt_path" status --porcelain 2>/dev/null)" ]; then
    echo "SKIP: $wt_path — uncommitted changes"
    continue
  fi
  if ! git merge-base --is-ancestor "$wt_branch" "$TRUNK" 2>/dev/null; then
    echo "SKIP:  — branch not merged"
    
  

   

4.2 — Remove safe worktrees

For each SAFE worktree, remove it without asking. The branch is merged, there are no uncommitted changes, and it is not the current directory. The operator already approved the merge in Step 3.

git worktree remove "$wt_path" 2>/dev/null && echo "Removed: $wt_path ($wt_branch)"
# Clear bookmark
bash "$REPO_ROOT/.agents/bin/swain-bookmark.sh" worktree remove "$wt_path" 2>/dev/null

If removal fails, report and continue.

4.3 — Prune stale worktree references

git worktree prune 2>/dev/null
bash "$REPO_ROOT/.agents/bin/swain-bookmark.sh" worktree prune 2>/dev/null

---

Step 5 — Close session state

REPO_ROOT="$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel 2>/dev/null || pwd)"
WALKAWAY_NOTE="${WALKAWAY:-Session closed via teardown}"

bash "$REPO_ROOT/.agents/bin/swain-session-state.sh" close \
  --walkaway "$WALKAWAY_NOTE" \
  --session-roadmap "$(pwd)/SESSION-ROADMAP.md" 2>/dev/null

The walkaway note should summarize what was accomplished. Infer from the session's work (merged branches, closed tasks, retro output) or ask the operator for a one-liner.

---

Step 6 — Commit handoff

Stage and commit any session artifacts that changed during teardown.

REPO_ROOT="$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel 2>/dev/null || pwd)"

# Stage session artifacts
git add SESSION-ROADMAP.md 2>/dev/null
git add docs/swain-retro/ 2>/dev/null
git add .agents/session-state.json 2>/dev/null
git add .agents/session-log.jsonl 2>/dev/null

# Check if there's anything to commit
# Resolve model name from the system prompt. When subagents ran under a
# different model, include one Co-Authored-By trailer per model (see
# AGENTS.md Model attribution).
if [ -n "$(git diff --cached --name-only 2>/dev/null)" ]; then
  git commit -m "chore: session teardown handoff

Co-Authored-By: <model-name-from-system-prompt> <noreply@unknown>"
fi

---

Summary report

After all steps, display a summary:

=== Session Teardown Complete ===

Retro:          {fired / skipped / not available}
Branches:       {N merged, M PRs created, K preserved}
Worktrees:      {N removed, M preserved}
Session state:  closed
Handoff commit: {hash or "nothing to commit"}

Exit with code 0 unless a critical error occurred.

---

Error handling

Situation	Response
No active session (without --session-chain)	Offer cleanup-only mode (Steps 3-4), skip digest/retro
Digest script missing	Warn and continue
Retro skill missing	Warn and continue
Merge conflict	Report conflicting files, skip that worktree
Worktree removal fails	Report and continue
Session state script missing	Warn, skip close
Nothing to commit in Step 6	Report "clean" and exit
Git unavailable	Fatal — cannot proceed

---

Integration

Called from swain-init (decision budget)

When the decision budget is reached during a session, swain-init can invoke teardown:

Skill("swain-teardown", "Decision budget reached. Run teardown sequence.")

Called from meta-router

The swain meta-router routes "done", "wrap up", "close session", "teardown" to this skill.

Standalone invocation

The operator can run /swain-teardown at any time. If no session is active, it offers cleanup-only mode.