git-branch

name	git-branch
description	Create a git branch with a conventional <prefix>/<slug> name, cut from an up-to-date default branch. Triggers: /git-branch, "new branch", "create a branch", "start a feature branch", "новая ветка", "создай ветку", "заведи ветку". Skip for switching to an existing branch (plain `git checkout`).

Git Branch

Create a feature branch named <prefix>/<slug>, cut from an up-to-date default branch.

// Gather state (parallel)
status  = Bash(git status)
branch  = Bash(git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD)
default = Bash(gh repo view --json defaultBranchRef -q .defaultBranchRef.name)

// Name
prefix = do("pick feat | fix | chore by the three-question contract test — see Prefix selection")
slug   = do("kebab-case the intended work in 2-4 words; name the work, not the files")
name   = "<prefix>/<slug>"

// Pick the base
clean = do("true if status shows no uncommitted changes")
Bash(git fetch origin <default>)       // fetch before any base decision so origin/<default> is never stale
if branch == default and clean:
    base = "origin/<default>"          // start even with origin
else if branch != default:
    AskUserQuestion("on <branch>, not <default> — stack the new branch here, or cut from <default>?")
    base = current HEAD, or origin/<default> per the answer
else:                                  // on default with uncommitted changes
    AskUserQuestion("uncommitted changes — commit them on <branch> first, or carry them onto the new branch?")
    if commit first: Skill(commit), base = "origin/<default>"
    else:            base = current HEAD   // checkout -b carries the working tree along

// Confirm
if user supplied explicit branch name: skip
else: AskUserQuestion("create <name> off <base>?")

// Create
if base == "origin/<default>": Bash(git checkout -b <name> origin/<default>)
else:                          Bash(git checkout -b <name>)

Reference

Prefix selection

Branch names use <prefix>/<slug> — the same feat | fix | chore prefixes as commits, with / as the separator. A branch is a larger unit than a commit: it holds many commits, and they need not share a prefix — a feat branch routinely contains chore refactors and a stray fix. So the branch prefix is never inherited from a commit. Determine it independently by applying the contract test to the branch's planned work as a whole — the net change it delivers when merged, which is also what the squash-merge commit and PR title will carry. Ask in order; stop at the first "yes":

1. Will the branch repair a violated contract — restore behavior the code promised but broke? → fix
2. Will the branch change the contract — add, alter, or remove what the code promises its callers? → feat
3. Otherwise → chore

chore is the default; most branches (refactor, perf, deps, config, tests, docs) sit below the contract line. See the /commit skill for the full definition of "contract" and the worked example bank.

Slug style

• 2-4 lowercase words joined by hyphens, appended to the prefix: feat/retry-transient-failures.
• Name the work, not the files touched: fix/retry-transient-failures, not fix/edit-api-client.
• Add dates, ticket numbers, or author names only when the user asks.

Base branch

• Default: cut from the updated default branch so the new branch starts even with origin. git fetch origin <default> followed by git checkout -b <name> origin/<default> branches from the fetched ref without checking out the default branch first.
• When the user is already on a feature branch, ask before choosing — stacking the new branch on the current one is sometimes intended.

Uncommitted changes

• git checkout -b carries the working tree onto the new branch; uncommitted work is carried intact. When the tree is dirty, branch from current HEAD rather than origin/<default>; the checkout then carries the changes free of a "would be overwritten" conflict.
• Suggest committing on the current branch first only when the user says those changes belong there.

Rules

• Run git commands separately. Chained commands (&&, ;) bypass the permissions allowlist.
• Auto-detect the default branch. Use gh repo view. Ask the user only when detection fails.
• Confirm the name before creating. Show <name> and the base. Skip only when the user supplied an explicit branch name.
• Create only. This skill cuts new branches; switching to an existing branch is a plain git checkout.