git-push-branch

name	git-push-branch
description	Push the current branch to the remote under a speaking branch name derived from the last conventional commit (<type>/<scope>-<description>). Use when the user asks to push their branch, publish their work, push before opening a PR, or push with a meaningful branch name. Hard guard: NEVER pushes the default branch (detected dynamically from origin/HEAD — main, develop, etc.) — if HEAD is on it, a speaking feature branch is carved and switched to first. Sets upstream with -u. Triggers on: "push", "push my branch", "push this", "publish my branch", "push with a good branch name", "push before PR".
allowed-tools	Bash
version	1.0.0
changelog	[{"version":"1.0.0","date":"2026-07-09T00:00:00.000Z","changes":["Initial release"]}]
created-at	"2026-07-09T00:00:00.000Z"
created-by	Jeremy Wallez <[e-mail]>

Git Push with a Speaking Branch Name

Overview

Push the current branch to origin under a human-readable name derived from the last conventional commit. The default branch is never pushed directly — a feature branch is carved first if needed.

Branch Naming Rule (canonical)

This is the single source of truth for the speaking branch name, referenced by git-rebase-branch and github-publish.

Read the last commit subject:

SUBJECT=$(git log -1 --pretty=%s)

Parse the Conventional Commits form and build the branch:

• <type>(scope): desc → <type>/<scope>-<desc-kebab>
• <type>: desc → <type>/<desc-kebab>
• No conventional prefix → chore/<subject-kebab>

Kebab-case the description/scope: lowercase, replace any run of non-alphanumeric chars with a single -, trim leading/trailing -, and truncate the whole branch name to ~60 characters (don't cut mid-word when avoidable).

Examples:

• feat(tracking-plan): add confidence display → feat/tracking-plan-add-confidence-display
• fix: remove enum param type → fix/remove-enum-param-type

Workflow

1. Detect default branch and current state

DEFAULT=$(git symbolic-ref --short refs/remotes/origin/HEAD 2>/dev/null | sed 's@^origin/@@')
[ -z "$DEFAULT" ] && DEFAULT=$(git remote show origin | sed -n 's/.*HEAD branch: //p')
CURRENT=$(git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD)
echo "Default: $DEFAULT | Current: $CURRENT"

2. Guard — never push the default branch

If CURRENT equals $DEFAULT, do not push. Carve a speaking branch (naming rule above) from the current commit and switch to it:

git switch -c "<speaking-branch>"
CURRENT="<speaking-branch>"

If CURRENT is already a feature branch, keep its name — do not rename an existing branch the user chose. Only derive a name when carving from the default branch or when the current branch has no upstream and its name is a non-descriptive placeholder (e.g. HEAD, tmp).

3. Push with upstream

git push -u origin "$CURRENT"

If the remote rejects because history diverged, stop and report — do not force-push. Suggest the user rebase (git-rebase-branch) first.

4. Output

✔ Pushed <branch> → origin/<branch>
  upstream set, <n> commits

Git Safety Protocol

• NEVER push the default branch (main, develop, …) — always a feature branch + PR
• NEVER --force / --force-with-lease without an explicit user request
• NEVER update git config
• On rejected push (diverged history), stop and recommend a rebase — do not force