git-merge

name	git-merge
description	Squash-merges a local branch or linked git worktree into the branch currently checked out in this repository, then removes the merged worktree (if any) and deletes the merged local branch. Use when the user says "merge <branch>", "merge this worktree", "squash merge and clean up", or asks to fold a feature branch/worktree into the current trunk branch.

merge

Variables

Variable	Value	Notes
CURRENT_BRANCH	Branch checked out in the invocation worktree	Merge destination; often main
SOURCE_INPUT	User-supplied branch name or linked worktree	Exactly one source is required
WORKTREE_LIST_CMD	git worktree list --porcelain	Source of truth for linked worktree metadata
GIT_OPERATION_FILES	MERGE_HEAD, REBASE_HEAD, CHERRY_PICK_HEAD, REVERT_HEAD, BISECT_LOG	Files that indicate an in-progress git operation
MERGE_BASE	git merge-base <current-branch> <source>	Start of the source-only commit range
SOURCE_COMMIT_RANGE	<merge-base>..<source-branch>	Commits to preserve in the squash commit body
COMMIT_MESSAGE_SECTION	Squashed commits:	Heading for the preserved source commit log in the commit body

Prerequisites

• Current directory is inside a git worktree on a named branch
• SOURCE_INPUT resolves to exactly one local source branch
• CURRENT_BRANCH is different from the source branch
• Current worktree has no uncommitted, unstaged, staged, or untracked changes
• If the source branch is attached to a linked worktree, that worktree also has no uncommitted, unstaged, staged, or untracked changes
• No merge, rebase, cherry-pick, revert, or bisect is in progress in either inspected worktree

Knowledge

Source resolution

• First try to resolve SOURCE_INPUT as a worktree path by normalising it with realpath and matching it against WORKTREE_LIST_CMD output.
• When SOURCE_INPUT resolves to a worktree path, derive the branch from the adjacent branch refs/heads/<name> entry in the porcelain output.
• Otherwise resolve SOURCE_INPUT as a local branch with git show-ref --verify --quiet refs/heads/<name>.
• When SOURCE_INPUT is a branch name, still scan WORKTREE_LIST_CMD output for a linked worktree on that branch so it can be validated and removed during cleanup.

Cleanliness rules

A worktree is clean only when both of the following are true:

• git status --porcelain returns no output
• No in-progress operation files from GIT_OPERATION_FILES exist

Source commit range

• Compute MERGE_BASE with git merge-base <current-branch> <source-branch>.
• Compute SOURCE_COMMIT_RANGE as <merge-base>..<source-branch>.
• Capture the source-only history with git log --reverse --format='- [%h] %s' <merge-base>..<source-branch> so the squash body preserves a concise chronological list of source commits.
• The preserved body should be a compact reference list, not the full verbose git log output.

Squash commit message construction

• The squash commit subject must be a semantic/conventional-style summary inferred from the commits in SOURCE_COMMIT_RANGE, not a generic Squash merge ... message.
• Infer the subject prefix from the strongest signal in the source history, preferring user-visible change types such as feat, fix, or perf over lower-signal maintenance types such as chore, docs, or test when the branch clearly contains product changes.
• If the source history consistently uses another repo-appropriate semantic prefix such as task, preserve that convention.
• Infer the summary text from the dominant theme across the source commit subjects and bodies; keep it short, imperative, and representative of the actual change.
• The squash commit body must include a blank line after the subject, then the COMMIT_MESSAGE_SECTION heading, then the concise bullet list for SOURCE_COMMIT_RANGE in chronological order.

Squash merge semantics

• Perform the content merge from the current branch with git merge --squash --no-commit <source-branch>.
• If the squash succeeds and stages changes, create a normal commit using the inferred semantic subject and preserved source-commit body.
• If the squash succeeds but stages nothing, treat it as a no-op merge and continue to cleanup.
• A squash merge does not preserve branch ancestry, so cleanup must delete the source branch with git branch -D <source-branch> after successful merge/no-op handling and after removing any linked worktree.

Cleanup ordering

• Never remove the current worktree.
• If the source branch is attached to a linked worktree, remove that worktree before deleting the branch.
• Cleanup is local-only: do not delete remote branches or push anything unless the user explicitly asks.

Decisions

Entry state: RESOLVE_SOURCE

RESOLVE_SOURCE

• guard: SOURCE_INPUT exactly matches a linked worktree path after normalisation → VERIFY_CURRENT_WORKTREE
• guard: SOURCE_INPUT resolves to an existing local branch → VERIFY_CURRENT_WORKTREE
• otherwise → STOP with error: SOURCE_INPUT must be an existing local branch or linked worktree path

VERIFY_CURRENT_WORKTREE

• guard: current worktree is clean and no git operation is in progress → VERIFY_SOURCE
• otherwise → STOP with error: current worktree must be clean before merging

VERIFY_SOURCE

• guard: source branch equals CURRENT_BRANCH → STOP with error: source and target branch must differ
• guard: source branch has an associated linked worktree and that worktree is dirty or mid-operation → STOP with error: source worktree must be clean before merging
• guard: source branch has no linked worktree, or its linked worktree is clean → PREPARE_COMMIT_MESSAGE

PREPARE_COMMIT_MESSAGE

• action: compute MERGE_BASE, capture SOURCE_COMMIT_RANGE, and draft the semantic squash commit message
• guard: commit range log captured successfully → SQUASH_MERGE
• guard: commit range cannot be derived → STOP with error

SQUASH_MERGE

• action: run the squash merge from CURRENT_BRANCH using the resolved source branch
• guard: merge exits zero and stages changes → COMMIT_SQUASH
• guard: merge exits zero and stages no changes → REMOVE_SOURCE_WORKTREE
• guard: merge exits non-zero, including conflicts → ROLLBACK_TARGET

COMMIT_SQUASH

• action: create the squash commit with the prepared subject and preserved source history body
• guard: commit succeeds → REMOVE_SOURCE_WORKTREE
• guard: commit fails → ROLLBACK_TARGET

REMOVE_SOURCE_WORKTREE

• guard: no linked source worktree exists → DELETE_SOURCE_BRANCH
• guard: linked source worktree exists and is not the current worktree → remove it, then DELETE_SOURCE_BRANCH
• guard: linked source worktree is the current worktree → STOP with error: never delete the current worktree

DELETE_SOURCE_BRANCH

• action: delete the merged source branch locally
• guard: deletion succeeds → DONE
• guard: deletion fails → STOP with error

ROLLBACK_TARGET

• action: restore the target worktree to HEAD with git reset --hard HEAD
• always → STOP with error: squash merge failed; target worktree restored

DONE

• terminal state

Procedures

RESOLVE_SOURCE

1. Record CURRENT_BRANCH with git symbolic-ref --quiet --short HEAD. Fail if HEAD is detached.
2. Record the current worktree root with git rev-parse --show-toplevel.
3. Capture WORKTREE_LIST_CMD output once and reuse it throughout the run.
4. Resolve SOURCE_INPUT in this order: a. Normalise it with realpath. b. If the normalised path exactly matches a worktree entry from the porcelain output, record that as the source worktree path and extract its refs/heads/<name> branch. c. Otherwise verify refs/heads/<SOURCE_INPUT> exists locally and record <SOURCE_INPUT> as the source branch.
5. If the resolved source branch appears in the porcelain worktree list, record that linked worktree path for later validation and cleanup.
6. Fail if no source branch can be derived.

CHECK_WORKTREE_CLEAN

1. In the target worktree context, run git status --porcelain; it must return nothing.
2. For each file in GIT_OPERATION_FILES: a. Resolve its path with git rev-parse --git-path <name>. b. Fail if that path exists.

VERIFY_CURRENT_WORKTREE

1. Apply CHECK_WORKTREE_CLEAN in the current worktree.
2. Do not stash, auto-commit, or clean files automatically.

VERIFY_SOURCE

1. Fail if the source branch equals CURRENT_BRANCH.
2. If a linked source worktree was recorded: a. Fail if it is the same path as the current worktree. b. Apply CHECK_WORKTREE_CLEAN in the source worktree context by prefixing commands with git -C <source-worktree>.
3. If no linked source worktree exists, continue without creating one.

PREPARE_COMMIT_MESSAGE

1. Compute MERGE_BASE with git merge-base <CURRENT_BRANCH> <source-branch>.

2. Capture the source-only history with git log --reverse --format='- [%h] %s' <MERGE_BASE>..<source-branch>.

3. Review the commit subjects and bodies in that range and infer the best semantic subject line for the squash commit: a. Prefer the highest-signal change type represented by the branch, such as feat, fix, perf, or another repo-appropriate semantic type like task when that is the dominant convention. b. If the branch contains mixed commits, summarise the overall user-facing outcome rather than echoing an implementation detail. c. Keep the subject short, imperative, and specific.

4. Build the final commit message in this shape:

   <semantic-subject>
   
   Squashed commits:
   - [short-sha] commit subject
   - [short-sha] commit subject
   

5. Preserve every commit from the source-only range in the body as a concise - [short-sha] subject list.

6. If the source-only range is empty, still continue; the merge may become a verified no-op and skip commit creation.

RESET_TARGET

1. Restore the target worktree to HEAD with git reset --hard HEAD.

SQUASH_MERGE

1. Run git merge --squash --no-commit <source-branch> from the current worktree.
2. If the command exits non-zero, apply RESET_TARGET and stop with the merge error.
3. Inspect the index with git diff --cached --quiet: a. If it exits non-zero, staged changes exist; continue to COMMIT_SQUASH. b. If it exits zero, no staged changes exist; treat the merge as a no-op and continue to cleanup.

COMMIT_SQUASH

1. Write the prepared multi-line commit message to a temporary file so the subject and full preserved body are committed exactly as prepared.
2. Create the commit with git commit -F <message-file>.
3. If commit creation fails, apply RESET_TARGET and stop.

REMOVE_SOURCE_WORKTREE

1. If no linked source worktree was recorded, skip this procedure.
2. Re-check that the linked source worktree path is not the current worktree path.
3. Remove it with git worktree remove <source-worktree>.
4. Do not use --force; a dirty worktree should have failed earlier.

DELETE_SOURCE_BRANCH

1. Delete the source branch with git branch -D <source-branch>.
2. Do not touch remote refs.

Constraints

• Never merge from or into a dirty worktree
• Never stash, auto-commit, or auto-clean either worktree to make the merge proceed
• Never use a generic squash subject when the source history provides enough signal to infer a semantic subject
• Always preserve the source-only commit list in the squash commit body when a squash commit is created, using the concise - [short-sha] subject format
• Never switch away from CURRENT_BRANCH to perform the merge
• Never delete the current worktree
• Never use git worktree remove --force
• Only use git branch -D after a successful squash merge or verified no-op merge path
• Never delete remote branches unless the user explicitly asks
• If any validation fails, stop immediately instead of improvising around it

Validation

Verify all of the following before reporting success:

• git symbolic-ref --quiet --short HEAD still equals CURRENT_BRANCH
• git status --porcelain in the current worktree is empty
• The source branch no longer exists at refs/heads/<source-branch>
• If a source worktree existed, its path no longer appears in git worktree list --porcelain
• If the squash staged changes, git log -1 --format=%s is a semantic/conventional-style subject inferred from the source history rather than a generic squash message
• If the squash staged changes, git log -1 --format=%B contains the Squashed commits: section followed by the preserved chronological - [short-sha] subject list from MERGE_BASE..source-branch