dev-gate-merge-to-main

name	dev_gate_merge-to-main
shared_corpus	true
harness_scope	shared
source_owner	gpt-cmdr
security_review	internal
description	Enforce the feature branch workflow — intercept any attempt to merge, push, or commit directly to main and redirect to the correct feature branch process. Triggers on "merge to main", "push to main", "PR to main", or any operation targeting the main branch.

Development Gate: Merge-to-Main Policy

Policy: ALL development happens on feature branches. main is production-only. Direct pushes to main are never allowed.

This policy was established to prevent incomplete work from reaching the production branch. It applies universally — no exceptions without explicit user confirmation.

Trigger Conditions

Activate this skill when you detect any of:

• User says "merge", "push to main", "commit to main", "PR to main"
• Current branch appears to be main and user wants to commit
• git push origin main is about to be run
• A PR target is set to main without a feature branch in the chain

Workflow

Step 1: Check Current Branch

git branch --show-current

If on main: Stop immediately — explain the policy and offer to create a feature branch.

If on a feature branch: Verify the merge direction (feature → main via PR, not direct push).

Step 2: If on Main — Recover

# Create feature branch from current state
git checkout -b feature/[descriptive-name]

# Verify uncommitted changes moved with you
git status

# Optionally stash and reapply if needed
git stash
git checkout -b feature/[descriptive-name]
git stash pop

Step 3: Gate Check Before Any Push to Main

Before running git push origin main or creating a PR to main, verify:

Check	Command	Pass Condition
Not on main	git branch --show-current	Output ≠ "main"
Tests pass	pytest or project test command	0 failures
No uncommitted changes	git status	"nothing to commit"
Feature branch exists	git log --oneline main..HEAD	At least 1 commit ahead

Step 4: Correct Merge Path

feature/my-work → PR → main    ✅ Correct
feature/my-work → direct push to main  ❌ Blocked
main → direct commit  ❌ Blocked

Creating the PR:

git push origin feature/my-work
gh pr create --base main --head feature/my-work --title "..." --body "..."

Step 5: Hotfix Exception

Hotfixes may go directly to main only with:

1. Explicit user statement: "this is a hotfix"
2. User confirmation: "I understand this bypasses the feature branch policy"
3. A same-day revert plan if needed

Even then: prefer hotfix/[name] branch → PR → main.

Branch Naming Convention

feature/[ticket-or-description]    ← new features
bugfix/[description]               ← bug fixes
hotfix/[description]               ← production emergencies only
refactor/[description]             ← refactoring passes
experiment/[description]           ← exploratory work

What to Say When Intercepting

If user attempts a direct-to-main operation:

"⚠️ You're about to [operation] directly to main. The ras-commander workflow requires all changes go through feature branches → PR → main.

Want me to:

1. Create a feature branch from your current state?
2. Help you open a PR from your existing feature branch?
3. Proceed anyway (hotfix only — requires your confirmation)?"

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Source: Policy re-declared 4× in conversation history (2026-03-20 to 2026-04-12). Codified to prevent future re-statements.