submission-branch

name	submission-branch
description	Manage submission branch lifecycle — sprout, freeze, errata, revision, resubmission, acceptance.
disable-model-invocation	true
user-invocable	true
argument-hint	<journal> <document>

Submission branch lifecycle

Manages a long-running branch tracking a manuscript through submission, review, revision, and acceptance.

When to use

Create when a paper is ready to submit. The branch freezes the submitted state and accumulates revision history. Main continues to evolve; the submission branch cherry-picks only what's relevant.

Branch naming

submission/{journal}-{document} — e.g., submission/oeconomia-manuscript.

1. Sprout

Gate: run /submission-readiness checklist first.

git checkout -b submission/$0-$1 main
# Verify build: make output/content/$1.pdf
git tag v{N}.0-$0-submitted

Add to release/: cover letter, AI disclosure, journal-specific files. Commit and push. Enable branch protection.

2. Freeze

Branch is frozen. Guards: pre-commit rejects merges (cherry-pick only), pre-push blocks deletion, GitHub prevents force-push.

Frozen: git tag, pinned vars in content/{document}-vars.yml, reference data in config/, Zenodo archives.

No changes except errata, reviewer responses, and revision commits.

3. Errata

Fix errors post-submission. Add to release/YYYY-MM-DD {journal} errata/. Contact editor if needed.

4. Revision

When reviewer reports arrive:

1. Add reports to release/YYYY-MM-DD {journal} revision/
2. Create response document
3. One commit per reviewer point
4. Tag: v{N}.1-{journal}-revised
5. Cherry-pick relevant improvements from main (never merge)

5. Resubmission

Rebuild, prepare diff/track-changes, add to release/, commit, push.

6. Acceptance

Tag v{N}.{final}-{journal}-accepted. Add acceptance letter. Merge submission branch back to main. Update Zenodo.

7. Rejection

Record decision. Decide: resubmit elsewhere (new submission branch) or abandon (leave as record). Cherry-pick improvements back to main.