merge

name	merge
description	Absorb one or more feature branches into the base branch. Recommends merge vs rebase per branch. Designed for lazy absorption of parallel Claude session branches.
tags	["merge","git","pre-merge"]

Merge — Branch Absorption

Absorb feature branches into the base branch. Handles single or multiple branches, recommends strategy per branch.

Protocol

1. Gather state (parallel):

   • git branch --show-current — identify current branch
   • git status — ensure working tree is clean
   • git branch -v — list all local branches with last commit
   • git log --oneline --graph --all --decorate -20 — visual overview

2. Identify target branches:

   • If user specified branches: use those
   • If on a feature branch with no args: absorb current branch into base
   • If on base branch with no args: show all feature branches with divergence info and let user pick

3. For each candidate branch, gather intel (parallel per branch):

   • git log --oneline {base}..{branch} — commits ahead
   • git log --oneline {branch}..{base} — commits behind (base moved since branch)
   • git diff --stat {base}...{branch} — files changed
   • git log --oneline {base}..{branch} | wc -l — commit count

4. Recommend strategy per branch:

   Condition	Strategy	Why
   1 commit, no conflicts	Rebase + fast-forward	Clean linear history
   2-3 commits, single logical change	Rebase + fast-forward	Still clean enough
   Multi-commit, preserving context matters	Merge --no-ff	Keeps branch grouping visible
   Branch has been pushed/shared	Merge --no-ff	Don't rewrite shared history
   Conflicts detected	Merge (rebase conflicts are harder to resolve)	Safer conflict resolution

   Present recommendations as a table. Let user override any.

5. Confirm with user:

   • Show full plan: branch → strategy → base
   • Wait for confirmation before executing

6. Execute sequentially (order matters — earlier merges can cause conflicts in later ones): For each branch in confirmed order:

   If rebase strategy:

   git rebase {base} {branch}
   git checkout {base}
   git merge {branch} --ff-only
   

   If merge strategy:

   git checkout {base}
   git merge {branch} --no-ff
   

   On conflict:

   • Stop immediately
   • Report which branch and which files conflict
   • Show git diff --name-only --diff-filter=U
   • Ask user: resolve now, skip this branch, or abort remaining?

7. Post-absorption per branch:

   • git log --oneline -3 to show result
   • Ask: delete the absorbed branch? (git branch -d {branch})

8. Summary:

   • List all branches absorbed with strategy used
   • List any skipped branches and why
   • Show final git log --oneline --graph -10

Rules

• Never cd — working directory is already correct.
• Never push. Pushing is the user's responsibility.
• Never force-merge or skip conflict resolution.
• Never delete branches without asking.
• If working tree is dirty: stop — tell user to commit or stash first.
• If on a detached HEAD: stop — ask user to checkout a branch.
• Process branches one at a time — a conflict in branch A may affect branch B.