This skill should be used when the user asks to "start a new worktree", "open a PR", "split this PR", "ship this change", "add another feature", or mentions "one PR at a time", "one worktree at a time", divergence between branches, or organizing parallel work. Enforces the mdeAI rule of finishing one worktree and one focused PR before starting the next, with a six-step verification cycle (location → preflight → research → code → verify → ship).
This skill should be used when the user asks to "start a new worktree", "open a PR", "split this PR", "ship this change", "add another feature", or mentions "one PR at a time", "one worktree at a time", divergence between branches, or organizing parallel work. Enforces the mdeAI rule of finishing one worktree and one focused PR before starting the next, with a six-step verification cycle (location → preflight → research → code → verify → ship).
metadata
{"version":"0.1.0"}
mdeAI worktree + PR discipline
Operate on one worktree at a time and one focused PR at a time. Finish, verify, and merge the current change before starting the next. Scattered worktrees with hidden uncommitted work are the single largest source of lost work and broken merges in this repo.
When to invoke this skill
Trigger this skill at any of these moments:
Before running git worktree add or claude --worktree.
Before opening a new PR.
When asked to "split a PR", "break this into smaller PRs", or "ship this change".
When asked to switch branches in a worktree that is not clean.
When git status in any worktree shows uncommitted or untracked files older than the current task.
When two mastra dev (or any dev server) are running on the same port.
When a PR title or body no longer matches the actual base branch or diff.
Hard rules
One worktree active at a time. Do not git worktree add while another worktree is dirty. If a sibling worktree is dirty, surface its state first and let the user decide (commit / stash / delete) before starting new work.
One focused PR per change. Each PR has a single intent. If scope grows mid-flight, split before merging.
Never force-push to main or any branch you do not own.--force-with-lease is allowed on your own feature branch only.
Never stage .env* files. Even one accidental commit forces a credential rotation.
Verify before declaring done. Typecheck + build + runtime call + Studio/UI check, in that order. Saying "deployed" without HTTP 200 is a lie.
The six-step cycle (run in order)
Step 1 — Locate
Confirm the canonical worktree before touching anything:
pwd
git branch --show-current
git status --short
git worktree list
If git status --short is non-empty, stop — clean up before continuing (Step 2).
Step 2 — Preflight (clean state)
If dirty and the changes belong to the current task: stage, commit on the current branch.
If dirty and the changes belong to a different task: stash with a labeled message (git stash push -u -m "wip <topic>") or commit to the existing branch.
If dirty and the changes are abandoned: confirm with the user before discarding (git restore / git clean). Never discard untracked files silently.
Confirm: git status --short empty, git fetch origin, branch up to date or knowingly ahead.
Step 3 — Research before coding
For any new code, in this order:
Search the official docs (Mastra docs via mcp__mastra__searchMastraDocs and mcp__mastra__readMastraDocs; Supabase via mcp__ed3787fc__search_docs; Vercel via the vercel:* agents and skills).
Check the relevant .claude/skills/ skill (e.g. mde-supabase, mde-stripe, mastra, mde-testing).
Verify installed package APIs in node_modules match the docs.
Verify model IDs via .claude/skills/mastra/scripts/provider-registry.mjs --provider <name>. Never guess slugs.
For external APIs, do a focused web search to catch recent breaking changes.
Step 4 — Code in small, reviewable units
Keep the diff focused. If a fix grows beyond ~300 lines or touches an unrelated subsystem, stop and split.
Step 5 — Verify (mandatory before push)
Run, in order, and resolve before continuing:
npm --prefix my-mastra-app run typecheck # tsc --noEmit
npm --prefix my-mastra-app run build # mastra build# runtime call against the actual endpoint:
curl -sS -X POST "http://127.0.0.1:4111/api/workflows/<workflow-id>/start-async" \
-H "content-type: application/json" --data '{"inputData":{...}}'# Studio check:
curl -sS http://127.0.0.1:4111/api/agents | jq 'keys'
For non-Mastra changes use the equivalent: npm run lint && npm run build && npm run test for the main repo, then a live request against the affected route. Type-check passing is not a feature working — always exercise the runtime path.
Use scripts/verify-clean.sh to run the location + preflight checks together.
Step 6 — Ship one PR
Before opening a PR:
git diff --stat origin/main — the file list must match the task. Drop unrelated noise.
Create a fresh branch off origin/main for the next sub-change.
Cherry-pick only the relevant commits.
Open a separate PR per branch.
Merge in dependency order.
Do not split after a PR has been reviewed and approved — finish that one, then split future work.
Common failure modes
Workflow not found from Studio: dev server is serving a stale build from another worktree. Run lsof -i :4111 to find the bound process, kill it, restart from the correct worktree.
PR body says "stacked into #X" but base is now main: happens after gh pr edit --base main. Always rewrite the body when retargeting.
fatal: bad object after rebase: the merge commit you cited was on a remote branch you have not fetched. Run git fetch origin first.
Two dev servers, same port: pkill -f "<server name>" is fine for your own processes. Verify with ss -tlnp | grep <port> afterward.
Untracked .env copied between worktrees: fine for local runtime, but git status --short must show it as ?? not A. Verify it is in .gitignore.
Resources
Reference files
references/git-worktree-cheatsheet.md — exact commands for add / list / remove / move / lock, plus mdeAI-specific layout (.claude/worktrees/<name>).
references/pr-splitting-playbook.md — worked example of splitting a 950-line PR into three.
Scripts
scripts/verify-clean.sh — runs the Step 1 + Step 2 checks and exits non-zero if the worktree is not in a known-clean state.
scripts/list-worktrees.sh — prints every worktree with branch + dirty status in one table, so the user can see scatter at a glance.
Anti-patterns (do not do)
Spawning a new worktree because the current one feels stuck. Diagnose the block; do not run from it.
Committing to a feature branch and opening a PR without running the runtime path.
Editing files in two worktrees in parallel "to save time" — the merge cost erases the savings.
Closing a PR mid-review to "open a cleaner one" — comments and review history are lost. Push fixes to the existing PR instead.
See also
.claude/rules/worktree-discipline.md — the short-form rule loaded into every conversation.
.claude/rules/shipping-and-divergence.md — local vs. GitHub vs. production reality.
.claude/skills/using-superpowers/ and .claude/skills/skill-development/ — skill structure conventions.
