LandonSchropp/plugins/ls-git/skills/git-merge-into-main

Merge Into Main

Merges a finished branch into the default branch (e.g. main) by rebasing it on top, then fast-forwarding. For personal repos that integrate directly to main rather than through pull requests.

This skill does no reviewing and creates no commits. It does not manage worktrees.

Process

1. Check preconditions: The branch must be committed with no unstaged files. It must also be reviewed by the user (not the same as a pull request review). Stop if either is missing.

2. Rebase onto the default branch: Find the default branch with git default-branch, then rebase the branch onto it. Always rebase, even for a trivial branch. Resolve any conflicts before continuing — do not --skip or force past them.

3. Fast-forward and push: Advance the default branch to the rebased branch with a fast-forward only (no merge commit), then push. If the default branch is checked out in another worktree, run the update from that worktree's directory — Git refuses to move a branch that is checked out elsewhere.

default_branch=$(git default-branch)

git rebase "$default_branch"
git -C <default-branch-worktree> merge --ff-only <branch>
git -C <default-branch-worktree> push origin "$default_branch"

Rationalizations

| Thought | Reality | | -------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | "The branch is simple, I'll skip the rebase" | Always rebase onto the default branch first, so the fast-forward is clean. | | "The rebase conflicted, I'll --skip or force" | Resolve the conflict properly. Never discard commits to get past it. | | "I'll just merge it, a merge commit is fine" | Fast-forward only. This skill keeps history linear. | | "main won't move, I'll update it from here" | If it's checked out in another worktree, update it from that worktree. | | "There are uncommitted changes, I'll merge anyway" | The branch must be committed and reviewed first. Stop. |