Finishing a Development Branch

Carry the authorized delivery path through publication and fresh verification. Preserve the branch and worktree for review and repair.

Contract

Inputs:

• Selected branch/worktree, issue, plan, acceptance evidence, and requested action
• Repository merge rules and harness-selected independent reviewer

Outputs:

• PR and delivery state, with evidence and remaining blockers
• Preserved branch, or an explicitly authorized discard result

Creates/Modifies:

• Intended commits, branch pushes, and PR metadata within existing authorization
• Merges only when explicitly authorized and all delivery gates pass

External Side Effects:

• Authorized Git and tracker writes; independent review through the configured lane

Confirmation Required:

• Missing merge authority or any discard/deletion not explicitly authorized
• Existing commit/push/PR authorization does not need repeating

Delegates To:

• github-pr-publish for publication
• executing-plans for delivery evidence and repair ownership
• Recommend git-cleanup for a separately authorized cleanup action

Publish the Selected Work

1. Read the branch, worktree, default branch, live issue, and current PR state. Preserve unrelated changes. Create a scoped named branch when required.
2. Follow the existing authorized path. Do not stop for a four-option menu when the user already requested delivery. An explicit keep/report-only request performs no writes. If no publication or integration action is authorized, report the evidence and available next action.
3. Resolve the repository's verification commands and permitted verification host. Run the appropriate checks or collect current CI evidence. Never default to a broad local test suite or invent package-manager commands.
4. Commit intended files, push, and create/reuse the authorized PR. Publish with pending evidence clearly recorded when external checks/review need a PR first. A ready-for-review PR is not a merge-ready verdict.

Evaluate Delivery

Resolve the installed executing-plans skill and read references/delivery-gate.md. Before any merge-ready or Done claim, require the complete acceptance scope, independent review from a different lab than every implementation contributor, current-head PASS, resolved findings, and green required CI. Respect all forge protections and explicit human gates.

Missing review capacity remains blocked. A new implementation commit requires fresh review and CI. Return concrete defects to the implementation owner and missing design decisions to the planner. Do not loosen acceptance to finish.

Merge only through the repository's authorized path, bound to the verified head. Local merging is not a shortcut around remote review or required checks. Report Done only after the merge and required deployment/migration/enablement/smoke steps are verified. Partial work does not close the parent epic.

Preserve or Discard

Keep the branch and worktree after PR creation, merge, or a blocked handoff unless the user explicitly asks for cleanup. Directory location is not deletion authority. For an explicit discard, first show the exact branch, unmerged commits, dirty files, and worktree that would be lost; require confirmation covering that exact scope. Use the cleanup workflow only after its provenance and loss checks pass.

Report

Return the PR, implementation head, acceptance evidence, independent reviewer and reviewed head, CI, merge/deployment state, blockers, and preserved worktree path. A successful commit or push is not a completed feature.