finishing-a-development-branch

Finishing a development branch safely requires verifying tests pass, detecting your Git workspace state, and choosing between local merge, pull request, keep, or discard options. This structured workflow prevents untested code from reaching the base branch.

Yes, you can finish work in a detached HEAD state or named Git worktree. The workflow detects your environment and tailors actions accordingly, presenting three options for detached HEAD scenarios instead of the standard four merge and cleanup choices.

Automating Git branch cleanup after passing tests involves running your test suite first, then selecting an integration option like local merge or pull request. Optional workspace cleanup with safety checks is executed only after you choose a completion action.

The best way to handle pull requests and local merges is to use a guided workflow that presents both options alongside keep and discard choices. This ensures tests pass first and the base branch is discovered before any integration action executes.

Tests need to pass before merging a development branch to ensure clean integration and prevent breaking the base branch. The workflow requires a successful test run before presenting the four options to merge, push a PR, keep, or discard.

Yes, this workflow supports discovering the base branch automatically in Git. It uses git commands to detect your environment, find the base branch, and tailor the available merge, pull request, and cleanup options for your specific repository state.