finishing-a-development-branch

To finish a development branch with merge options, you verify tests and choose one of four paths: merge locally, push and create a pull request, keep the branch, or discard it. The process cleans up worktrees and branches after selection.

The exact options to complete a feature branch in Git include merging locally, pushing to create a pull request, keeping the branch, or discarding it. These choices ensure the development work is finalized with a safety cleanup.

You verify tests before merging a Git feature branch by running a working CI test suite during the finalization process. This ensures all checks pass before presenting the exact merge or pull request options.

You cannot use this branch cleanup workflow effectively without a working CI test suite. The feature branch finalization process requires test validation before presenting any merge, pull request, or discard options.

The best way to clean up Git worktrees after a merge is to select a definitive finish option during branch finalization. The process automatically cleans up worktrees and branches after you merge, create a PR, or discard.

You should discard a development branch instead of creating a pull request when the work is no longer needed. Discarding is one of the four explicit finish options available after verifying tests, ensuring safe branch cleanup.