finishing-a-development-branch

To safely complete a git branch, you should verify test passage first, then choose to merge locally, create a pull request, or discard the work. This ensures code quality and proper worktree management throughout the process.

The best way to verify code before merging a git branch is to automatically run the project's test suite. This ensures all tests pass before you proceed with branch integration or worktree cleanup.

Options for finishing a development branch include merging it locally into main, pushing it for a pull request review, keeping the branch, or safely discarding the work if it is no longer needed.

To discard a git branch and clean up the worktree, select the discard option during the branch completion process. This safely removes the work and manages the worktree preservation or cleanup automatically.

You should create a pull request instead of merging locally when you need peer code review before integration. The completion process offers both choices after test verification to ensure proper branch integration.