git:20260813.2202557 to git:20260903.d0d3b5d

---

name: merge-pr

description: "This skill should be used when merging a feature branch to main with automatic conflict resolution and cleanup."

---

# merge-pr Skill

**Purpose:** Automate the merge pipeline for a single PR -- replacing the manual execution of `/ship` Phases 3.5-8. Runs lights-out: merge main, resolve conflicts, push, create PR, wait for CI, merge, and cleanup.

**Relationship to /ship:** Both skills are independent user-invoked entry points. `/ship` handles artifact validation, compound, and documentation (Phases 0-3). This skill handles the merge-through-cleanup pipeline. They do NOT invoke each other.

**Arguments:** Optional branch name. If omitted, auto-detects from current branch.

## Phase 0: Context Detection

Detect the current environment and record the starting state for rollback. Run these commands separately and store the results:

1. Get current branch name:

```bash

git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD

```

2. Get current commit SHA (this is the rollback point):

```bash

git rev-parse HEAD

```

3. Get current working directory path (worktree path):

```bash

pwd

```

4. Get the main repo root (first path from worktree list output):

```bash

git worktree list

```

Store these four values as BRANCH, STARTING_SHA, WORKTREE_PATH, and REPO_ROOT for use throughout the pipeline.

Load project conventions:

```bash

if [[ -f "CLAUDE.md" ]]; then

cat CLAUDE.md

fi

```

If an argument was provided, verify that branch exists and check it out. Otherwise use the current branch.

Announce:

```text

merge-pr: Starting pipeline for branch: <branch-name>

Starting SHA: <starting-sha> (rollback point)

```

Replace `<branch-name>` with the actual branch name and `<starting-sha>` with the current HEAD SHA.

## Phase 1: Pre-condition Validation

Validate all pre-conditions before proceeding. On any failure, stop immediately and report.

### 1.1 Not on default branch

```bash

git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD

```

If the branch is `main` or `master`, stop:

```text

STOPPED: Cannot run merge-pr on the default branch.

Switch to a feature branch or provide a branch name as argument.

```

### 1.2 Clean working tree

```bash

git status --porcelain

```

If output is non-empty, stop:

```text

STOPPED: Uncommitted changes detected. Commit changes before running merge-pr.

```

### 1.3 Compound has run

Extract the feature name from the branch (strip `feat-`, `feature/`, `fix-`, `fix/` prefix). Search for unarchived KB artifacts matching the feature name in:

- `knowledge-base/project/brainstorms/` (excluding `archive/` paths)

- `knowledge-base/project/plans/` (excluding `archive/` paths)

- `knowledge-base/project/specs/feat-<feature>/`

If any unarchived artifacts are found, stop:

```text

STOPPED: Unarchived KB artifacts found for this feature:

<list of files>

Use `skill: soleur:compound` to consolidate and archive these artifacts, then re-run `skill: soleur:merge-pr`.

```

If no unarchived artifacts exist (either compound already archived them, or no artifacts were created), proceed.

## Phase 2: Merge Main

Fetch the latest main and merge into the feature branch:

```bash

git fetch origin main

git merge origin/main

```

**If merge is clean (exit code 0):** Proceed to Phase 4 (skip Phase 3).

**If merge conflicts (exit code non-zero):** Proceed to Phase 3.

> **Note:** Version bumping is handled automatically by CI at merge time. This skill does not bump versions.

## Phase 3: Conflict Resolution

Identify conflicted files:

```bash

git diff --name-only --diff-filter=U

```

### 3.1 Route conflicts

For each conflicted file, apply the appropriate resolution strategy:

| File Pattern | Strategy |

|-------------|----------|

| `plugins/soleur/CHANGELOG.md` | Merge both sides -- see 3.2 |

| `plugins/soleur/README.md` | Accept feature branch component counts |

| Generated artifacts | Take `--theirs`, then re-run the owning generator -- see 3.2b |

| Everything else | Claude-assisted resolution -- see 3.3 |

**Generated artifacts (3.2b).** A generated file has no authorial intent to preserve, so 3.3 does not apply to it: hand-picking hunks produces an artifact that matches neither side's source and that no generator would emit. Resolve by discarding both sides and regenerating from the merged source. Known members and their owning generators: `knowledge-base/engineering/architecture/diagrams/model.likec4.json` → [regenerate-c4-model.sh](../../../../scripts/regenerate-c4-model.sh) (verify with [c4-model-freshness.test.sh](../../test/c4-model-freshness.test.sh), which is exactly the in-sync assertion), and `knowledge-base/project/rule-metrics.json` → [rule-metrics-aggregate.sh](../../../../scripts/rule-metrics-aggregate.sh). Lockfiles follow the same shape with a pinned toolchain — see [drain-prs/SKILL.md](../drain-prs/SKILL.md) §6(a).

**For README.md (accept feature branch):**

```bash

git checkout --ours plugins/soleur/README.md

git add plugins/soleur/README.md

```

### 3.2 CHANGELOG merge

CHANGELOG requires special handling to preserve entries from both sides without truncation.

Read both sides using git stage numbers (NOT `git show HEAD:` which only gives one side):

```bash

ours=$(mktemp -t changelog-ours.XXXXXXXX.md); theirs=$(mktemp -t changelog-theirs.XXXXXXXX.md)

git show :2:plugins/soleur/CHANGELOG.md > "$ours"

git show :3:plugins/soleur/CHANGELOG.md > "$theirs"

echo "ours=$ours theirs=$theirs" # echo the paths: the Read/Write steps below need them, and a separate tool call does not inherit these vars

```

- `:2:` is "ours" (feature branch)

- `:3:` is "theirs" (main)

Read both files. Reconstruct the complete CHANGELOG:

- Keep the file header (title, description, links)

- Merge version entries in descending version order

- If the feature branch has a draft entry, keep it

- All entries from main must be preserved

Write the complete reconstructed file. Then verify integrity:

```bash

wc -l plugins/soleur/CHANGELOG.md

```

The line count should be roughly the sum of unique lines from both sides. If the result is suspiciously short (less than 80% of the larger input file), something was truncated -- stop and report.

```bash

git add plugins/soleur/CHANGELOG.md

```

### 3.3 Claude-assisted resolution

For non-version-file conflicts, read the conflicted file and resolve based on intent:

1. Read the file with conflict markers

2. Understand what each side changed and why

3. Resolve the conflict preserving the intent of both changes

4. Write the resolved file

If resolution confidence is low (ambiguous intent, large conflict spanning many lines, or the changes are contradictory), abort the entire merge:

```bash

git merge --abort

```

Then stop:

```text

STOPPED: Could not confidently resolve conflict in: <file>

The merge has been aborted. Working tree is clean at the starting SHA.

Conflicted files:

<list>

Resolve manually, then re-run /soleur:merge-pr.

```

### 3.4 Commit resolved conflicts

After all conflicts are resolved:

```bash

git commit -m "merge: resolve conflicts with origin/main"

```

## Phase 4: Push and PR

Push the branch to remote:

```bash

git push -u origin <branch-name>

```

Replace `<branch-name>` with the actual branch name.

Check for an existing PR:

```bash

gh pr list --head <branch-name> --json number,state | jq '.[] | select(.state == "OPEN") | .number'

```

**If a PR exists:** Announce the PR number and proceed.

**If no PR exists:** Before creating, detect associated issue numbers from the branch name (e.g., `fix/123-desc`) and commit messages (`git log origin/main..HEAD --oneline`). Then create the PR:

```bash

gh pr create --title "<type>: <description>" --body "

## Summary

<bullet points summarizing changes>

Closes #ISSUE_NUMBER

## Test plan

- [ ] CI passes

- [ ] Manual verification of merge pipeline

Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)

"

```

If an issue number was detected, include the `Closes #N` line. If none, omit it. Derive the title from the branch name and changes. Use `feat:` for features, `fix:` for bug fixes.

Announce the PR URL.

## Phase 5: CI and Merge

### 5.1 Queue Auto-Merge

```bash

SS_LIB="${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT:-./plugins/soleur}/scripts/lib/session-state.sh"

if [[ -r "$SS_LIB" ]] && command -v flock >/dev/null 2>&1; then

bash "$SS_LIB" with_lock merge-main 600 -- \

gh pr merge <number> --squash --auto

rc=$?

else

# Degrade open, loudly — the lock is advisory (ADR-178 §5).

echo "SOLEUR_SESSION_STATE_UNAVAILABLE path=$SS_LIB reason=running-unlocked"

gh pr merge <number> --squash --auto

rc=$?

fi

# rc=99 comes only from `with_lock` — but it means "the lock could not be

# TAKEN", which is broader than contention: `acquire_lock` also returns 99 when

# the lock FILE cannot be opened (EROFS/ENOSPC/EMFILE). The guard above removes

# the third cause (a missing flock(1)) by routing it to the degrade-open arm,

# because otherwise a host without util-linux reports ">600s contention" on an

# uncontended lock and exits 1 forever. Do not report 99 as contention without

# saying it may be an unopenable lock file.

if [[ "$rc" -eq 99 ]]; then

echo "merge-main lock contended >600s — another session is queueing auto-merge. Retry shortly."

exit 1

fi

```

The `with_lock <name> <timeout_s> -- <cmd>` wrapper serializes concurrent `merge --auto` queueings across parallel CC sessions; the lock releases on exit. **The `--` separator is required** to terminate positional args. Returns 99 on `>timeout_s` contention; check `$?` so the merge intent doesn't drop silently.

This queues the merge. GitHub waits for all branch protection requirements (CI checks, CLA) to pass, then merges automatically. Do NOT use `gh pr checks --watch` -- it exits immediately with "no checks reported" when CI hasn't registered yet.

**NEVER use `--delete-branch`.** The guardrails hook blocks it when any worktree exists. Branch cleanup is handled by `cleanup-merged` in Phase 6.

### 5.2 Poll for Merge

Use the **Monitor tool** with the same state-machine loop as `/soleur:ship` Phase 7. The loop covers three structurally-unmergeable states in addition to the terminal MERGED/CLOSED exits: **required-check failure** (exit at first failing required check, name it in stderr), **BEHIND** (auto-sync main into the branch up to 6 attempts, then emit a structured warning at the inflection point), and **DIRTY** (server-side merge conflict — exit and surface). Max 15 iterations × 60s sleep = 15-minute wall-clock cap. Do NOT use foreground `sleep` — Claude Code blocks `sleep` >= 2s in foreground Bash calls.

**Mirror invariant:** the block below is a derived mirror of `plugins/soleur/skills/ship/SKILL.md` Phase 7 (the canonical site). If you edit one, edit both — the canonical site carries the full prose rationale for fail-open required-check fetch, BEHIND budget, and DIRTY semantics. The `ship-phase-7-poll-fixtures.test.sh` fixture exercises ship's block; this mirror is not directly tested, so cross-grep both blocks before pushing.

```bash

# <!-- phase-7-poll-block:start --> mirror of ship/SKILL.md Phase 7

prev=""; i=0; behind_syncs=0; MAX_BEHIND_SYNCS=6; behind_warned=0

BRANCH=$(git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD)

if ! git rev-parse --is-inside-work-tree >/dev/null 2>&1; then

echo "[ship.phase7.precondition] not inside a worktree — BEHIND auto-sync disabled" >&2

fi

# REQUIRED_CHECKS is fetched once, fail-open: empty array → no-op scan

# (see ship/SKILL.md Phase 7 for the full rationale; do NOT harden).

mapfile -t REQUIRED_CHECKS < <(gh api 'repos/{owner}/{repo}/rules/branches/main' \

--jq '[.[] | select(.type == "required_status_checks") | .parameters.required_status_checks[].context] | .[]' \

2>/dev/null || true)

while true; do

i=$((i+1))

s=$(gh pr view <number> --json state,mergeStateStatus \

--jq '"\(.state) \(.mergeStateStatus)"' 2>&1) \

|| s="fetch-error: $s"

if [[ "$s" != "$prev" ]] || (( i % 3 == 1 )); then

prev="$s"

fi

echo "$s" | grep -qE "^(MERGED|CLOSED|fetch-error)" && break

if (( ${#REQUIRED_CHECKS[@]} > 0 )); then

mapfile -t failed_names < <(gh pr checks <number> --json name,bucket \

--jq '.[] | select(.bucket == "fail") | .name' 2>/dev/null || true)

if (( ${#failed_names[@]} > 0 )); then

required_failed=""

for n in "${failed_names[@]}"; do

for r in "${REQUIRED_CHECKS[@]}"; do

[[ "$n" == "$r" ]] && { required_failed="$n"; break 2; }

done

done

if [[ -n "$required_failed" ]]; then

break

fi

fi

fi

if [[ "$s" == *DIRTY* ]]; then

git diff --name-only --diff-filter=U >&2 || true

break

fi

if [[ "$s" == "OPEN BEHIND" && "$behind_syncs" -lt "$MAX_BEHIND_SYNCS" ]]; then

behind_syncs=$((behind_syncs+1))

if git fetch origin main 2>&1 | tail -2 \

&& git merge origin/main --no-edit 2>&1 | tail -5 \

&& git push 2>&1 | tail -2; then

s=$(gh pr view <number> --json state,mergeStateStatus \

--jq '"\(.state) \(.mergeStateStatus)"' 2>&1) \

|| s="fetch-error: $s"

echo "$s" | grep -qE "^(MERGED|CLOSED|fetch-error)" && break

else

git merge --abort 2>/dev/null

echo "auto-sync failed — stopping poll. Manual resolution required on $BRANCH." >&2

break

fi

elif [[ "$s" == "OPEN BEHIND" && "$behind_syncs" -ge "$MAX_BEHIND_SYNCS" && "$behind_warned" -eq 0 ]]; then

elapsed=$((i * 60))

behind_warned=1

fi

break

fi

sleep 60

done

# <!-- phase-7-poll-block:end -->

```

If the loop exits with state `CLOSED` (not `MERGED`), auto-merge was cancelled — check for CI failures:

```bash

gh pr checks --json name,state,description | jq '.[] | select(.state != "SUCCESS")'

```

Stop and report:

```text

STOPPED: CI check failed.

Failed checks:

<check name>: <description>

Starting SHA for rollback: <starting-sha>

To rollback: git reset --hard <starting-sha> && git push --force-with-lease origin <branch-name>

```

The state-machine details (`mergeStateStatus` enum coverage, fail-open required-check fetch, fixture at `plugins/soleur/test/ship-phase-7-poll-fixtures.test.sh`) are documented in `plugins/soleur/skills/ship/SKILL.md` Phase 7. At the 6-sync `behind_exhausted` cap, see ship/SKILL.md Phase 7 "Auto-sync on BEHIND" for the settle-then-admin-merge escape hatch (zero-conflict-surface changes only); the `"Auto-sync on BEHIND" below` reference inside the mirrored poll-block echo above points at that ship section, not a section in this file.

## Phase 6: Cleanup and Report

### 6.1 Navigate to repo root

The `cleanup-merged` script skips the current working directory's worktree. Navigate to the main repo root first:

Navigate to the main repository root directory (the parent of `.worktrees/`). Run `cd` to the repo root path, then verify with `pwd`.

### 6.2 Run cleanup

```bash

bash ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT:-./plugins/soleur}/skills/git-worktree/scripts/worktree-manager.sh cleanup-merged

```

This detects `[gone]` branches (remote deleted after merge), removes worktrees, deletes local branches, and pulls latest main so the next worktree branches from the current state.

### 6.3 End-of-run report

Print a summary:

```text

merge-pr complete!

PR: #<number> (<URL>)

Merge SHA: <sha>

Cleanup: <worktrees cleaned or "no cleanup needed">

Rollback (if needed): git reset --hard <starting-sha>

```

Replace `<starting-sha>` with the SHA recorded at the start of the pipeline.

## Rollback

If the pipeline fails partway through and the branch has unwanted commits (e.g., merge commit), rollback to the starting state:

```bash

git reset --hard <starting-sha>

git push --force-with-lease origin <branch-name>

```

Replace `<starting-sha>` and `<branch-name>` with the actual values recorded at pipeline start.

The starting SHA is recorded in Phase 0 and printed in the end-of-run report.

## Important Rules

- **On any failure: stop and report.** Do not retry, do not guess, do not continue.

- **Never use `--delete-branch`** with `gh pr merge`. Use `cleanup-merged` for branch deletion.

- **Never commit on main.** All commits happen on the feature branch.

- **CHANGELOG integrity is critical.** Read both sides via `:2:` and `:3:` stage numbers. Verify line count after writing. Never truncate.