finishing-a-development-branch
The terminal step of /feature and /sprint. Routed to once commit-gate has cleared, to decide the branch's fate — merge via PR, open a PR, or discard. Direct merge to the default branch is forbidden; every change lands through a PR. Under /sprint the skill auto-selects "open PR" and surfaces the merge decision to the user.
npx skills add arbiterForge/codeArbiter --skill finishing-a-development-branch --agent claude-code
Same command for any agent — swap --agent for codex, cursor, copilot.
Weekly change comes from our own snapshots, not the repository page — it measures attention, not adoption.
# finishing-a-development-branch The work is committed and green. Now decide where it goes. Routed to by `/feature` and `/sprint` after `commit-gate` clears — never before. ## Pre-flight Read these, or STOP and surface the gap — never guess the branch name or the default branch: - `{{PROJECT_DIR}}/.codearbiter/CONTEXT.md` — the default-branch name and project context. - `{{PROJECT_DIR}}/.codearbiter/plans/<slug>.md` — the plan this branch executed, when `/feature` or `/sprint` produced one. The yardstick for "is the work complete." - `{{PROJECT_DIR}}/.codearbiter/last-checkpoint` — the most recent gate results; confirms `commit-gate` cleared on this branch. `commit-gate` MUST have cleared on the current HEAD. If it has not, this skill does not run — return to it. ## Phase 1 — State assembly · gate: BLOCK Assemble the facts the decision needs. Nothing is presented until all are in hand: - **Branch** — the current branch name and its base. Confirm it is NOT the default branch; if HEAD is the default branch, STOP — there is nothing to finish and merge-to-default is forbidden. - **Diff summary** — files changed, insertions/deletions, and the commit list since the base. Read it, do not
- Pre-flight
- Phase 1 — State assembly · gate: BLOCK
- Phase 2 — Present terminal options · gate: STOP
- Phase 3 — Execute the choice · gate: BLOCK
- Phase 4 — Receipt · gate: BLOCK
- Hard rules
What does the finishing-a-development-branch skill do?
The terminal step of /feature and /sprint. Routed to once commit-gate has cleared, to decide the branch's fate — merge via PR, open a PR, or discard. Direct merge to the default branch is forbidden; every change lands through a PR. Under /sprint the skill auto-selects "open PR" and surfaces the merge decision to the user.
How do I install it?
Run `npx skills add arbiterForge/codeArbiter --skill finishing-a-development-branch --agent claude-code` — it drops the skill into your project so the agent can pick it up. Swap the --agent value for codex, cursor or copilot if you use one of those.
Where does this skill come from?
From arbiterForge/codeArbiter, a repository with 138 stars. We read it straight from the repository tree rather than a submitted listing, so what you see here is what is actually published.
Is a popular skill a good skill?
Not necessarily. Stars measure attention, not adoption — a repository can trend for a week and be abandoned. That is why we show the weekly change from our own snapshots next to the total, instead of a single flattering number.