Git Squash
Pre-flight Checks
Before merging, validate the environment:
- Determine source branch — use the argument if provided (
/squash feature/my-branch), otherwise use the current branch. - Verify not on main — abort if source branch is
main. - Check for uncommitted changes —
git status --porcelain. If dirty, abort and suggest committing or stashing. - Verify branch exists —
git rev-parse --verify <branch>. - Verify divergence —
git log main..<branch> --oneline. If empty, abort — nothing to merge.
Switch to Main
git checkout mainIf remote origin exists, pull latest with git pull --ff-only. If ff-only fails, abort — main has diverged and needs manual resolution.
Squash Merge
git merge --squash <branch>On conflicts: git merge --abort, switch back to source branch, suggest git rebase main, stop.
Delegate to commit
Invoke /commit to handle the commit. Do not write commit messages directly.
Post-merge Verification
git log --oneline -5
git status
git diffConfirm: clean working tree, squash commit at HEAD, no leftover staged changes.
Cleanup
Try safe delete first:
git branch -d <branch>If -d fails (expected — squash merges don't preserve ancestry), verify zero diff with git diff main <branch>. If empty, force-delete with git branch -D <branch>. If there IS a diff, stop — something was lost.
If a remote tracking branch exists (git ls-remote --heads origin <branch>):
git push origin --delete <branch>Rules
- Proceed without confirmation — pre-flight checks are the safety gate.
- Only merge into
main. - Always use
--squash— never fast-forward or regular merge. - Always delegate the commit to
/commit. - Abort on merge conflicts — never auto-resolve.
- Never force-push.
- Prefer
git branch -d— use-Donly after verifying zero diff. - If any step fails, stop and report the error.
Quick Reference
Pre-flight → checkout main → git merge --squash → /commit → verify → cleanup (-d, fall back to -D after zero diff check, delete remote if exists).