Git Squash

Pre-flight Checks

Before merging, validate the environment:

1. Determine source branch — use the argument if provided (/squash feature/my-branch), otherwise use the current branch.
2. Verify not on main — abort if source branch is main.
3. Check for uncommitted changes — git status --porcelain. If dirty, abort and suggest committing or stashing.
4. Verify branch exists — git rev-parse --verify <branch>.
5. Verify divergence — git log main..<branch> --oneline. If empty, abort — nothing to merge.

Switch to Main

git checkout main

If 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 diff

Confirm: 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 -D only 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).