finishing-a-development-branch

1# Finishing a Development Branch
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3## Overview
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5Integration choice and checkout lifetime are separate. Verify first, mutate only
6task-owned resources, then prove what was removed or retained.
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8**Core principle:** fresh evidence -> authorized integration -> ownership-aware
9cleanup -> Git/path readback.
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11**Announce at start:** explain which branch/worktree lifecycle is being closed.
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13## Step 1: Environment and Ownership Detection
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15Read the task's `TaskStartSnapshot` and current repository state. Record:
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17- root, `HEAD`, branch/detached state, upstream divergence, and active Git ops;
18- staged/unstaged/untracked paths and the task-owned delta;
19- `git worktree list --porcelain`;
20- branch/worktree creator, task ownership, base branch, and cleanup trigger.
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22Stop on conflicts, unexplained detached state, failed verification, dirty/untracked state in
23a cleanup target, or unknown ownership. Do not infer the base from the names
24`main` or `master`; use task records, repository authority, or explicit user
25direction. Never auto-stash, reset, clean, pull, rebase, amend, force-push, or
26bypass hooks.
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28For a trusted host-managed detached checkout, follow the repository's approved
29managed-workspace contract: verify host binding, default cwd, root, and HEAD;
30then use its scoped local-commit and native handoff path. Report detached HEAD
31in the receipt. This exception does not authorize automatic deletion of the
32detached checkout or bypass unknown ownership/binding.
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