Skill: auto-rebase

What I do

Automate rebasing feature branches onto their target branch (typically next), resolving conflicts, and force-pushing to keep PRs current. Works with both regular branches and git worktrees.

When to use me

• PR shows "Not up to date" with target branch
• Before pushing review feedback fixes to avoid merge conflicts
• Before merging as a pre-merge checklist step
• After target branch has received new commits
• When CI fails due to branch divergence

Core principles

1. Always rebase, never merge — Keep linear history.
2. Use --force-with-lease — Never bare --force as this protects against overwriting others' pushes.
3. Rebase onto remote target — Always git fetch first, then rebase onto origin/{target} rather than a local branch.
4. Worktree-aware — When using a bare repo with worktrees, fetch in the correct worktree context.
5. Test after rebase — Always verify tests pass after rebasing before pushing.

Patterns & examples

Standard rebase workflow:

# Determine target branch from PR
TARGET=$(gh pr view {PR} --json baseRefName -q '.baseRefName')

# Fetch latest and rebase
git fetch origin $TARGET
git rebase origin/$TARGET

# Verify nothing broke
make test
make vet

# Force-push with lease (safe force)
git push --force-with-lease

Rebase with conflict resolution:

git fetch origin next
git rebase origin/next

# If conflicts occur:
# 1. Fix conflicts in affected files
# 2. Stage resolved files: git add <file>
# 3. Continue: git rebase --continue
# 4. If stuck: git rebase --abort (start over)

Worktree-specific rebase (bare repo setup):

# In a worktree like /home/user/Projects/Repo/feature-branch
git fetch origin next
git rebase origin/next
git push --force-with-lease

Automated rebase check (before push):

# Check if branch is behind target
BEHIND=$(git rev-list --count HEAD..origin/next)
if [ "$BEHIND" -gt "0" ]; then
    echo "Branch is $BEHIND commits behind next — rebasing..."
    git rebase origin/next
fi

Anti-patterns to avoid

• ❌ git merge origin/next — Creates merge commits and non-linear history.
• ❌ git push --force — Can overwrite collaborator's pushes; use --force-with-lease.
• ❌ Rebasing without fetching — Rebases onto a stale local branch.
• ❌ Pushing without testing after rebase — Rebase can introduce subtle failures.
• ❌ Rebasing shared/public branches (main, next) — Only rebase feature branches.

KB Reference

~/vaults/baphled/3. Resources/Knowledge Base/AI Development System/Skills/Git/Auto Rebase.md

Related skills

• git-advanced — Advanced git operations including rebasing
• git-master — Commit strategy and history management
• create-pr — PR creation workflow that sets up clean branches
• pre-merge — Final validation that includes rebase check
• respond-to-review — Review response workflow that includes rebasing