merge

Folds the work from this conversation back into the main line of the project, stopping to sort out anything that clashes on the way.

WHEN TO USE

SCOPE

USE FOR

Merge a finished session's branch back into the base branch in the main worktree.
Resolve merge conflicts file by file while preserving the intent of both sides.
Confirm after merging that the topic branch is fully included in the base branch.

This is a saved copy of the skill's SKILL.md instructions. It may differ from the upstream file or the version you install.

In this document (4)

Merge Changes

Merge the topic branch (checked out in the current worktree) into the merge base branch (checked out in the main worktree). The context block appended to the prompt contains the source branch, target branch, and main worktree path.

Guidelines

Never force-push (--force, --force-with-lease) without explicit user approval.
Never skip pre-push hooks (do not use --no-verify).
Never rewrite or drop commits without asking the user.
When in doubt about conflict resolution — ask the user.

Workflow

1. Commit uncommitted changes in the current worktree

Check for uncommitted changes in the current worktree:

git status --porcelain

If there are uncommitted changes, use the /commit skill to commit them before continuing.

2. Merge the topic branch into the base branch

Use git -C <main-worktree-path> to run commands against the main worktree without leaving the current worktree.

git -C <main-worktree-path> merge <topic-branch>

3. Handle merge conflicts

If the merge reports conflicts:

3.1. List conflicted files:

git -C <main-worktree-path> diff --name-only --diff-filter=U

3.2. For each conflicted file, read the file content, resolve the conflict by preserving the intent of both sides, and stage the resolved file:

git -C <main-worktree-path> add <resolved-file>

3.3. When in doubt on how to resolve a merge conflict, ask the user for guidance. If the user wants to abort, run:

git -C <main-worktree-path> merge --abort

3.4. Once all conflicts are resolved and staged, commit the merge:

git -C <main-worktree-path> commit --no-edit

Validation

After the merge completes, verify the result:

Confirm the main worktree is clean:

git -C <main-worktree-path> status --porcelain

Confirm the topic branch is an ancestor of the base branch (i.e. all commits are merged):

git -C <main-worktree-path> merge-base --is-ancestor <topic-branch> HEAD

Local tool required

1 FOR YOU

01
Work inside a multi-worktree git checkout
Have Git installed and be working from a session's topic-branch worktree alongside its main worktree, since the skill runs git merge, conflict resolution, and git commit against both.

Built into VS Code. Nothing to install there. The npx skills add command copies the same instructions into another agent, but they are written for VS Code and may call tools only VS Code has.

Run this outside your AI tool, using Node.js 22.20.0 or newer. Skills CLI 1.7.2 skips skill selection; prompts cancel installation without an interactive terminal. If choosing Project when asked about installation scope, open your project's folder before running this.

Install checklist

Check selected tools if a picker appears; Claude Code may be unchecked under Additional agents. ↑/↓ moves, Space toggles selections, Enter confirms.
Without a tool picker, check Installing to: for your intended tool. Stop if it names a different tool.
If asked, choose Symlink (Recommended) for shared files or Copy to all agents for separate copies; review the summary before confirming installation.
Install the find-skills skill? defaults to Yes, adding another skill for all projects. Choose No if you don't want that extra installation.

Skills CLI 1.7.2 sends install data to skills.sh by default, including the source, skill names, target tools and file details; GitHub sources are reported only when GitHub confirms the repository is public, while other remote sources can also be reported. Confirmed-public GitHub sources also trigger a security-audit request. Before installing, set the environment variable DO_NOT_TRACK=1 or DISABLE_TELEMETRY=1 to disable both.

npx skills add microsoft/vscode --skill "merge" --full-depth

After installing for Claude Code, open it in the installation project if you chose Project; Global makes the skill available across projects on this computer. Once Claude Code loads the skill, its description helps Claude decide when to use it.

If installation created a top-level skills folder that did not exist when your Claude Code session started, run /reload-skills in that session. Run it again after later changes in that folder.

View on GitHub

The repository is licensed under MIT — use, modification, and redistribution are allowed under that license’s terms.

View the repository’s license file on GitHub →