sync-upstream

When a branch has fallen a long way behind, this replays your work on top of the latest code and bends your changes to fit it, never the other way round.

WHEN TO USE

SCOPE

USE FOR

Catch a branch up to a main that has moved significantly since the branch started.
Resolve rebase conflicts by always keeping upstream's logic and adapting the session's work instead.
Get a revised plan for your changes when they no longer make sense against the code you just rebased onto.

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)

Update Branch

Rebase the current session branch onto the latest upstream so the work stays grounded in origin.

Workflow

If there are uncommitted changes, use the /commit skill to commit them first.
Fetch the latest upstream and rebase onto it:
```
git fetch origin
git rebase origin/main
```
Use the appropriate base branch if it is not main.

Conflict Resolution

When conflicts arise, upstream always wins:

Never alter upstream logic, APIs, or patterns to accommodate session changes.
Adapt session work to fit the new upstream — rename, restructure, or rewrite as needed while preserving the session's goals.
After resolving each conflict, git add the files and git rebase --continue.

Validation

After the rebase completes, verify the result still compiles and meets the session's objectives. If session changes no longer make sense against the updated upstream, explain what changed and propose a revised approach.

Local tool required

1 FOR YOU

01
Work inside a local git repository
Have Git installed and run this from within a git repository with an origin remote, since the skill runs git fetch origin and git rebase origin/main.

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 "sync-upstream" --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 →

Update Branch

Workflow

Conflict Resolution

Validation

Local tool required

More skills

act-on-feedback

agent-customization

author-contributions

chronicle

code-review

commit