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183 changes: 183 additions & 0 deletions .agents/skills/gh-stack/SKILL.md
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---
name: gh-stack
description: >
Manages stacked PRs and splits multi-part work into reviewable branches with gh-stack.
Use for stack creation, viewing, edits, push, submit, sync, rebase, merge, or checkout;
when asked to split or isolate work for review; whenever a user mentions a stack,
branch layers, dependent PRs, or gh stack; or when a stack is checked out.
metadata:
author: github
version: "0.1.0"
---

# gh-stack

`gh stack` is a [GitHub CLI](https://cli.github.com/) extension for stacked branches and pull
requests. A stack is an ordered chain of branches rooted on a trunk, where each branch has one PR
based on the branch below it, so a reviewer sees only that layer's diff.

`gh stack` prints a stack trunk-first, left to right:

```
(main) <- auth <- api <- frontend
```

Left is the **bottom**, right is the **top**. `auth` is based on `main` and merges first;
`frontend` merges last. `up` moves toward the top, away from trunk; `down` moves toward it.
Foundational work belongs at the bottom, code that depends on it above. For how to choose the
layers, read `references/stack-design.md`.

## Setup

```bash
gh extension install github/gh-stack
git config rerere.enabled true # remember conflict resolutions
git config remote.pushDefault origin # required if the repo has more than one remote
```

## Non-interactive use

`gh stack` branches on whether **stdout is a TTY**. Piped, most commands error cleanly or print
static text; under a PTY the same commands open a prompt or a full-screen TUI and block forever.
Agent harnesses differ, so always pass the flags below instead of relying on that detection.

**Multiple remotes:** never run `push`, `submit`, `sync`, `rebase`, or `link` without
`--remote <name>` unless `remote.pushDefault` is configured. `checkout` and `trunk` have no
`--remote` flag and require the config.

| Always run | Never run bare | Why |
|---|---|---|
| `gh stack view --json` | `gh stack view` | opens a TUI under a PTY |
| `gh stack submit --auto` | `gh stack submit` | prompts for a title per new PR |
| `gh stack merge <target> --yes` | `gh pr merge` | `gh pr merge` cannot merge a stack |
| `gh stack init <branch>...` | `gh stack init` | prompts for branch names |
| `gh stack add <branch>` | `gh stack add` | prompts for a name, and fails even when piped |
| `gh stack checkout <target>` | `gh stack checkout` | opens a selection menu |
| `gh stack up` / `down` / `top` / `bottom` | `gh stack switch` | `switch` is menu-only |
| — | `gh stack modify` | TUI-only, no non-interactive path |

- `view --short` is safe in both modes, but it is formatted for humans. Use `--json` to parse.
- **`checkout <pr>` when a different local stack already covers those branches** cannot be forced.
Run `gh stack unstack --local` first (this keeps the stack on GitHub), then retry.

## Branch placement

- **Starting multi-part work:** create the stack before writing files. Do not implement every
concern on trunk and split it later. Put one dependent concern in each layer, bottom to top.
- **Editing an existing stack:** check out the layer that owns the change before editing. Never
commit a lower layer's concern on the current top branch. Run `gh stack view --json`; if
ownership is unclear, inspect `git log --all -- <path>`. Then check out the owner, edit, commit,
rebase upstack, and return to top.

```bash
gh stack down # or: gh stack checkout api
git add ... && git commit -m "Add get-user endpoint"
gh stack rebase --upstack # replay every branch above onto the change
gh stack top # return to where you were
gh stack push
```

## Core loop

```bash
gh stack init auth # create the stack and check out its branch
git add ... && git commit -m "Add auth middleware"
gh stack add api # next layer, branched from the current one
git add ... && git commit -m "Add API routes"
gh stack submit --auto # push every branch and open draft PRs
gh stack view --json # confirm
```

Add `--open` to `submit` to create PRs ready for review instead of drafts. Branch names are
verbatim — `gh stack add refactor/foo` creates `refactor/foo`.

## Staying in sync

```bash
gh stack sync # fetch, reconcile with GitHub, rebase, push, refresh PR state
gh stack sync --prune # also delete local branches for merged PRs
```

Pruning never happens without `--prune` when non-interactive. If the local and remote stacks have
diverged, `sync` prints both chains, makes no changes, and exits 0 with `Sync aborted` — see
`references/troubleshooting.md`.

## Merging

Scope the merge with an argument:

```bash
gh stack merge 42 --yes # PR #42 plus every unmerged PR below it
gh stack merge 7 --yes # every unmerged PR in stack #7
gh stack merge 42 --yes --squash # or --merge, --rebase, --merge-method <method>
```

Pass a PR number to merge that PR and every unmerged PR below it, or a stack number to merge every
unmerged PR in that stack. The operation is all-or-nothing: if any PR in that set cannot merge,
none do.

Without a method flag the last-used method is reused. If the base branch uses a merge queue, the
stack is queued instead and the queue picks the method, ignoring any flag you passed with a
warning; queued PRs may land in separate groups.

## Reading state

`gh stack view --json` writes JSON to **stdout**. Status messages go to **stderr** — do not parse
them, branch on exit codes instead.

```
trunk string
currentBranch string
branches[] name, head, base, isCurrent, isMerged, isQueued, needsRebase
branches[].pr number, url, state ("OPEN" | "MERGED" | "QUEUED"); absent when no PR exists
```

`base` is the saved SHA of the parent branch that this branch was last known to contain. It may be
older than the parent's current tip. `needsRebase` is true when the current parent tip is no longer
an ancestor of the branch.

## Exit codes

| Code | Meaning | Recovery |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Success | — |
| 1 | Generic error | Read stderr |
| 2 | Not in a stack | `gh stack init`, or `gh stack checkout <target>` |
| 3 | Rebase conflict | Follow the Exit 3 recovery below |
| 4 | GitHub API failure | Check `gh auth status`, retry |
| 5 | Invalid arguments | Fix the invocation; see `<command> --help` |
| 6 | Disambiguation required | Branch is in several stacks; check out a non-shared branch |
| 7 | Rebase already in progress | `gh stack rebase --continue` or `--abort` |
| 8 | Stack file locked | Another `gh stack` process is writing; retry after ~5s |
| 9 | Stacked PRs unavailable | Not enabled on the repository; tell the user |
| 10 | Modify recovery required | `gh stack modify --abort` |

**Exit 3 recovery:**

- After `gh stack rebase`: resolve the files, run `git add`, then
`gh stack rebase --continue`; use `gh stack rebase --abort` to restore the stack.
- After `gh stack sync`: the stack has already been restored. Run `gh stack rebase` to recreate the
conflict, then resolve and continue as above.

## Constraints

- Stacks are strictly linear: one parent, at most one child. Use separate stacks for parallel work.
- There is no non-interactive reorder or removal. Errors may suggest `gh stack modify`, but it is
TUI-only — restructure with `unstack` then `init` instead.
- PR titles and bodies are auto-generated. Use `gh pr edit` afterwards to change them.
- `checkout <branch-name>` resolves against local stacks only. Use a stack or PR number to pull a
stack down from GitHub.

## More detail

`gh stack <command> --help` is authoritative for flags and arguments. Note that
`gh stack help <command>` does **not** work — it prints the top-level help.

Open the reference whose trigger matches the task; no need to preload all three.

- `references/stack-design.md` — read before creating a stack, when deciding how many layers to
use, what belongs in each one, or whether work belongs in a new stack.
- `references/commands.md` — read when a command fails unexpectedly or you need its preconditions,
side effects, atomicity, or ordering guarantees.
- `references/troubleshooting.md` — read on a rebase conflict, after a squash-merge, on local and
remote divergence, when restructuring a stack, or when driving stacks from another tool.
179 changes: 179 additions & 0 deletions .agents/skills/gh-stack/references/commands.md
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# Command behavior

`gh stack <command> --help` is authoritative for flags and arguments. (`gh stack help <command>` only prints the top-level help.) This file only covers behavior `--help` does not
explain: preconditions, side effects, atomicity, and failure modes.

## Contents

- [init](#init)
- [add](#add)
- [push](#push)
- [submit](#submit)
- [link](#link)
- [sync](#sync)
- [rebase](#rebase)
- [view](#view)
- [checkout](#checkout)
- [unstack](#unstack)
- [merge](#merge)
- [Navigation](#navigation)

## init

Creates the stack and checks out the **last** branch in the list, so a single `init` can lay down
the whole chain: `gh stack init auth api frontend`.

`init` processes branch arguments from bottom to top. Existing branches are adopted. If the first
branch does not exist, it is created from the trunk; each later new branch is created from the
branch immediately before it. There is no separate adopt mode — existence decides. `--base`
selects a non-default trunk.

`init` also enables `git rerere`. Under a TTY the first run in a repo asks for confirmation; set
`git config rerere.enabled true` beforehand to skip it.

## add

- **Must run from the top branch** of the stack (or the trunk when the stack is still empty).
Anywhere else it exits **5** with `can only add branches on top of the stack`. Run `gh stack top`
first.
- **Uncommitted changes carry over.** Without `-Am`, `add` does not touch the working tree, so
staged and unstaged changes follow you onto the new branch. Commit or stash first for a clean start.
- **`add -Am` commits in place when the current branch has no commits yet** — for example
immediately after `init` — instead of creating a branch. This is deliberate: the first layer
usually needs its content before a second layer exists.
- `-A` and `-u` are mutually exclusive, and both require `-m`.

## push

Pushes every active (non-merged, non-queued) branch in one multi-ref push with per-branch
`--force-with-lease`.

**Not atomic.** Some branches may update while another is rejected. A rejection means that branch
moved on the remote; fix that branch and rerun — rerunning is safe and skips what already landed.

`push` never creates or updates pull requests. Use `submit` for that.

## submit

Pushes each active branch, then creates a PR for every branch that lacks one, basing it on the
first non-merged ancestor, then links them into a Stack on GitHub.

- **Not atomic.** Branches are pushed sequentially with per-branch `--force-with-lease`. If a later
push is rejected, earlier pushes and PR updates stand. Fix the rejection and rerun the same command.
- **A fully merged stack cannot be extended.** When every PR in the current stack is already merged,
`submit` forks the remaining unmerged branches into a **new** stack rooted at the trunk and creates
it on GitHub, leaving the merged stack untouched.
- **Title generation with `--auto`:** a branch with a single commit uses that commit's subject as
the title and its body as the PR body. A branch with multiple commits humanizes the branch name
(hyphens and underscores become spaces). There is no flag for a custom title or body; use
`gh pr edit` afterwards.
- `--open` marks new *and existing* PRs ready for review; without it new PRs are drafts.
- Requires stacked PRs to be enabled on the repository. If not, `submit` exits **9** when
non-interactive (under a TTY it offers to create ordinary unstacked PRs instead).

## link

Creates or updates a stack on GitHub **without any local tracking state**. This is the path for
branches managed by another tool or living in another worktree — see `troubleshooting.md`.

- Arguments are given bottom to top. Each is a branch name or a PR number; a numeric argument is
tried as a PR number first and falls back to a branch name.
- **A numeric first argument is treated as a stack number only when a stack with that number
exists.** In that case the remaining arguments are appended to the top of that stack and you do
not re-list its current PRs: `gh stack link 7 feature-c`. Arguments already in the stack are
skipped; arguments belonging to a different stack are rejected.
- Branch arguments are pushed automatically (non-force, atomic). Missing PRs are created with
auto-generated titles and correctly chained bases; existing PRs with a wrong base are corrected.
- Stack membership is **additive only** — `link` never removes a PR from a stack.

## sync

The routine command. Steps, in order:

1. **Fetch** from the remote.
2. **Reconcile with the GitHub stack.** PRs added to the stack on github.com are pulled down and
appended locally. On divergence, aborts when non-interactive (see `troubleshooting.md`).
3. **Fast-forward the trunk.** Skipped when already current; warns when diverged.
4. **Cascade rebase when needed.** This runs if the trunk moved, a stack branch was fast-forwarded
from its remote, or a branch no longer contains its expected parent. Merged PRs are handled
automatically. On conflict, **all branches are restored** to their pre-rebase state and the
command exits **3**.
5. **Push** all active branches, atomically.

@cubic-dev-ai cubic-dev-ai Bot Aug 7, 2026

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P3: The atomicity claims conflict across commands: push says its multi-ref push of all active branches is "Not atomic", while sync step 5 describes the same all-branches push as "atomically" and link calls its push "atomic". A reader cannot tell whether this is an accurate behavioral difference or an error; reconcile the wording or explain why sync/link pushes are atomic when push is not.

Prompt for AI agents
Check if this issue is valid — if so, understand the root cause and fix it. At .agents/skills/gh-stack/references/commands.md, line 101:

<comment>The atomicity claims conflict across commands: `push` says its multi-ref push of all active branches is "Not atomic", while `sync` step 5 describes the same all-branches push as "atomically" and `link` calls its push "atomic". A reader cannot tell whether this is an accurate behavioral difference or an error; reconcile the wording or explain why sync/link pushes are atomic when `push` is not.</comment>

<file context>
@@ -0,0 +1,179 @@
+   from its remote, or a branch no longer contains its expected parent. Merged PRs are handled
+   automatically. On conflict, **all branches are restored** to their pre-rebase state and the
+   command exits **3**.
+5. **Push** all active branches, atomically.
+6. **Refresh PR state** from GitHub.
+7. **Sync the stack object** — link open PRs into a stack, additively. Only when two or more PRs
</file context>
Fix with cubic

6. **Refresh PR state** from GitHub.
7. **Sync the stack object** — link open PRs into a stack, additively. Only when two or more PRs
exist. `sync` never opens PRs; that is `submit`.
8. **Prune** local branches for merged PRs, only when `--prune` is passed in a non-interactive
environment.

## rebase

Pulls from the remote and cascade-rebases. Use it when `sync` reported a conflict or when you need
to rebase only part of the stack.

- `--upstack` rebases from the current branch to the top. This is what you run after editing a
lower layer.
- `--downstack` rebases from the trunk to the current branch.
- `--no-trunk` skips fetching and the trunk rebase entirely, aligning stack branches with each
other only.
- `--continue` after staging resolutions; `--abort` restores every branch.
- A merged PR is detected automatically and replayed with `--onto` against the correct target, so a
squash-merged parent does not produce spurious conflicts.
- Starting a rebase while one is in progress exits **7**.

## view

- `--json` writes the machine-readable payload to stdout. Its schema is in `SKILL.md`.
- Bare `view` opens a full-screen TUI when stdout is a TTY, and prints static text when piped.
- `--short` prints a compact one-line-per-branch summary and never opens the TUI, but it is
formatted for humans; parse `--json` instead.
- `view` refreshes PR state from GitHub as a side effect, best-effort — it does not fail when the
API is unreachable.

## checkout

Accepts a stack number, PR number, PR URL, or branch name.

- A bare number resolves as a **stack number first**, then a PR number, then a branch name.
- Stack numbers, PR numbers, and PR URLs fetch from GitHub, pull the branches down, and set the
stack up locally.
- A **branch name resolves against locally tracked stacks only** and never contacts GitHub. Use a
stack or PR number to pull a stack that is not tracked locally.
- If a local stack already exists over those branches with a different composition, `checkout`
cannot be forced past it. Run `gh stack unstack --local` first, then retry.
- `checkout` has no flags. It relies on `remote.pushDefault` when several remotes exist.

## unstack

Removes the stack **grouping** only. It never deletes pull requests or branches.

- With no argument it targets the active stack — the one containing the current branch — removing
it on GitHub and locally.
- With a stack number it works from anywhere in the repository, tracked locally or not, via the API.
Local tracking is also removed when present.
- `--local` removes local tracking only and never contacts GitHub. Combining `--local` with a stack
number that is not tracked locally is an error.
- An unknown stack number exits **2**.

## merge

- Scope with an argument: pass a PR number to merge that PR and every unmerged PR below it in the
stack, or pass a stack number to merge every unmerged PR in that stack.
- **All-or-nothing.** If any PR in that exact merge set cannot be merged, none are, and the reason
is reported.
- The method comes from `--squash`, `--rebase`, `--merge`, or `--merge-method <method>`. Without
one, the last-used method is reused.
- Only basic PR state is checked before merging: open and not a draft. Bypassing merge requirements
is not supported for stacks.
- **A merge queue on the base branch overrides everything.** The stack is added to the queue rather
than merged; the queue chooses the method and any method flag you passed is ignored with a
warning. Queued PRs are submitted together but land as the queue processes them, so they may merge
in separate groups rather than all at once.
- `gh pr merge` cannot merge a stack. Always use `gh stack merge`.

## Navigation

`up`, `down`, `top`, `bottom`, and `trunk` are always non-interactive. `up` and `down` accept a
count (`gh stack up 3`). Movement clamps at the stack bounds, and merged branches are skipped when
navigating from an active branch, so `bottom` lands on the lowest *unmerged* branch.

`gh stack switch` is a selection menu with no non-interactive path. Use the commands above instead.
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