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feat(skill): setup-repo respects release state when setting GitHub default branch #85

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amcheste merged 2 commits into from
May 12, 2026
Merged

feat(skill): setup-repo respects release state when setting GitHub default branch #85

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feat(skill): setup-repo respects release state when setting GitHub de…
amcheste-ai-agent May 12, 2026
d0b3389
Merge branch 'develop' into feat/setup-repo-release-aware
amcheste May 12, 2026
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27 changes: 21 additions & 6 deletions claude-skills/setup-repo/SKILL.md
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Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -44,15 +44,30 @@ gh api repos/<owner/repo>/git/refs \
--field sha="$MAIN_SHA"
```

## Step 2 — Set develop as default branch
## Step 2 — Set the GitHub default branch (conditional on release state)

Two distinct concepts: **integration trunk** (always `develop` — set in Step 1) and **GitHub's "default branch" repo setting** (a UX pointer for the landing page, `git clone` target, and PR-base UI default). They differ. See [Branching & Releases → GitHub default branch setting](https://github.com/amcheste/engineering-handbook/blob/develop/docs/workflows/branching-and-releases.md#github-default-branch-setting).

The rule:
- **No releases yet** → set GitHub default to `develop`. Nothing's shipped, so the integration state is the only meaningful state.
- **One or more releases exist** → leave GitHub default at `main`. External visitors see the shipped product. `/publish-release` will keep it at `main` going forward.

```bash
gh api repos/<owner/repo> \
--method PATCH \
--field default_branch=develop \
--jq '.default_branch'
release_count=$(gh api "repos/<owner/repo>/releases" --jq 'length')
if [ "$release_count" -eq 0 ]; then
gh api repos/<owner/repo> \
--method PATCH \
--field default_branch=develop \
--jq '.default_branch'
echo "GitHub default branch set to develop (pre-release)"
else
current=$(gh api repos/<owner/repo> --jq '.default_branch')
echo "GitHub default branch kept as $current — repo has $release_count release(s)"
fi
```

The integration trunk doesn't change either way — contributors branch from and PR to `develop` regardless.

## Step 3 — Set merge policy: disable squash, default to rebase

Squash-merging is destructive when bot-authored PRs are merged by a human:
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -192,7 +207,7 @@ Report what was configured (and any gaps that need a follow-up PR):

```
✓ develop branch created (or already existed)
✓ develop set as default branch
✓ GitHub default branch: develop (pre-release) OR main (kept — repo has releases)
✓ Merge policy: squash disabled, rebase + merge enabled
✓ develop protected — require PR + [checks]
✓ main protected — require PR + [checks]
Expand Down
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