User intent (commit, PR, rebase, status, etc.)
    |
    +---> Tier 1: Read-only (status, log, diff, blame)
    |       |
    |       +---> Execute INLINE via Bash (fast, no subagent)
    |
    +---> Tier 2: Safe writes (commit, push, tag, PR, stash)
    |       |
    |       +---> Gather context from conversation
    |       +---> Dispatch to git-agent (background, Sonnet)
    |       |       +---> Fallback: general-purpose with inlined protocol
    |       +---> Agent executes and reports back
    |
    +---> Tier 3: Destructive (rebase, reset, force-push, branch -D)
            |
            +---> Dispatch to git-agent (background, Sonnet)
            |       +---> Fallback: general-purpose with inlined protocol
            +---> Agent produces PREFLIGHT REPORT (does NOT execute)
            +---> Orchestrator relays preflight to user
            +---> On confirmation: re-dispatch with execute authority

Safety Tiers

Tier 1: Read-Only - Run Inline

No subagent needed. Execute directly via Bash for instant results.

Operation	Command
Status (rich)	`bash $HOME/.claude/skills/git-ops/scripts/status.sh` — one-shot HEAD + sync + tree + worktrees + branches + PR
Worktree survey	`bash $HOME/.claude/skills/git-ops/scripts/worktree-survey.sh` — per-worktree state, drift detection, prunable/WIP/ghost/orphan triage
Status (bare)	`git status --short`
Log	`git log --oneline -20`
Diff (unstaged)	`git diff --stat`
Diff (staged)	`git diff --cached --stat`
Diff (full)	`git diff [file]` or `git diff --cached [file]`
Branch list	`git branch -v`
Remote branches	`git branch -rv`
Stash list	`git stash list`
Blame	`git blame [file]`
Show commit	`git show [hash] --stat`
Reflog	`git reflog --oneline -20`
Tags	`git tag --list --sort=-v:refname`
Worktree list	`git worktree list`
PR list	`gh pr list`
PR status	`gh pr view [N]`
Issue list	`gh issue list`
CI checks	`gh pr checks [N]`
Run status	`gh run list --limit 5`

For T1 operations, format results cleanly and present directly. Use delta for diffs when available.

When to reach for the bundled scripts:

User asks "status", "where are we", "anything to commit", "anything to push" → status.sh
User asks about worktrees, prunable branches, drift, "what can we clean up" → worktree-survey.sh
Both scripts exit 0 if clean, 1 if attention needed, 2 if not-a-repo — composable.

Hygiene Checks (Proactive — Run During Every T1 Status)

When running any status check, scan for these anti-patterns and surface them before the status output. Don't wait for the user to notice. The status.sh script handles checks 1 and 2 automatically; checks 3 and 4 are Claude's responsibility.

Anti-pattern 1: Main checkout on a feature branch 🔴

Signal: In the main checkout (not a worktree) and git branch --show-current ≠ the repo's default branch (main/master/trunk).

Why it's bad: The main checkout is the fallback workspace. Feature branches sitting there block clean status reads, confuse worktree operations, and make it unclear what "current" state is. Feature work belongs in dedicated worktrees.

Flag it: Emit a prominent warning before the status output.

Fix:

git checkout main                                              # return main to trunk
git worktree add .claude/worktrees/<name> <feature-branch>   # move work to worktree

Detecting main checkout vs worktree:

GIT_DIR=$(git rev-parse --git-dir 2>/dev/null)
# ".git"               → main checkout  → check applies
# contains "worktrees" → inside a worktree → skip this check

Anti-pattern 2: Stale merged branches 🟡

Signal: git branch --merged <default> returns branches other than the trunk.

Why it's bad: Merged-but-undeleted branches are noise that obscures what's actually in flight.

Flag it: Report the count. Suggest git branch cleanup to review and delete.

Anti-pattern 3: WIP commits on a pushed branch 🟡

Signal: git log --oneline @{u}..HEAD contains subject lines matching wip|WIP|todo|TODO|fixme|FIXME|temp|TEMP|hack|HACK.

Why it's bad: WIP markers in pushed history signal unfinished work that shouldn't have left the local machine. Creates confusing history and blocks clean PRs.

Flag it: List the offending commits and suggest an interactive rebase to squash or rename.

Anti-pattern 4: Large uncommitted pile 🟡

Signal: staged + unstaged + untracked > 20 files.

Why it's bad: Large uncommitted diffs are hard to review, easy to lose, and signal a broken "commit as you go" habit.

Flag it: Note the total and suggest committing incrementally by logical unit.

Tier 2: Safe Writes - Dispatch to Agent

Gather relevant context, then dispatch to git-agent (background, Sonnet).

Context gathering before dispatch:

Operation	Context to Gather
Commit	What the user has been working on (from conversation), staged files, recent commit style
Push	Current branch, tracking info, commits ahead of remote
PR create	All commits on branch vs main, conversation context for description
Tag/release	Commits since last tag, version pattern in use
Stash	Current changes, user's stash message if provided
Cherry-pick	Target commit details, current branch
Branch create	Base branch, naming convention from recent branches
gh issue create	User description, labels if mentioned

Dispatch template:

You are the git-agent handling a Tier 2 (safe write) operation.

## Domain Knowledge
For release or PR operations, read CI context first:
- Read: skills/ci-cd-ops/SKILL.md (release workflows, PR conventions)

## Context
- Current branch: {branch}
- Repository: {repo info}
- User intent: {what the user asked for}
- Conversation context: {relevant summary of what was being worked on}

## Operation
{specific operation details}

## Project Conventions
{commit style, branch naming, PR template if detected}

Execute the operation following your T2 protocol (verify state, execute, confirm, report).

Tier 3: Destructive - Preflight Required

Dispatch to git-agent with explicit instruction to produce a preflight report ONLY.

Dispatch template (preflight):

You are the git-agent handling a Tier 3 (destructive) operation.

## Context
- Current branch: {branch}
- Repository: {repo info}
- User intent: {what the user asked for}

## Operation
{specific operation details}

IMPORTANT: Do NOT execute this operation. Produce a T3 Preflight Report only.
Show exactly what will happen, what the risks are, and how to recover.

After user confirms: Re-dispatch with execute authority:

User has confirmed the Tier 3 operation after reviewing the preflight.

## Approved Operation
{exact operation from preflight}

## Confirmation
Proceed with execution. Follow T3 execution protocol:
1. Create a safety bookmark: note the current HEAD hash
2. Execute the operation
3. Verify the result
4. Report with the safety bookmark for recovery

Dispatch Mechanics

Background Agent (Default for T2/T3)

# Dispatch to git-agent, runs in background, Sonnet model
Agent(
    subagent_type="git-agent",
    model="sonnet",
    run_in_background=True,  # Frees main session
    prompt="..."             # From dispatch templates above
)

The main session continues working while the agent handles git operations. Results arrive asynchronously.

Foreground Agent (When Result Needed Immediately)

For operations where the user is waiting on the result (e.g., "commit this then let's move on"):

Agent(
    subagent_type="git-agent",
    model="sonnet",
    run_in_background=False,  # Wait for result
    prompt="..."
)

Worktree Isolation (Only When Requested)

When the user explicitly asks for worktree isolation (e.g., "do this in a separate worktree", "prepare a branch without touching my working tree"):

Agent(
    subagent_type="git-agent",
    model="sonnet",
    isolation="worktree",     # Isolated repo copy
    run_in_background=True,
    prompt="..."
)

Fallback: When git-agent Is Unavailable

If git-agent is not registered as a subagent type (e.g., plugin not installed, agent files missing), fall back to general-purpose with the git-agent identity inlined in the prompt.

Detection: If dispatching to git-agent fails or the subagent type is not listed in available agents, switch to fallback mode automatically.

Fallback dispatch template:

Agent(
    subagent_type="general-purpose",  # Fallback
    model="sonnet",
    run_in_background=True,
    prompt="""You are acting as a git operations agent. You are precise, safety-conscious,
and follow the three-tier safety system:
- T1 (read-only): execute freely
- T2 (safe writes): execute on instruction, verify before and after
- T3 (destructive): preflight report only unless explicitly told to execute

{original dispatch prompt here}
"""
)

Key differences from primary dispatch:

Uses general-purpose instead of git-agent subagent type
Inlines the safety tier protocol directly in the prompt (the agent won't have git-agent's system prompt)
Everything else stays the same - context gathering, templates, foreground/background choice

When to use each:

Condition	Dispatch Method
`git-agent` available	Primary: `subagent_type="git-agent"`
`git-agent` unavailable	Fallback: `subagent_type="general-purpose"` with inlined protocol
No agent dispatch possible	Last resort: execute T2 operations inline (main context)

The last-resort inline path should only be used for simple T2 operations (single commit, simple push). Complex workflows (PR creation, release, changelog) should always use an agent.

Extended Operations

Release Workflow

git-ops owns the local half of releases only — analysing commits, generating CHANGELOG content, creating the local tag. The remote half (push, gh release create, repo metadata) belongs to the github-ops skill.

When user asks to "create a release", "bump version", or "tag a release":

Inline (T1): Check current version and commits since last tag

git describe --tags --abbrev=0 2>/dev/null
git log --oneline $(git describe --tags --abbrev=0 2>/dev/null)..HEAD

Determine version bump:
- feat: commits -> minor bump
- fix: commits -> patch bump
- BREAKING CHANGE: or !: -> requires explicit user approval (never auto-major)
- Or use version specified by user
Dispatch to git-agent (T2): Generate CHANGELOG content + create local tag.
Hand off to github-ops for the remote half: push commits, push tag, create the GitHub release with notes, update repo metadata if warranted. Do not call gh release create from git-ops — that crosses the local/remote boundary. See skills/github-ops/SKILL.md mode update.

Changelog Generation

When user asks to "generate changelog" or "update CHANGELOG.md":

Inline (T1): Gather commit history for the range
Dispatch to git-agent (T2): Categorise commits, format as Keep a Changelog, write file

PR Workflow (Full Cycle)

When user says "create a PR" or "open a PR":

Inline (T1): Check branch state, diff against main
Gather context: What was the user working on? What does the conversation tell us about the goal?
Dispatch to git-agent (T2): Create PR with contextual title and body
Report: PR number, URL, summary

Branch Cleanup

When user asks to "clean up branches" or "delete merged branches":

Inline (T1): List merged branches

git branch --merged main | grep -v "main\|master\|\*"

Show list to user - this is a T3 preflight (deletion)
On confirmation: Dispatch to git-agent to delete them

Semantic Versioning Analysis

When user asks "what should the next version be":

Inline (T1): Analyse commits since last tag
Categorise by Conventional Commits
Report recommended bump with reasoning

Conflict Resolution Support

When user encounters merge conflicts:

Inline (T1): git status to show conflicted files
Inline (T1): Read conflict markers in each file
Present options: ours, theirs, manual resolution
After resolution: Dispatch to git-agent (T2) for staging and continue

Worktree Operations

Worktrees are first-class in this skill. The classification is:

Op	Tier	How
Survey	T1	`bash scripts/worktree-survey.sh` — read-only, reports per-worktree state + drift
New lane	T2 (inline)	`bash scripts/new-lane.sh [--sibling] <slug> [base]` — fast scripted provisioning: branch `lane/<slug>` in-repo at `.claude/worktrees/<slug>` (gitignored; `--sibling` for an outside `<repo>-<slug>` instead) + carries over gitignored env files. The one-command collision remedy — see "Lane provisioning" below
Create (bespoke)	T2	`git worktree add <path> -b <branch>` via agent — for non-standard layouts the script doesn't cover
Land	T2	Rebase worktree branch onto trunk + test + fast-forward. Multi-step procedure — see "Worktree Land Procedure" below
Prune (clean)	T2	`git worktree prune` for ghost entries (registered but FS-missing). Always safe, no data loss possible
Remove	T3	`git worktree remove <path>` — destroys filesystem state. Requires preflight + explicit confirm per worktree

Lane provisioning (the collision remedy)

scripts/new-lane.sh <slug> [base-branch] is the fast, model-invocable way to isolate parallel work — the remedy the peer-writer guards (session-start-unicode-scan.sh at boot, pre-write-peer-guard.sh mid-session) point you to. It:

creates branch lane/<slug> in-repo at <main>/.claude/worktrees/<slug> — the native Claude Code worktree location: tidy (no sibling dirs scattered across the parent) and gitignored so git add -A can't stage its gitlinks — off [base-branch] (default: current branch);
ensures the gitignore precondition: if .claude/worktrees/ isn't gitignored it adds the entry first (the in-repo location is only safe when ignored), so the default is safe in any repo;
--sibling places it outside the repo at <repo>/../<repo>-<slug> instead — use when you need structural isolation from repo-scoped destructive ops (git clean -ff, rm -rf <repo>) or in a repo that can't gitignore the dir;
anchors at the main worktree root, so invoking it from inside a lane won't nest worktrees;
carries over gitignored env files (.dev.vars, .env*, .secrets) the fresh worktree would otherwise lack, so the lane runs immediately;
prints the worktree path on stdout (everything else on stderr), so it composes: cd "$(bash scripts/new-lane.sh hotfix main)";
refuses if the branch or path already exists — never clobbers.

Lane work durability: committed lane work lives in the shared object store and survives even deletion of the worktree dir (recover via git worktree add <path> lane/<slug>); only uncommitted work is at risk from git clean -ff / rm -rf. Land early/often — see rules/worktree-boundaries.md.

Run it inline (deterministic, non-destructive); land the lane back via the Worktree Land Procedure below or fleet-ops. Reach for it whenever two sessions would otherwise share one checkout.

Survey-first discipline

Never recommend prune/remove without first running scripts/worktree-survey.sh and presenting the output to the user. The survey categorises each worktree as:

(trunk) — the main repo itself, never prune
PRUNABLE — merged into trunk, no uncommitted work, no unpushed commits → safe to remove
has WIP — uncommitted changes → commit or stash first, never auto-remove
unpushed — commits ahead of upstream → push or cherry-pick before remove
in-flight — not merged, not dirty → probably still in active use
GHOST — registered but filesystem gone → git worktree prune fixes
UNREGISTERED / orphan — filesystem dir with no git entry → DO NOT touch without explicit review

Worktree Land Procedure (T2)

For landing a branch from a worktree onto the trunk (rebase + test + ff):

Verify preconditions: worktree clean, branch ahead of trunk, not already merged
Fetch trunk, rebase worktree branch onto it
Run project test command (detect from package.json / pyproject.toml / justfile)
On test pass: fast-forward trunk to the rebased tip
Do NOT push — that's a separate explicit step (and should go through push-gate)

Dispatch this to git-agent as a T2 operation with the worktree path + trunk name.

Boundaries (HARD RULE)

See rules/worktree-boundaries.md. Summary:

Never rm -rf .claude/worktrees/ — the orphan count in survey is informational, never a cleanup cue
Never git add -A when .claude/worktrees/ has untracked entries (sweeps gitlinks into commits)
Never decide another session's worktree is "orphaned" — ask first
Cross-project work stays cross-project; a worktree in repo X is never our concern when we're operating on repo Y

Decision Logic

When a git-related request arrives, follow this flow:

1. Classify the operation tier (T1/T2/T3)

2. If T1:
   - Execute inline via Bash
   - Format and present results
   - DONE

3. If T2:
   - Gather context (conversation, git state, conventions)
   - Decide foreground vs background:
     * User waiting on result? -> foreground
     * User continuing other work? -> background
   - Dispatch to git-agent with context
   - Relay result when received

4. If T3:
   - Gather context
   - Dispatch to git-agent for PREFLIGHT ONLY
   - Present preflight report to user
   - Wait for explicit confirmation
   - Re-dispatch with execute authority
   - Relay result

Quick Reference

Task	Tier	Inline/Agent
Check status (rich)	T1	Inline (`scripts/status.sh`)
Worktree survey	T1	Inline (`scripts/worktree-survey.sh`)
View diff	T1	Inline
View log	T1	Inline
List PRs	T1	Inline
Commit	T2	Agent
Push	T2	Agent
Create PR	T2	Agent
Create tag	T2	Agent
Create release	T2	Agent
Stash push/pop	T2	Agent
Cherry-pick	T2	Agent
Create branch	T2	Agent
Create worktree	T2	Agent
Land worktree	T2	Agent (rebase + test + ff)
Prune ghost worktrees	T2	Agent (`git worktree prune`)
Rebase	T3	Agent (preflight)
Force push	T3	Agent (preflight)
Reset --hard	T3	Agent (preflight)
Delete branch	T3	Agent (preflight)
Discard changes	T3	Agent (preflight)
Merge to main	T3	Agent (preflight)
Remove worktree	T3	Agent (preflight per worktree)

Tools

Tool	Purpose
`git`	All git operations
`gh`	GitHub CLI - PRs, issues, releases, actions
`delta`	Syntax-highlighted diffs (if available)
`lazygit`	Interactive TUI (suggest to user, not for agent)

Additional Resources

For detailed patterns, load:

./references/rebase-patterns.md - Interactive rebase workflows and safety
./references/stash-patterns.md - Stash operations and workflows
./references/advanced-git.md - Bisect, cherry-pick, worktrees, reflog, conflicts

git-ops

Git Ops

Architecture