---
name: Promoting Dev To Main
slug: promoting-dev-to-main
category: DevOps
description: Promoting Dev To Main handles CORAL release pull requests from dev into main and tells you how to merge them safely. Use it when reviewing conflicts, checking ancestry, or confirming release validation.
github: "https://github.com/Human-Agent-Society/CORAL/tree/main/.claude/skills/promoting-dev-to-main"
language: Python
stars: 913
forks: 119
install: "npx degit https://github.com/Human-Agent-Society/CORAL/tree/main/.claude/skills/promoting-dev-to-main ~/.claude/skills/promoting-dev-to-main"
installs_to: ~/.claude/skills/promoting-dev-to-main
source_path: .claude/skills/promoting-dev-to-main/SKILL.md
collection_size: 12
category_size: 798
collection_url: "https://dirskills.com/collections/Human-Agent-Society/CORAL"
added: 2026-08-22T05:20:49.872Z
last_synced: 2026-08-22T05:20:49.872Z
canonical_url: "https://dirskills.com/skills/promoting-dev-to-main"
---

# Promoting Dev To Main

Promoting Dev To Main handles CORAL release pull requests from dev into main and tells you how to merge them safely. Use it when reviewing conflicts, checking ancestry, or confirming release validation.

**Install:**

```bash
npx degit https://github.com/Human-Agent-Society/CORAL/tree/main/.claude/skills/promoting-dev-to-main ~/.claude/skills/promoting-dev-to-main
```

## README

# Promoting dev to main

## Core rule

Merge `dev → main` release PRs with a **merge commit**. Never squash or rebase
these promotions.

Ordinary contribution PRs still target `dev` and may be squash-merged. The
release promotion is the exception because `main` must retain `dev` in its
ancestry. Squashing a promotion makes the next release re-present old commits
and can create large false conflicts.

## Workflow

1. Confirm the PR is exactly `base=main`, `head=dev` and no duplicate release
   PR is open.
2. Review `main..dev`, required CI, and deployment checks.
3. In GitHub, open the merge-method dropdown and choose **Create a merge
   commit**. With the CLI, use:

   ```bash
   gh pr merge <number> --repo Human-Agent-Society/CORAL --merge
   ```

4. Keep the long-lived `dev` branch. Do not delete or force-push it.
5. Fetch both branches and verify the released `dev` tip is an ancestor of
   `main`:

   ```bash
   git fetch origin dev main
   git merge-base --is-ancestor origin/dev origin/main
   ```

   Exit status `0` is required.
6. Confirm post-merge CI, release automation, deployments, and production
   smoke checks.

## If GitHub reports conflicts

Do not force-rebase the shared `dev` branch. First inspect the topology and
reproduce conflicts with `git merge-tree`.

If an earlier release was squash-merged, `main` may have the same tree as an
earlier `dev` commit without sharing its ancestry. Verify tree equivalence
before choosing a repair. Prefer merging `main` back into `dev` and pushing
normally; use an ancestry-only `ours` merge only when exact tree equality
proves `main` contains no unique content to preserve.

## Red flags

- GitHub's primary button says **Squash and merge**.
- A command uses `--squash`, `--rebase`, or a force-push.
- The release workflow proposes deleting `dev`.
- Conflict resolution starts before checking commit topology and tree equality.

Stop when any red flag appears and return to the workflow above.

## Quick reference

| PR | Allowed merge method |
|---|---|
| Feature/fix/docs branch → `dev` | Repository default; usually squash |
| `dev` → `main` release promotion | Merge commit only |