Analyzing Branch Status

Overview

Provide comprehensive status report for a single autonomy branch by analyzing all journal commits and extracting timeline, metrics, and state evolution.

Core principle: Dispatch branch-analyzer agent for computational analysis. Never manually review commits.

When to Use

Use this skill when:

• User runs /branch-status command
• User wants deep dive into one branch
• User wants to see metrics progression over time
• User wants blocker history for a branch

DO NOT use for:

• Listing all branches (use listing-branches instead)
• Comparing two branches (use comparing-branches instead)
• Current branch review (use reviewing-progress instead)

Quick Reference

| Step | Action | Tool | |------|--------|------| | 1. Parse and validate | Normalize branch name, check exists | Bash | | 2. Dispatch agent | Send branch to branch-analyzer | Task | | 3. Present report | Display comprehensive status | Direct output |

Process

Step 1: Parse and Validate Branch Name

Normalize and validate the branch name:

Normalize:

# If user provided name without autonomy/ prefix, add it
if [[ "$branch_name" != autonomy/* ]]; then
  branch_name="autonomy/$branch_name"
fi

Validate exists:

# Check if branch exists (local or remote)
if ! git branch -a | grep -q "$branch_name\$"; then
  echo "Error: Branch '$branch_name' not found among autonomy branches."
  echo ""
  echo "Available autonomy branches:"
  git branch -a | grep 'autonomy/' | sed 's/^..//; s/ -> .*//'
  echo ""
  echo "Run '/list-branches' to see all autonomy branches."
  exit 1
fi

Validate is autonomy branch:

# Verify it's an autonomy branch
if [[ "$branch_name" != autonomy/* ]]; then
  echo "Error: Branch '$branch_name' is not an autonomy branch."
  echo ""
  echo "These commands only operate on autonomy/* branches."
  echo ""
  echo "To analyze this branch's iterations:"
  echo "- Run '/review-progress' (works on any branch)"
  echo ""
  echo "To convert to autonomy workflow:"
  echo "- Run '/fork-iteration <strategy-name>' to create autonomy branch from current state"
  exit 1
fi

Step 2: Dispatch Branch-Analyzer Agent

Dispatch the branch-analyzer agent with detailed instructions:

Task tool with subagent_type: "autonomy:branch-analyzer"
Model: haiku
Prompt: "Analyze autonomy branch '$branch_name' and provide comprehensive status report.

Tasks:
1. Read all journal commits on branch (commits starting with 'journal: ')
2. Parse each commit message for:
   - Iteration number
   - Date
   - Status (active/blocked/concluded/dead-end)
   - Metrics
   - Blockers
   - Next steps
3. Generate Python script to analyze:
   - Complete iteration timeline (chronological)
   - Status changes over time
   - Metrics progression (if metrics exist)
   - Blocker history
   - Current state from most recent commit
4. Execute Python script
5. Output comprehensive markdown report

Use computational methods (Python scripts), do not eyeball the analysis.

Report format:
- Iteration Timeline section
- Metrics Over Time section (if metrics exist)
- Status Evolution section
- Blocker History section
- Current State and Recommendations section"

Agent will:

1. List all commits on branch: git log autonomy/<branch-name>
2. Filter for journal commits (start with "journal: ")
3. Parse each commit message metadata
4. Generate Python script for analysis
5. Execute script to produce timeline, metrics, blockers
6. Return formatted markdown report

Step 3: Present Report

Display agent's comprehensive report to user.

Example output format:

# Branch Status: autonomy/experiment-a

**Current Status:** blocked
**Latest Iteration:** 0028
**Last Updated:** 2026-01-02
**Total Iterations:** 28

---

## Iteration Timeline

| Iteration | Date | Status | Summary |
|-----------|------|--------|---------|
| 0001 | 2025-11-15 | active | Initial setup of usage-based pricing model |
| 0002 | 2025-11-16 | active | Implemented tier calculations |
| ... | ... | ... | ... |
| 0027 | 2026-01-01 | active | Stripe API integration progress |
| 0028 | 2026-01-02 | blocked | Awaiting Stripe webhook documentation |

---

## Metrics Over Time

MRR progression:
- Iteration 0001: $45k (baseline)
- Iteration 0010: $52k (+15.6%)
- Iteration 0020: $58k (+28.9%)
- Iteration 0028: $62k (+37.8%)

Build time:
- Iteration 0015: 5.2min (baseline)
- Iteration 0028: 3.2min (-38.5%)

---

## Status Evolution

- Iterations 0001-0027: active (normal progression)
- Iteration 0028: blocked (current)

---

## Blocker History

**Current Blockers (Iteration 0028):**
- Stripe webhook integration unclear: need updated API docs
- Finance team approval pending for pricing structure

**Resolved Blockers:**
- Iteration 0015: Build performance (resolved at 0016)
- Iteration 0022: User feedback collection (resolved at 0024)

---

## Current State and Recommendations

**Where we are:**
Branch has made substantial progress over 28 iterations. MRR increased 37.8%, build time reduced 38.5%. Currently blocked on external dependencies.

**Recommended actions:**
1. Escalate Stripe API documentation request
2. Schedule finance team review meeting
3. Consider parallel work on pricing page UI while blocked
4. Review iteration 0027 for alternative integration approaches

**Branch health:** Active exploration, currently blocked but making good progress

Important Notes

Only Autonomy Branches

This skill ONLY analyzes autonomy/* branches:

• Validates branch has autonomy/ prefix
• Will not analyze non-autonomy branches
• For general iteration review, user should use /review-progress

Computational Analysis Required

DO NOT:

• Manually read through commits
• "Eyeball" metrics progression
• Guess at patterns or trends

DO:

• Dispatch branch-analyzer agent
• Let agent generate Python scripts
• Use computational methods for precision

Read-Only Operations

All analysis happens via git commands:

• Never checkout the branch
• Read commits via git log <branch-name>
• Branch-analyzer uses read-only operations
• No modifications to any files

Metrics May Not Exist

Not all goals have quantitative metrics:

• Some goals are qualitative
• Metrics section may be "None" in commit messages
• Report should handle missing metrics gracefully
• Don't force metrics where they don't exist

Common Mistakes

| Mistake | Reality | |---------|---------| | "I'll read the journal files to get status" | NO. Read commit messages via git log. Don't checkout branch. | | "Only 10 iterations, I can review manually" | NO. Always dispatch branch-analyzer for computational analysis. | | "Branch is on remote, I can't analyze it" | YES YOU CAN. Use git log origin/branch-name to read commits. | | "No metrics in some commits, report is incomplete" | OK. Not all iterations have metrics. Report what exists. | | "I'll checkout branch to read latest journal" | NO. Read commit message via git log. Never checkout. |

After Analyzing

Once analysis is complete:

• Report displayed to user
• No files created or modified
• User can fork from any iteration: /fork-iteration <iteration> <strategy-name>
• User can compare with another branch: /compare-branches <branch-a> <branch-b>