Branches

GitHub needs one head branch per PR, so before a stack goes up, each commit gets a plain git branch pointing at it. Local Review has no branch naming scheme and never creates a branch: the agent that writes the code picks the names and creates them (git branch <name> <sha>), and records each in the PR’s prs file as branch:. Local Review shows each PR’s branch in the sidebar and checks that it still points where it should.

git config rebase.updateRefs true            # once per repo: every rebase moves these branches
git branch me/feature-flag 0a1b2c3d          # one per commit, bottom to top

How an agent tags a stack: Branch tagging in the agent guide.

How a PR’s branch is worked out

The server lists the repo’s local and remote-tracking branches with one read-only git for-each-ref per range, and reconciles each commit (branch in the API). The display name is, in order:

1. the recorded github.branch (the head branch of the GitHub PR);
2. else the recorded branch:;
3. else a discovered local branch pointing at the commit (one other than the range’s own tip branch first);
4. else a discovered remote branch;
5. else none (null).

Status

Status	Meaning	Fix
ok	The recorded branch points at this commit.	Nothing to do.
moved	It points elsewhere (points_at), e.g. after a rebase without --update-refs.	git branch -f <name> <sha>
missing	It’s recorded but not in git.	git branch <name> <sha>, or record the right name.
discovered	Nothing is recorded; a branch in git points here.	Record it, if it’s the one.
merged	A landed PR’s recorded branch, whatever git says. Never a warning (it may well be deleted).	Nothing to do.

discovered lists every branch pointing at the commit: local first, the tip branch (e.g. me/my-feature on the top commit) last.

In the sidebar

Each PR row shows its branch name, middle-truncated (or the short sha if there’s none), with a warning icon if the recorded branch moved, and struck through if it’s missing. Once the GitHub PR exists, a #1234 ↗ badge links to it.

The warning icon: the branch recorded for this PR was left behind by a rebase.

local-review plan warns about PRs without a branch, and about missing and moved branches, before anything is published.