---
name: gitea-branches

description: >
  Use when managing Gitea repository branches — listing, creating, or deleting
  branches — or inspecting commit history within a Gitea repo: listing commits
  (optionally filtered by branch or file path) or getting full detail for a
  single commit by SHA. Triggers on "list branches", "create a branch",
  "delete a branch", "what commits are on this branch", "show commit <sha>",
  "what changed in that commit" — even if the user doesn't say "Gitea"
  explicitly, as long as the repo's remote is a Gitea instance. Do not use for
  local git branch/commit operations on your working copy (use git-branches or
  git-history) or for PR-side branch references like cross-repo fork PR heads
  (use gitea-prs).

compatibility: Requires Gitea MCP server configured with a token; list_branches, list_commits, and get_commit work with write:issue alone, create_branch and delete_branch require write:repository. Requires git remote "origin" pointing to the Gitea instance.

metadata:
  category: integration
  version: "0.1.0"
  source_keys:
    - gitea-mcp-repo
    - gitea-mcp-slim-go

allowed-tools: Bash mcp__gitea__list_branches mcp__gitea__create_branch mcp__gitea__delete_branch mcp__gitea__list_commits mcp__gitea__get_commit
---

## Gotchas

- **Never delete a protected branch (`main`/`master` by name, or `protected: true` from `list_branches`) without explicit confirmation.** `delete_branch` is a direct API call, not a local `git push` — there is no client-side force-push guard protecting it. Name-matching `main`/`master` is a convenient default but not authoritative — a repo can protect a differently-named default branch. When in doubt, call `list_branches` first and check `protected` on the target; treat deletion of any protected branch as a hard refusal unless the user explicitly confirms in the conversation.
- **404 may actually mean 403.** Gitea hides permission errors as not-found to avoid leaking resource existence. If any of these five tools returns 404 unexpectedly, check token scope (see `references/branches.md` / `references/commits.md`) before concluding the branch or commit doesn't exist.
- **Pagination is manual.** `list_branches` and `list_commits` return one page at a time — no auto-pagination in the MCP layer. When you need a complete list, iterate `page: 1, 2, ...` until the returned count is less than `per_page`.
- **Owner/repo always come from the git remote, never from `get_me`.** Resolve them via `git remote get-url origin` (Step 1 below). `get_me`/`list_my_repos` are blocked under the token scopes this skill assumes.
- **`create_branch`'s source is `old_branch`, not "wherever gitea-mcp feels like."** Omitting `old_branch` forks from the repo's server-side default branch — not necessarily the branch you're currently working on locally. If you want to branch from your current checkout, pass `old_branch` explicitly.

## Step 1 — Resolve owner and repo

Before any tool call, extract `owner` and `repo` from the git remote:

```bash
git remote get-url origin
```

If origin is not set or the URL is not a Gitea URL, stop and report: "No Gitea remote found — set origin to your Gitea instance URL."

## Step 2 — Dispatch

| Invocation | Action |
|---|---|
| `/gitea-branches` or `/gitea-branches list` | List branches |
| `/gitea-branches create <name> [from <base>]` | Create branch |
| `/gitea-branches delete <name>` | Delete branch |
| `/gitea-branches commits [on <branch>] [touching <path>]` | List commit history |
| `/gitea-branches commit <sha>` | Get full detail for one commit |

For branch operations (list/create/delete), read `references/branches.md`.
For commit operations (list/get), read `references/commits.md`.

## Step 3 — Report

For reads: display branches as name + protected flag; display commits as SHA (short), message summary, author, date.

For writes (create/delete): confirm the action taken, the branch name, and (for create) the base it forked from.

For errors: surface the HTTP code and message. If a 404 is unexpected, re-check token scope per the Gotchas above before reporting "not found" to the user.