episode: Rebase feature branch onto next-release before PR to avoid merge conflicts

episodes/2026-02-22.md

@@ -60,3 +60,7 @@ Work types: configuration,
 ## 16:41 - Fix: UTC/CST timezone ambiguity in transaction freeze/thaw scheduling — utils/timezone.py
 - **Type:** fix
 - **Tags:** major-domo, timezone, transaction-freeze, production-fix, discord-bot, python, fix
+
+## 16:41 - Rebase feature branch onto next-release before PR to avoid merge conflicts
+- **Type:** procedure
+- **Tags:** major-domo, git-workflow, next-release, rebase, discord-bot, procedure

graph/procedures/rebase-feature-branch-onto-next-release-before-pr-to-avoid-m-c02390.md

@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+---
+id: c0239088-398b-4f72-9894-3caa2e385833
+type: procedure
+title: "Rebase feature branch onto next-release before PR to avoid merge conflicts"
+tags: [major-domo, git-workflow, next-release, rebase, discord-bot, procedure]
+importance: 0.6
+confidence: 0.8
+created: "2026-02-22T22:41:43.343387+00:00"
+updated: "2026-02-22T22:41:43.343387+00:00"
+---
+
+# Rebase Feature Branch onto next-release Before PR
+
+## Project
+major-domo / discord-app-v2 (applies to all major-domo services)
+
+## Context
+The `next-release` staging branch accumulates changes from multiple PRs (security fixes, unused import cleanup, scorebug fixes, etc.) before being merged to `main`. Feature branches based off `main` can conflict with `next-release`.
+
+## Procedure
+
+```bash
+# 1. Fetch latest remote state
+git fetch origin
+
+# 2. Rebase feature branch onto next-release
+git rebase origin/next-release
+
+# 3. Resolve any conflicts, then continue
+git rebase --continue
+
+# 4. Force-push to update the PR branch
+git push --force-with-lease origin <feature-branch>
+```
+
+## Common Conflicts in This Repo
+- Unused import cleanup PRs may remove imports that your branch re-introduces — add the import back after resolving
+- Security fix PRs may have changed `except:` to `except Exception:` — accept theirs or merge carefully
+- `tasks/transaction_freeze.py` is a frequent conflict hotspot
+
+## Notes
+- Use `--force-with-lease` (not `--force`) — safer, refuses to push if remote has unexpected commits
+- After merging `next-release` → `main`, sync local main: `git reset --hard origin/main` if it has diverged from rebased commits
+- If an import was removed as "unused" by a previous PR but your changes re-introduce usage, add it back explicitly — don't assume the cleanup branch was authoritative