CLAUDE.md: merge main on branch pickup, not just before push

[d-morrison]

Summary

Strengthens the "merge main" rule in CLAUDE.md to require it at branch pickup, not just before pushing. Catches stale-base issues at the start of work, when they're cheapest to resolve.

Companion to #897 (merge-before-push) and #901 (URL inclusion).

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Generated by Claude Code

[claude]

Claude finished @d-morrison's task in 51s —— View job

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Code Review

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• Review change

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Overall: Clean, well-targeted improvement. The reasoning is sound — catching a stale base at pickup is cheaper than catching it at push time. No correctness issues.

One minor note (CLAUDE.md line 71): The phrase "when picking it up" most naturally reads as resuming existing work rather than creating a new branch. If Claude also creates branches (not just resumes them), "when starting or resuming work on it" would be slightly more explicit. As written it's unambiguous enough in context, so this is purely a nit — not a blocker.

No other issues found.

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[claude]

Claude finished @d-morrison's task in 59s —— View job

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Code Review

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Overall: Clean improvement. The previous nit ("when picking it up could mean only resuming, not starting fresh") has been addressed — "when starting or resuming work on it" is unambiguous.

CLAUDE.md line 71 — the new sentence is:

Always merge main into the feature branch when starting or resuming work on it — and again before pushing — not just before requesting review

One optional style nit: three em-dash clauses in a single bullet makes it a bit dense. Splitting into two bullets could improve scannability:

- Always merge `main` into the feature branch when starting or resuming work on it
- Merge `main` again before pushing — not just before requesting review

This is purely cosmetic; the single-line form is clear and correct as-is. Not a blocker.

No other issues found. ✓

[claude]

Claude finished @d-morrison's task in 1m 5s —— View job

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Code Review

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• Review change
• Post findings

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Overall: Ready to merge. Both prior nits are addressed — the two-bullet split resolves the em-dash density nit from the second review, and "starting or resuming" (already landed in an earlier commit) resolves the ambiguity nit from the first.

The again in the second bullet is a nice touch: it implicitly signals that the pickup merge already happened, making the before-push requirement feel like a natural follow-up rather than a standalone rule.

No issues found. ✓