devondragon · Oct 13, 2026 · Oct 13, 2026
diff --git a/.claude-plugin/marketplace.json b/.claude-plugin/marketplace.json
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
       "name": "ccmagic",
       "source": "./",
       "description": "25 dev workflow skills: tracker-aware ticket lifecycle (Linear, GitHub, JIRA) with an autonomous end-to-end driver, adaptive code review, debugging, design/QA, and git workflow utilities",
-      "version": "3.20.3",
+      "version": "3.20.4",
       "author": {
         "name": "Devon Hillard"
       },

diff --git a/.claude-plugin/plugin.json b/.claude-plugin/plugin.json
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   "name": "ccmagic",
   "description": "Dev workflow skills for Claude Code: tracker-aware ticket lifecycle (Linear, GitHub, JIRA), adaptive code review, debugging, design/QA, and git workflow utilities",
-  "version": "3.20.3",
+  "version": "3.20.4",
   "author": { "name": "Devon Hillard", "url": "https://github.com/devondragon" },
   "repository": "https://github.com/devondragon/ccmagic",
   "license": "Apache-2.0"

diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -2,6 +2,12 @@
 
 All notable changes to ccmagic are documented here. The format follows [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.1.0/), and the project follows [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.html).
 
+## [3.20.4] - 2026-10
+
+### Fixed
+
+- `ccm-ci-status` reports a new status, `conflicting` (exit 6), when nothing has registered for the head commit and the PR conflicts with its base. GitHub runs no `pull_request` workflows on a conflicting PR, so `--watch` used to wait out the whole `ci_timeout_minutes` and `auto-ticket` then parked with "CI never registered", which named the symptom and not the cause (AIE-351). `auto-ticket` now stops at once with the conflict as the reason, and `finish-ticket` and `merge` treat it as the conflict blocker the merge gate already reports.
+
 ## [3.20.3] - 2026-10
 
 ### Fixed

diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
@@ -272,7 +272,7 @@ Rules that have one right answer are enforced in code, not left to the skill tex
 | Script | Answers |
 |---|---|
 | `ccm-context` | Current branch, ticket ID parsed from it, open PR, worktree or primary checkout, base branch, and the resolved `ccmagic.local.md` config (project over user over defaults) |
-| `ccm-ci-status` | Is CI green for this PR: `green`, `no-ci`, `failed`, `pending`, `not-registered`, `unreadable`. Falls back to the Actions and commit-status APIs when a fine-grained PAT gets HTTP 403 on check runs. `--watch --wait-key K` waits with a deadline that holds across repeated calls |
+| `ccm-ci-status` | Is CI green for this PR: `green`, `no-ci`, `failed`, `pending`, `not-registered`, `conflicting`, `unreadable`. Falls back to the Actions and commit-status APIs when a fine-grained PAT gets HTTP 403 on check runs. `--watch --wait-key K` waits with a deadline that holds across repeated calls |
 | `ccm-merge-gate` | May this PR merge: open, mergeable, CI green (or no CI), no reviewer whose latest review requests changes |
 | `ccm-pr-threads` | A PR's review threads (grouped, with an `open` flag), reviews, and conversation comments; `--since-id H` marks reviewer comments newer than a high-water mark. A thread is handled when resolved, or when the author's last reply carries a `ccm-pr-reply` disposition marker; a `fixed` marker counts only once its commit is verified on the branch and touches the thread's file |
 | `ccm-validate` | Do the project's checks pass: runs `format`, `lint`, `types`, `test`, and `build`, one command each from a `validate_<check>` config key or detected from `package.json`, `Makefile`, Gradle, Maven, `go.mod`, `Cargo.toml`, or `pyproject.toml`, and uses each command's exit code as the verdict (`pass`, `fail`, `nothing-to-run`). `--only` runs a subset and `--list` shows the commands without running them. Each check is bounded by `validate_timeout_seconds` (default 540, at most 7200). For checks longer than one 10-minute Bash call, `--start` runs them in a detached process, or `--start --attached` only prepares the run (writing its state with no result, so a `--wait` never reads an earlier run's) and `--attach RUN` then runs its worker in the foreground for a harness background task to own (a sandbox that ends a call's processes kills a detached run), and `--wait [SECONDS]` (default 480) waits for it by its heartbeat, printing the plain result when it finishes or `status: running` with exit 6 while it goes on; `/ccmagic:validate` prepares with `--start --attached` in an ordinary Bash call and runs `--attach` as a background Bash call when `validate_timeout_seconds` is above 540. A Gradle or Maven build (run through `./gradlew` or `./mvnw` when present) supplies `test` and `build` ahead of `package.json` and the `Makefile`, which still supply `format`, `lint`, and `types`. When the root `package.json` declares dependencies, a package under `dependencies` or `devDependencies` is not in `node_modules` (a bare `node_modules` directory does not count), and a check that will run goes through Node (a `package.json` script, or a command with `npm`, `npx`, `pnpm`, `yarn`, `bun`, `bunx`, or `node` as a command word), the first check is preceded by the install its lockfile calls for (`npm ci`, or `pnpm`, `yarn`, or `bun` when that tool is installed), and `--install` runs only that; with no lockfile, a missing tool, or a failed install, no check runs and the status is `environment`. Node only: no other ecosystem's dependencies are installed |

diff --git a/bin/ccm-ci-status b/bin/ccm-ci-status
@@ -12,6 +12,8 @@
 #   failed          1  at least one check failed, was cancelled, or timed out
 #   pending         2  checks still running
 #   not-registered  2  CI is configured but no check or run exists for this commit yet
+#   conflicting     6  nothing has registered and the PR conflicts with its base;
+#                      GitHub runs no pull_request workflows until that is resolved
 #   unreadable      3  neither the Checks API nor the Actions/Status APIs could be read
 #   timeout         5  --watch deadline passed while still pending/not-registered
 #   (usage error    4)
@@ -24,6 +26,10 @@
 # (403) and nothing else is found, `no-ci` needs branch protection to be
 # readable and show no required checks; otherwise the status is `unreadable`.
 #
+# Before reporting not-registered for a PR, it re-reads the PR's mergeability:
+# GitHub cannot build the merge ref for a CONFLICTING PR, so its pull_request
+# workflows never start, and waiting out the timeout would only hide that.
+#
 # --watch polls until the status leaves pending/not-registered. One call never
 # runs longer than --max-call-seconds (default 540, under the Bash tool's
 # 10-minute limit). --wait-key names a deadline file under the git dir, so the
@@ -43,7 +49,7 @@ while [ $# -gt 0 ]; do
     --timeout-minutes) timeout_min=${2:?}; shift ;;
     --interval) interval=${2:?}; shift ;;
     --max-call-seconds) max_call=${2:?}; shift ;;
-    -h|--help) sed -n '2,31p' "$0"; exit 0 ;;
+    -h|--help) sed -n '2,38p' "$0"; exit 0 ;;
     -*) echo "ccm-ci-status: unknown flag $1" >&2; exit 4 ;;
     *) pr=${1#\#} ;;
   esac
@@ -109,6 +115,10 @@ no_checks_verdict() {
     result no-ci none "no workflow files and no required status checks on $base"
   else
     code=$([ "$has_workflows" = true ] && echo "workflow files exist" || echo "required status checks exist")
+    if [ -n "$pr" ] && [ "$(gh pr view "$pr" --json mergeable -q .mergeable 2>/dev/null || true)" = CONFLICTING ]; then
+      result conflicting none "PR #$pr has merge conflicts with $base, so GitHub will not run its pull_request workflows; nothing has registered for $sha ($code)"
+      return
+    fi
     result not-registered none "CI is configured ($code) but nothing has registered for $sha yet"
   fi
 }
@@ -194,6 +204,7 @@ exit_for() {
     pending|not-registered) echo 2 ;;
     unreadable) echo 3 ;;
     timeout) echo 5 ;;
+    conflicting) echo 6 ;;
     *) echo 3 ;;
   esac
 }

diff --git a/skills/auto-ticket/SKILL.md b/skills/auto-ticket/SKILL.md
@@ -196,6 +196,7 @@ Everything this pass pushes is measured against `H`, so bot reviews triggered *b
     - `green` or `no-ci` → CI is settled and green (record "no CI configured" in the run summary for `no-ci`).
     - `failed` → settled, not green. Carry `reason` and `checks` into 4d.
     - `timeout` → **route-and-stop** (reason: "CI did not complete within the timeout", plus the script's `reason`; a `not-registered` timeout means CI is configured but no run appeared for the head SHA).
+    - `conflicting` → **route-and-stop** (reason: "PR has merge conflicts with its base, so CI cannot run: {reason}"). GitHub runs no `pull_request` workflows on a conflicting PR, so there is nothing to wait for; the conflicts need resolving first.
     - `unreadable` → **route-and-stop** (reason: "cannot read CI status: {reason}").
 
     The script handles what this step used to spell out: the fine-grained-PAT 403 fallback to the Actions and commit-status APIs, the "no checks at all" case (no workflows and no required checks means `no-ci`; otherwise it keeps waiting for a run to register), and quick transient `gh` failures. Don't re-derive CI state from `gh pr checks` output.

diff --git a/skills/finish-ticket/SKILL.md b/skills/finish-ticket/SKILL.md
@@ -133,7 +133,7 @@ It exits 0 when the PR may merge and 1 when it may not, and prints JSON:
 
 - `blockers`: each reason the PR can't merge. It covers: the PR isn't `OPEN`; it is `CONFLICTING`, or GitHub still reports `UNKNOWN` mergeability after a few re-reads; CI isn't green; a reviewer's latest review is `CHANGES_REQUESTED`.
 - `warnings`: currently only "no approving review". A PR can proceed without an approval; show the warning.
-- `ci`: the full `ccm-ci-status` result. `ci.status` is `green`, `no-ci` (no workflows and no required checks), `failed`, `pending`, `not-registered` (CI configured but nothing has reported for this commit yet), or `unreadable`. `ci.checks` lists each check with its bucket, for the report. The script already falls back to the Actions and commit-status APIs when a fine-grained PAT gets HTTP 403 on check runs, so a 403 is never on its own a reason to call CI failed or to ask anyone to look at the checks.
+- `ci`: the full `ccm-ci-status` result. `ci.status` is `green`, `no-ci` (no workflows and no required checks), `failed`, `pending`, `not-registered` (CI configured but nothing has reported for this commit yet), `conflicting` (nothing has reported and the PR conflicts with its base, so GitHub will not run its `pull_request` workflows; the conflict is already a blocker, so do not wait), or `unreadable`. `ci.checks` lists each check with its bucket, for the report. The script already falls back to the Actions and commit-status APIs when a fine-grained PAT gets HTTP 403 on check runs, so a 403 is never on its own a reason to call CI failed or to ask anyone to look at the checks.
 
 If `ci.status` is `pending` or `not-registered`, wait for CI rather than reporting it as a blocker yet:
 

diff --git a/skills/merge/SKILL.md b/skills/merge/SKILL.md
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ fi
 "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/bin/ccm-merge-gate" [PR-NUMBER]
 ```
 
-It exits 0 when the PR may merge and prints JSON with `blockers` (not open, conflicting or unknown mergeability, CI not green, a reviewer's latest review is `CHANGES_REQUESTED`), `warnings` (no approving review), and the full CI result under `ci`. Report the blockers and warnings as given; do not re-derive them from `gh pr view`. If `ci.status` is `pending` or `not-registered`, wait with `"${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/bin/ccm-ci-status" [PR-NUMBER] --watch --wait-key merge-[PR-NUMBER]` (repeat while it returns `"call_again": true`), then run the gate again.
+It exits 0 when the PR may merge and prints JSON with `blockers` (not open, conflicting or unknown mergeability, CI not green, a reviewer's latest review is `CHANGES_REQUESTED`), `warnings` (no approving review), and the full CI result under `ci`. Report the blockers and warnings as given; do not re-derive them from `gh pr view`. A `ci.status` of `conflicting` means CI cannot start until the conflicts are resolved; do not wait for it. If `ci.status` is `pending` or `not-registered`, wait with `"${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/bin/ccm-ci-status" [PR-NUMBER] --watch --wait-key merge-[PR-NUMBER]` (repeat while it returns `"call_again": true`), then run the gate again.
 
 If the gate fails, show the blockers and stop. Merge anyway only if the user explicitly says to. When `merge_guard: on` is set, the PreToolUse hook denies the merge command while the gate fails; after the user's explicit choice, prefix the merge command with `CCMAGIC_MERGE_OVERRIDE=1`.