Whaler

If your Git workflow involves squash merges, you're probably frustrated that the GitHub merge button creates ugly --no-ff commits. Whaler is a Chrome extension and server-side component that work together with the GitHub API to create beautiful squash commits right from the GitHub web interface.

Quickstart

Install the Chrome extension.

You should see a blue "Squash merge" button in place of the regular "Merge pull request" button.

Under the hood

The chrome extension injects a minimal amount of HTML and Javascript which change a few visual elements and redirect the merge button's HTTP POST to our webservice. This webservice calls through to the GitHub API, performing the following operations:

• The pull request's base branch is merged into its head branch.
• A squash commit, parented by base, is created with the tree from the new merge commit. The commit message includes any text entered through the GitHub web interface and a link to the pull request.
• base is advanced to the new commit.
• A comment is posted on the pull request with the SHA of the squash commit.
• The pull request is closed and head is deleted.