Add --force flag to reverse sync

Bypasses the PR step and force-pushes the subrepo's state directly onto
the monorepo branch. Also skips the skip-dirty guard. Only valid with
--reverse. Returns status "forced".

Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -1,5 +1,17 @@
 # Changelog
 
+## 1.5.0
+
+### Breaking Changes
+
+_None._
+
+### Features
+
+- **`--force` flag for reverse sync**: `josh-sync sync --reverse --force` bypasses
+  the PR step and force-pushes the subrepo's state directly onto the monorepo branch.
+  Also skips the `skip-dirty` guard. Only valid with `--reverse`. Returns status `forced`.
+
 ## 1.4.0
 
 ### Breaking Changes

README.md

@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ CI workflows pin to a floating major tag (e.g. `@v1`). A breaking change bumps t
 ## CLI
 
 ```
-josh-sync sync [--forward|--reverse] [--target NAME[,NAME]] [--branch BRANCH]
+josh-sync sync [--forward|--reverse] [--force] [--target NAME[,NAME]] [--branch BRANCH]
 josh-sync preflight
 josh-sync import <target>
 josh-sync reset <target>
@@ -92,7 +92,7 @@ josh-sync state reset <target> [branch]
 ## How It Works
 
 - **Forward sync** (mono → subrepo): pushes directly if clean, creates conflict PR if not. Uses `--force-with-lease` for safety.
-- **Reverse sync** (subrepo → mono): always creates a PR, never pushes directly.
+- **Reverse sync** (subrepo → mono): creates a PR by default. Add `--force` to bypass the PR and push directly to the mono branch (destructive).
 - **File exclusion**: `exclude` patterns are embedded inline in the josh-proxy URL. Excluded files exist only in the monorepo.
 - **Filter reconciliation**: Changing the exclude list auto-creates a merge commit that connects old and new histories — no force-push needed.
 - **Loop prevention**: `Josh-Sync-Origin:` git trailer filters out bot commits.

VERSION

@@ -1 +1 @@
-1.4.0
+1.5.0

bin/josh-sync

@@ -88,6 +88,7 @@ Global flags:
 Sync flags:
   --forward         Forward only (mono → subrepo)
   --reverse         Reverse only (subrepo → mono)
+  --force           Force-push subrepo state to mono branch (--reverse only, skips PR)
   --target NAME     Filter to target(s) — comma-separated for multiple (env: JOSH_SYNC_TARGET)
   --branch BRANCH   Filter to one branch
 
@@ -108,6 +109,7 @@ cmd_sync() {
   local filter_target="${JOSH_SYNC_TARGET:-}"
   local filter_branch=""
   local config_file=".josh-sync.yml"
+  local force_flag=false
 
   while [ $# -gt 0 ]; do
     case "$1" in
@@ -117,10 +119,18 @@ cmd_sync() {
       --branch)  filter_branch="$2"; shift 2 ;;
       --config)  config_file="$2"; shift 2 ;;
       --debug)   export JOSH_SYNC_DEBUG=1; shift ;;
+      --force)   force_flag=true; shift ;;
       *) die "Unknown flag: $1" ;;
     esac
   done
 
+  if [ "$force_flag" = true ] && [ "$direction" != "reverse" ]; then
+    die "--force requires --reverse"
+  fi
+  if [ "$force_flag" = true ]; then
+    export SYNC_REVERSE_FORCE=1
+  fi
+
   parse_config "$config_file"
 
   # Forward sync
@@ -263,6 +273,9 @@ _sync_direction() {
         log "WARN" "Trees differ but no human commits — skipping state update (will retry)"
         continue
       fi
+      if [ "$result" = "forced" ]; then
+        log "WARN" "Target ${target_name}, branch ${branch}: force-pushed subrepo directly to mono — DESTRUCTIVE"
+      fi
 
       # Update state (only on success)
       local new_state

lib/auth.sh

@@ -28,6 +28,16 @@ subrepo_auth_url() {
   fi
 }
 
+# ─── Monorepo Auth URL ─────────────────────────────────────────────
+# Derives a push-capable HTTPS URL from MONOREPO_API.
+# MONOREPO_API shape: https://<host>/api/v1/repos/<org/repo>
+
+mono_auth_url() {
+  local api_host_path
+  api_host_path=$(echo "$MONOREPO_API" | sed 's|https://||; s|/api/v1/repos/|/|')
+  echo "https://${BOT_USER}:${GITEA_TOKEN}@${api_host_path}.git"
+}
+
 # ─── Remote Queries ─────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
 subrepo_ls_remote() {

lib/sync.sh

@@ -240,6 +240,8 @@ reverse_sync() {
 
   log "INFO" "=== Reverse sync: subrepo/${subrepo_branch} → mono/${mono_branch} ==="
 
+  local force_mode="${SYNC_REVERSE_FORCE:-0}"
+
   # 1. Clone subrepo
   git clone "$(subrepo_auth_url)" \
     --branch "$subrepo_branch" --single-branch \
@@ -286,9 +288,13 @@ reverse_sync() {
   fi
 
   if [ -z "$human_commits" ]; then
-    log "INFO" "No new human commits in subrepo — nothing to sync"
-    echo "skip-dirty"
-    return
+    if [ "$force_mode" = "1" ]; then
+      log "WARN" "No human commits found — force mode: continuing anyway"
+    else
+      log "INFO" "No new human commits in subrepo — nothing to sync"
+      echo "skip-dirty"
+      return
+    fi
   fi
 
   log "INFO" "New human commits to sync:"
@@ -400,16 +406,28 @@ reverse_sync() {
 
   log "INFO" "Pushed to staging branch via josh: ${staging_branch}${linearized:+ (linearized)}"
 
-  # 6. Create PR on monorepo (NEVER direct push)
-  local pr_body
-  local linearize_note=""
-  if [ "$linearized" = true ]; then
-    linearize_note="
+  # 6. Publish: force-push directly (--force) or create PR (default)
+  if [ "$force_mode" = "1" ]; then
+    log "WARN" "Force mode: pushing ${staging_branch} directly to mono/${mono_branch} — bypassing PR"
+    local mono_dir="${work_dir}/monorepo"
+    git clone "$(mono_auth_url)" \
+      --branch "$staging_branch" --single-branch \
+      "$mono_dir" || die "Failed to clone monorepo staging branch for force-push"
+    git -C "$mono_dir" push --force "$(mono_auth_url)" \
+      "HEAD:refs/heads/${mono_branch}" \
+      || die "Failed to force-push to mono/${mono_branch}"
+    log "INFO" "Force-pushed mono/${staging_branch} → mono/${mono_branch}"
+    echo "forced"
+  else
+    local pr_body
+    local linearize_note=""
+    if [ "$linearized" = true ]; then
+      linearize_note="
 > **Note:** Merge commits were squashed during sync because the subrepo
 > history contained merges that josh-proxy cannot map (see ADR-011).
 > Regular commits are preserved individually."
-  fi
-  pr_body="## Subrepo changes
+    fi
+    pr_body="## Subrepo changes
 
 New commits from subrepo \`${subrepo_branch}\`:
 
@@ -422,14 +440,15 @@ ${linearize_note}
 - [ ] No leaked credentials or environment-specific config
 - [ ] CI passes"
 
-  create_pr "${MONOREPO_API}" "${GITEA_TOKEN}" \
-    "$mono_branch" "$staging_branch" \
-    "[Subrepo Sync] ${subrepo_branch} → ${mono_branch}" \
-    "$pr_body" \
-    || die "Failed to create PR on monorepo (check GITEA_TOKEN)"
+    create_pr "${MONOREPO_API}" "${GITEA_TOKEN}" \
+      "$mono_branch" "$staging_branch" \
+      "[Subrepo Sync] ${subrepo_branch} → ${mono_branch}" \
+      "$pr_body" \
+      || die "Failed to create PR on monorepo (check GITEA_TOKEN)"
 
-  log "INFO" "Reverse sync PR created on monorepo"
-  echo "pr-created"
+    log "INFO" "Reverse sync PR created on monorepo"
+    echo "pr-created"
+  fi
 }
 
 # ─── Initial Import: Subrepo → Monorepo (first time) ───────────────