gh-pr-merge-unstable-state-needs-auto-and-watch-branch-deleteslisted

# `gh pr merge` UNSTABLE state + branch-delete recovery ## Problem Two adjacent failure modes that read as "merge conflicts" but aren't: ### Failure A: `gh pr merge` rejects with "conflicts" when there are none You push a clean resolution of merge conflicts, GitHub shows the PR as MERGEABLE, and yet: ``` $ gh pr merge 915 --squash To have the pull request merged after all the requirements have been met, add the `--auto` flag. Run the following to resolve the merge conflicts locally: gh pr checkout 915 && git fetch origin main && git merge origin/main ``` The first line is the actual hint; the second is misleading boilerplate. The real cause is `mergeStateStatus: UNSTABLE` — branch protection or CI checks are pending. `gh` can't merge yet because the repo's rules aren't satisfied, not because of file-level conflicts. ### Failure B: PR auto-closes if you delete the remote branch right after Failure A Common pattern: previous PR on the same branch merged cleanly with `gh pr merge <N> --squash`. You then do `git push origin --delete <branch>` to clean up. Habit kicks in for the next PR — you run `gh pr merge` (gets Failure A above), notice the "conflicts" warning, run `git push origin --delete <branch>` anyway thinking the merge already landed remotely... ``` $ gh pr view 915 --json state {"state":"CLOSED"} # ← not MERGED — the PR closed because the branch was deleted with the merge un-queued ``` GitHub treats a deleted-branch PR with no merge in progress as abandon