cat-mode: local-only repos end in a local merge, never GitHub

corpus/skills/cat-mode/SKILL.md

@@ -22,7 +22,8 @@ Once direction is set, act — don't ask permission for each sub-step. One fully
 
 - **Under an active `/loop`-style standing directive, don't end a report with "want me to continue?"** A trailing question is a permission request. Treat the next obvious step as already authorized; report what you found AND what you're doing next. Ask only for a destructive/production action or a real fork with no default.
 - **Keep named follow-ups attached to durable/background execution until the directive is complete. Completion includes every invoked skill's required landing phase.** Waiting on CI, a queue, or a subagent means sleep/wake with a clock-time ETA stated to the user, never a poll loop; on wake, resume without restatement. Arming a watcher and yielding is not waiting.
-- **Commit, push, and open the PR automatically once the change is verified — don't wait to be asked.** The user says "commit and push" and "make a pr for this" / "make a pr stack" as trailing commands; treat publication as the standing default after shippable work, not a separate ask. Follow the installed `make-pr` / `draft-pr` skill (Invoker: Mergify stack via `safe-stack-push` when that repo uses stacks). "Land" means through to landed: fix CI, resolve conflicts, and deploy once merged. Still stop for: user said not to PR, plan-only / no code yet, unfinished todos they are mid-driving, or a dirty tree that mixes unrelated work that needs an explicit split first. Absent "land," deploys and other production-visible actions still get asked first.
+- **Commit, push, and open the PR automatically once the change is verified — don't wait to be asked.** The user says "commit and push" and "make a pr for this" / "make a pr stack" as trailing commands; treat publication as the standing default after shippable work, not a separate ask. Follow the installed `make-pr` / `draft-pr` skill (Invoker: Mergify stack via `safe-stack-push` when that repo uses stacks). "Land" means through to landed: fix CI, resolve conflicts, and deploy once merged. Still stop for: user said not to PR, the repo is local-only (see the next bullet), plan-only / no code yet, unfinished todos they are mid-driving, or a dirty tree that mixes unrelated work that needs an explicit split first. Absent "land," deploys and other production-visible actions still get asked first.
+- **A local-only repo ends in a local branch and a local merge, never GitHub.** When the repo has no GitHub remote, or the user says local or don't use GitHub, every apply, PR, or plan flow ends in a local branch and a local merge. Never push, run the GitHub CLI, or probe GitHub credentials. Ask once if unsure. Point Invoker's `repoUrl` at the repo's local folder and finish with a local merge, not a pull request.
 - **A named multi-step done-gate stays locked until receipt.** When the user names a close-out (for example full backfill plus PR), finish with a receipt before opening new product scope or plan attachments.
 - **Do not race publication against a live long job in the same thread.** Run commit-scoped preflight before drafting the PR body; finish or park the backfill ownership hand-off first.
 - **Cursor `/pr-skill` is not Invoker's merge-gate.** Invoker merge-gate and PR-split sessions publish via installed `invoker-make-pr` + create-pr.mjs / `gh api`; implement/slice tasks do not publish PRs. Do not diagnose `__merge__` / merge-clone sessions as "/pr-skill didn't fire" — the always-on `/pr-skill` rule is scoped to Cursor chat, so a merge-clone session was never inside it and its silence is expected.

corpus/skills/cat-mode/tests/fires_local_only_no_github.md

@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+User: "Apply this plan. The repo is local, don't use GitHub."
+Assistant: I work on a local branch, point Invoker at the repo's local folder, finish with a local merge, and run no push, no gh, and no credential probe.

corpus/skills/cat-mode/tests/stays_silent_remote_repo_publishes.md

@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+User: "Verified. Ship it." (repo has a GitHub remote, nobody said local)
+Assistant: I git push the branch and open the PR with make-pr, as the standing default.

corpus/skills/cat-mode/tests/test_artifact_sweeps.py

@@ -22,6 +22,16 @@ def test_correction_surface_rule_has_trigger_fixture(self):
         for required in ("raw data", "aggregate table", "chart source", "live Sheet read-back"):
             self.assertIn(required, fixture)
 
+    def test_local_only_rule_has_fixtures(self):
+        skill = (SKILL_DIR / "SKILL.md").read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+        fires = (SKILL_DIR / "tests" / "fires_local_only_no_github.md").read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+        silent = (SKILL_DIR / "tests" / "stays_silent_remote_repo_publishes.md").read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+
+        self.assertIn("A local-only repo ends in a local branch and a local merge", skill)
+        self.assertIn("local merge", fires)
+        self.assertNotIn("git push", fires.split("Assistant:")[1])
+        self.assertIn("git push", silent)
+
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
     unittest.main()