fix(wait): resolve a starting head that a merge into the branch made

README.md

@@ -333,7 +333,8 @@ Authentication comes from `GH_TOKEN`, then `GITHUB_TOKEN`, then `gh auth token`.
 Without `--since`, the point is the current head's push time, so an existing
 review on that head is included. GitHub lists a push seconds to minutes after
 it lands, so for the current head the wait rereads the listing every 15 seconds
-until the push appears, warning once. Any other SHA must be a listed pushed tip;
+until the push appears, warning once. Any other SHA must be a tip the listing
+shows a push, or a merge into the branch such as **Update branch**, moving it to;
 otherwise pass an ISO timestamp instead. Forks use the head
 repository's activity. Deleted head repositories require a timestamp.
 The initial PR commit listing must match the resolved head; a racing push or
@@ -344,7 +345,8 @@ commit), type, actor, and URL. The last line adds a resume cursor. Pass its
 **last field** as `--since` on the next call. Cursors preserve commit membership
 and events sharing a timestamp; treat them as opaque, and use them only for the
 same PR. Explicit timestamps include events at that instant. Historical plain
-pushes come from repository activity; pushes observed while waiting come from new
+pushes come from repository activity, and a historical merge into the branch
+prints as its new commit; pushes observed while waiting come from new
 commit SHAs, regardless of git author dates. Force pushes come from the PR
 timeline, excluding the one that created the starting head. A merge through
 the queue prints `removed_from_merge_queue` about a second before `merged`, so a

quest/m1/README.md

@@ -26,7 +26,6 @@ earlier "Later work" milestone became m2.
 - [Quest log theme](/quest/m1/theme/README.md) - an MMO-style identity, copy, board, landing page, and CLI output for the demo and launch
 - [Launch material](/quest/m1/launch.md) - README, quickstart, demo, comparison, and launch-post drafts
 - [Workers in a 5-minute cache](/quest/m1/worker-cache.md) - re-plan #276's worker/coordinator split and gate tickets, after confirming the cache premise
-- [quest wait after a merge](/quest/m1/wait-merge-heads.md) - `quest wait` resolves a head that reached the branch by a merge into it
 - [One PR's collection failure can't stall its fixer job](/quest/m1/fixer-isolate-failure.md) - errors stay on their PR, and a PR that keeps failing is set aside
 - [Retire Decisions needed](/quest/m1/decisions-needed.md) - only `## Waiting` hands a draft back, once no open draft uses the old heading
 - [Review harness check](/quest/m1/review-harness.md) - recurring each milestone: newest pinned review models, and the live sandbox test passes

src/cli/main.ts

@@ -429,7 +429,7 @@ export function main(argv: string[], out: Output): number | Promise<number> {
 				"Issue-comment edits print as edited, including updates to older bot status comments. The account's own edits are ignored.",
 		)
 		.argument("<pr>", "GitHub PR URL, or a PR number in origin")
-		.option("--since <point>", "ISO timestamp, pushed-tip SHA, or resume cursor (default: current head push time)")
+		.option("--since <point>", "ISO timestamp, branch-tip SHA, or resume cursor (default: current head push time)")
 		.option("--timeout <seconds>", "Maximum wait in seconds", positiveSeconds)
 		.action((value: string, options: { since?: string; timeout?: number }) => {
 			const pr = pullRequest(value, root());

src/cli/status.ts

@@ -185,7 +185,7 @@ export async function pullRequestStatus(pr: PullRequest, deps: GitHubDependencie
 }
 
 /** Repository activity types that move a branch to a new head, including merges into it. */
-const BRANCH_UPDATES = ["push", "force_push", "branch_creation", "pr_merge", "merge_queue_merge"];
+export const BRANCH_UPDATES = ["push", "force_push", "branch_creation", "pr_merge", "merge_queue_merge"];
 
 /**
  * The head a PR node's auto-merge request was enabled on, or null when that cannot be told. GitHub

src/cli/wait.ts

@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ import {
 	string,
 } from "./github";
 import { LAND_CHECK } from "./land";
-import { classifyCheck, enabledHead } from "./status";
+import { BRANCH_UPDATES, classifyCheck, enabledHead } from "./status";
 
 const POLL = 5 * 60_000;
 /**
@@ -28,6 +28,9 @@ const FINAL_POLL = 30_000;
 const PAGE = 100;
 /** How often setup rereads repository activity while GitHub has yet to list the head's push. */
 const LISTING_POLL = 15_000;
+
+/** Repository activity types a person's push makes; merges into the branch also move it (`BRANCH_UPDATES`). */
+const PUSHES = ["push", "force_push", "branch_creation"];
 const SHA = /^[a-f\d]{7,40}$/i;
 /** The timeline records a force push a few seconds after repository activity (1-2s observed). */
 const TIMELINE_LAG = 60_000;
@@ -208,7 +211,9 @@ async function watch(
 		const point = options.since ?? currentSha;
 		const shaPoint = SHA.test(point);
 		const time = shaPoint ? undefined : timestamp(point);
-		const isPoint = (row: ObjectValue) => string(row.after).startsWith(point.toLowerCase());
+		// A merge into the branch, such as GitHub's Update branch, can also have moved the head to the point.
+		const moved = (row: ObjectValue) => BRANCH_UPDATES.includes(string(row.activity_type));
+		const isPoint = (row: ObjectValue) => moved(row) && string(row.after).startsWith(point.toLowerCase());
 		let activities: ObjectValue[] = [];
 		if (head.repo !== null) {
 			const headRepo = object(head.repo);
@@ -236,10 +241,8 @@ async function watch(
 		} else if (shaPoint) {
 			throw new Error("head repository was deleted; pass a timestamp with --since");
 		}
-		const pushed = activities.filter((row) =>
-			["push", "force_push", "branch_creation"].includes(string(row.activity_type)),
-		);
-		const match = shaPoint ? pushed.find(isPoint) : undefined;
+		const pushed = activities.filter((row) => PUSHES.includes(string(row.activity_type)));
+		const match = shaPoint ? activities.find(isPoint) : undefined;
 		if (shaPoint && !match) throw new Error(`cannot resolve push time for ${point}; pass a timestamp with --since`);
 		const since = time ?? timestamp(string(match!.timestamp));
 		// An explicit timestamp includes its own instant; a SHA point excludes its own push.
@@ -267,6 +270,15 @@ async function watch(
 		// A push racing setup is reported once, as a push, not again as a new commit.
 		pushedTips = plain.map((row) => string(row.after));
 		for (const sha of pushedTips) baselineCommits.add(sha);
+		// A merge into the branch after the point is not a push, so it is reported as its new commit.
+		for (const row of activities)
+			if (
+				moved(row) &&
+				!PUSHES.includes(string(row.activity_type)) &&
+				after(row) &&
+				!pushedTips.includes(string(row.after))
+			)
+				baselineCommits.delete(string(row.after));
 		historical = plain.map((row) => ({
 			point: string(row.timestamp),
 			time: timestamp(string(row.timestamp)),

test/wait.test.ts

@@ -689,6 +689,53 @@ test("unresolvable pushed SHA fails with a timestamp recommendation", async () =
 	await expect(waitForActivity(pr, { since: B }, fixture.deps)).rejects.toThrow("pass a timestamp with --since");
 });
 
+test("a SHA a merge into the branch made resolves to the merge's time, and the merge never prints as a push", async () => {
+	for (const type of ["pr_merge", "merge_queue_merge"]) {
+		const fixture = setup(
+			[
+				pull(),
+				response([pushed(A, POINT, type), pushed(B, "2026-10-07T11:00:00Z")]),
+				response([
+					committed(B),
+					committed(A),
+					reviewed(1, "2026-10-07T11:30:00Z"),
+					reviewed(2, "2026-10-07T12:05:00Z"),
+				]),
+			],
+			[B, A],
+		);
+		const lines = await waitForActivity(pr, { since: A }, fixture.deps);
+		expect(lines).toHaveLength(1);
+		expect(lines[0]).toContain("pullrequestreview-2 q1.");
+	}
+});
+
+test("the current head a merge into the branch made is the default point", async () => {
+	const fixture = setup([pull(), response([pushed(A, POINT, "pr_merge")]), response([committed(A), reviewed()])]);
+	const lines = await waitForActivity(pr, {}, fixture.deps);
+	expect(lines).toHaveLength(1);
+	expect(lines[0]).toContain("pullrequestreview-1 q1.");
+});
+
+test("a merge into the branch after the point is reported as its new commit, not as a push", async () => {
+	const fixture = setup(
+		[
+			pull(undefined, B),
+			response([pushed(B, "2026-10-07T12:05:00Z", "pr_merge"), pushed()]),
+			response([committed(A), committed(B)]),
+		],
+		[A, B],
+	);
+	const lines = await waitForActivity(pr, { since: A }, fixture.deps);
+	expect(lines).toHaveLength(1);
+	expect(lines[0]).toMatch(new RegExp(`^${B} committed `));
+});
+
+test("a branch update that is not a move never resolves the point", async () => {
+	const fixture = setup([pull(), response([pushed(), pushed(B, POINT, "branch_deletion")])]);
+	await expect(waitForActivity(pr, { since: B }, fixture.deps)).rejects.toThrow("cannot resolve push time");
+});
+
 test("SHA lookup paginates repository activity", async () => {
 	const fixture = setup(
 		[