Make Source Control default to Commit and Push, with Publish Branch support

[badcuban]

Priority: P2

User request

In the Source Control panel, make "Commit and Push" the default action/button. Keep separate "Commit only" and "Push only" actions available as secondary options, likely in a dropdown or split-button menu.

Also consider the merge flow: when a user merges from the Source Control page, BadCode may need to automatically push the merge commit by default. This probably belongs behind a setting like "push after source-control actions" / "auto-push after merge" for users who prefer manual push control. We should brainstorm the exact product behavior when implementing this issue.

Follow-up observed on May 26, 2026:

• The user was on a new local branch, qol-updater, created outside Source Control.
• The Source Control panel showed the local branch but did not present an obvious way to publish the branch upstream.
• The UI should expose a clear publish-branch path when the current branch has no upstream, rather than requiring the user to know the right terminal command.

Why

Most source-control flows should optimize for the common case: commit local changes and push them. Separate commit/push actions are still useful, but they should not dominate the primary path. Merge behavior should follow the same philosophy: if the app helps create a merge commit, the user should not be left with a local-only state unless they explicitly prefer that workflow.

For new local branches, publishing the branch is a core source-control action. A visible Publish branch action is clearer than a generic disabled or ambiguous Push button when hasUpstream is false.

Starting points

• apps/web/src/components/GitActionsControl.logic.ts owns quick-action and menu action selection.
• buildMenuItems() currently builds separate Commit, Push, and PR items.
• resolveQuickAction() already has commit_push and commit_push_pr action paths.
• apps/web/src/components/GitActionsControl.tsx renders the action UI and dialogs.
• apps/web/src/components/source-control/SourceControlPanel.tsx has source-control panel commit UI, branch UI, and push mutation wiring.
• packages/contracts/src/git.ts exposes branch/upstream status such as hasUpstream.
• apps/server/src/vcs/GitVcsDriverCore.ts already has push paths for branches without upstream, so this may be mostly a UI labeling/gating issue.
• Merge actions should be checked wherever the Source Control page wires branch/merge operations.

Acceptance criteria

• Primary source-control action is "Commit and Push" when local changes can be committed and pushed.
• Secondary menu exposes "Commit only" and "Push only" where each action is valid.
• When the current local branch has no upstream and a push remote exists, Source Control shows a clear Publish branch action.
• Publishing a branch pushes HEAD to the selected/default remote branch and sets upstream tracking.
• The publish action updates source-control status so the branch no longer appears unpublished after completion.
• Commit-and-push uses the publish-branch path when committing on a new local branch with no upstream.
• If no push remote exists, Source Control explains the missing remote and routes to repository publishing/setup instead of silently disabling the action.
• Decide whether auto-push after merge is default behavior, a user setting, or both.
• If enabled, Source Control merge actions push the resulting merge commit automatically after a successful merge.
• Users who prefer manual push can disable auto-push behavior.
• Disabled and default-branch confirmation behavior remains correct.
• PR/create-PR flows still make sense when a PR exists or can be created.
• Update GitActionsControl.logic tests, SourceControlPanel coverage, and relevant browser/UI tests.

[badcuban]

Partial progress shipped in 0.0.3/0.0.4: the Source Control panel now uses the combined Generate, commit & push primary action, keeps individual actions in the menu, and exposes Publish branch for local branches without upstream. Keeping this open for the remaining merge/auto-push behavior decision plus any follow-up coverage/polish around edge cases.

[badcuban]

Backlog triage update: commit-and-push and publish-branch support look mostly implemented. Keep open for the remaining merge auto-push behavior/setting decision rather than treating the whole issue as untriaged.

[badcuban]

Closing as completed for the implemented Source Control primary-action behavior: commit-and-push is primary, publish branch is available for branches without upstream tracking, and merge flow is explicitly Merge & push. Any future manual merge-only setting can be tracked as a smaller follow-up.