fix(submit): submit the entire stack by default

README.md

@@ -114,13 +114,19 @@ What it _won't_ do is push back up to the remote; see the [next section](#creati
 
 ### Creating & Updating PRs
 
-To create PRs for the `feature-auth` and `feature-auth-tests` branches, execute this from the `feature-auth` branch:
+To create PRs for the entire stack, run from any branch:
 
 ```bash
 gh stack submit
 ```
 
-Whenever you need to push these branches again, or update the PRs, you can run `gh stack submit` again.
+This pushes every branch in the stack (in parent-to-child order) and creates or updates their PRs. You can run it again whenever you need to push changes or update PRs.
+
+To submit only the current branch and its descendants (the old default), use `--from`:
+
+```bash
+gh stack submit --from
+```
 
 > [!TIP]
 >
@@ -254,26 +260,31 @@ The PR itself is not affected; this only removes the local tracking.
 
 ### submit
 
-Restack, push, and create/update PRs for current branch and descendants.
+Restack, push, and create/update PRs for the entire stack.
 
-This is the primary workflow command. It performs three phases:
+This is the primary workflow command. By default it processes **every tracked branch** in parent-before-child order. It performs three phases:
 
-1. **Restack**: Rebase current branch and descendants onto their parents
+1. **Restack**: Rebase affected branches onto their parents
 2. **Push**: Force-push all affected branches (using `--force-with-lease`)
 3. **PR**: Create PRs for branches without them; update PR bases for existing PRs
 
 PRs targeting non-trunk branches are created as drafts. When a PR's base changes to trunk (after its parent merges), you'll be prompted to mark it ready for review.
 
+Use `--from` to limit the scope to a subtree instead of the full stack. A bare `--from` (no value) starts from the current branch, preserving the pre-v0.x behavior.
+
 If a rebase conflict occurs, resolve it and run `gh stack continue`.
 
 #### submit Flags
 
-| Flag             | Description                                     |
-| ---------------- | ----------------------------------------------- |
-| `--dry-run`      | Show what would happen without doing it         |
-| `--current-only` | Only submit the current branch, not descendants |
-| `--update-only`  | Only update existing PRs, don't create new ones |
-| `--push-only`    | Skip PR creation/update, only restack and push  |
+| Flag             | Description                                                              |
+| ---------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
+| `--dry-run`      | Show what would happen without doing it                                  |
+| `--from [branch]` | Submit from this branch toward leaves (bare `--from` = current branch) |
+| `--current-only` | Only submit the current branch, not descendants                          |
+| `--update-only`  | Only update existing PRs, don't create new ones                          |
+| `--push-only`    | Skip PR creation/update, only restack and push                           |
+| `-y, --yes`      | Skip interactive prompts; use auto-generated PR title/description        |
+| `-w, --web`      | Open created/updated PRs in web browser                                  |
 
 ### restack
 

cmd/submit.go

@@ -20,12 +20,15 @@ import (
 
 var submitCmd = &cobra.Command{
 	Use:   "submit",
-	Short: "Restack, push, and create/update PRs for current branch and descendants",
-	Long: `Submit rebases the current branch and its descendants onto their parents,
-pushes all affected branches, and creates or updates pull requests.
+	Short: "Restack, push, and create/update PRs for the entire stack",
+	Long: `Submit rebases, pushes, and creates or updates pull requests for all
+branches in the stack.
 
-This is the typical workflow command after making changes in a stack:
-1. Restack: rebase current branch + descendants onto their parents
+By default, submit processes every tracked branch (the entire stack) in
+parent-before-child order. Use --from to limit the scope to a subtree.
+
+Phases:
+1. Restack: rebase affected branches onto their parents
 2. Push: force-push all affected branches (with --force-with-lease)
 3. PR: create PRs for branches without them, update PR bases for those that have them
 
@@ -40,6 +43,7 @@ var (
 	submitPushOnlyFlag    bool
 	submitYesFlag         bool
 	submitWebFlag         bool
+	submitFromFlag        string
 )
 
 func init() {
@@ -49,6 +53,8 @@ func init() {
 	submitCmd.Flags().BoolVar(&submitPushOnlyFlag, "push-only", false, "skip PR creation/update, only restack and push")
 	submitCmd.Flags().BoolVarP(&submitYesFlag, "yes", "y", false, "skip interactive prompts and use auto-generated title/description for PRs")
 	submitCmd.Flags().BoolVarP(&submitWebFlag, "web", "w", false, "open created/updated PRs in web browser")
+	submitCmd.Flags().StringVar(&submitFromFlag, "from", "", "submit from this branch toward leaves (default: entire stack; bare --from = current branch)")
+	submitCmd.Flags().Lookup("from").NoOptDefVal = "HEAD"
 	rootCmd.AddCommand(submitCmd)
 }
 
@@ -62,6 +68,9 @@ func runSubmit(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 	if submitPushOnlyFlag && submitWebFlag {
 		return fmt.Errorf("--push-only and --web cannot be used together: --push-only skips all PR operations")
 	}
+	if submitFromFlag != "" && submitCurrentOnlyFlag {
+		return fmt.Errorf("--from and --current-only cannot be used together")
+	}
 
 	cwd, err := os.Getwd()
 	if err != nil {
@@ -96,27 +105,52 @@ func runSubmit(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 		return err
 	}
 
-	node := tree.FindNode(root, currentBranch)
-	if node == nil {
-		return fmt.Errorf("branch %q is not tracked in the stack\n\nTo add it, run:\n  gh stack adopt %s    # to stack on %s\n  gh stack adopt -p <parent>    # to stack on a different branch", currentBranch, trunk, trunk)
-	}
-
-	// Collect branches to submit (current + descendants, but never trunk)
+	// Collect branches to submit.
+	//
+	// --current-only: only the current branch (no descendants, no ancestors).
+	// --from (bare):  current branch + descendants (old default behavior).
+	// --from=<branch>: that branch + descendants.
+	// Default:         entire stack (all trunk descendants).
 	var branches []*tree.Node
-	if currentBranch == trunk {
-		// On trunk: only submit descendants, not trunk itself
-		if submitCurrentOnlyFlag {
+	if submitCurrentOnlyFlag {
+		// --current-only: submit only the current checked-out branch
+		if currentBranch == trunk {
 			return fmt.Errorf("cannot submit trunk branch %q; switch to a stack branch or remove --current-only", trunk)
 		}
-		branches = tree.GetDescendants(node)
-		if len(branches) == 0 {
-			return fmt.Errorf("no stack branches to submit; trunk %q has no descendants", trunk)
+		node := tree.FindNode(root, currentBranch)
+		if node == nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("branch %q is not tracked in the stack\n\nTo add it, run:\n  gh stack adopt %s    # to stack on %s\n  gh stack adopt -p <parent>    # to stack on a different branch", currentBranch, trunk, trunk)
 		}
-	} else {
-		// On a stack branch: submit it and optionally its descendants
 		branches = append(branches, node)
-		if !submitCurrentOnlyFlag {
-			branches = append(branches, tree.GetDescendants(node)...)
+	} else {
+		// Determine the starting node for branch collection
+		var startNode *tree.Node
+		if submitFromFlag == "HEAD" {
+			// --from without value: resolve to current branch (old behavior)
+			startNode = tree.FindNode(root, currentBranch)
+			if startNode == nil {
+				return fmt.Errorf("branch %q is not tracked in the stack\n\nTo add it, run:\n  gh stack adopt %s    # to stack on %s\n  gh stack adopt -p <parent>    # to stack on a different branch", currentBranch, trunk, trunk)
+			}
+		} else if submitFromFlag != "" && submitFromFlag != trunk {
+			// --from=<branch>: use specified branch
+			startNode = tree.FindNode(root, submitFromFlag)
+			if startNode == nil {
+				return fmt.Errorf("branch %q is not tracked in the stack", submitFromFlag)
+			}
+		} else {
+			// Default (no --from, or --from=<trunk>): entire stack
+			startNode = root
+		}
+
+		// Collect branches from start node (never include trunk itself)
+		if startNode == root {
+			branches = tree.GetDescendants(root)
+			if len(branches) == 0 {
+				return fmt.Errorf("no stack branches to submit; trunk %q has no descendants", trunk)
+			}
+		} else {
+			branches = append(branches, startNode)
+			branches = append(branches, tree.GetDescendants(startNode)...)
 		}
 	}
 
@@ -324,6 +358,12 @@ func createPRForBranch(g *git.Git, ghClient *github.Client, cfg *config.Config,
 			prNum, adoptErr := adoptExistingPR(ghClient, cfg, root, branch, base, trunk, remoteBranches, s)
 			return prNum, true, adoptErr
 		}
+		// Detect missing base branch on remote and provide an actionable message
+		if isBaseBranchInvalidError(err) {
+			return 0, false, fmt.Errorf(
+				"base branch %q does not exist on the remote; push it first or run 'gh stack submit' to push the entire stack: %w",
+				base, err)
+		}
 		return 0, false, err
 	}
 
@@ -524,6 +564,18 @@ func promptMarkPRReady(ghClient *github.Client, prNumber int, branch, trunk stri
 	}
 }
 
+// isBaseBranchInvalidError returns true if the error indicates that the PR base
+// branch does not exist on the remote (GitHub returns HTTP 422 with
+// "PullRequest.base is invalid" in this case).
+func isBaseBranchInvalidError(err error) bool {
+	if err == nil {
+		return false
+	}
+	msg := err.Error()
+	return strings.Contains(msg, "PullRequest.base is invalid") ||
+		strings.Contains(msg, "base is invalid")
+}
+
 // generatePRBody creates a PR description from the commits between base and head.
 // For a single commit: returns the commit body.
 // For multiple commits: returns each commit as a markdown section.

cmd/submit_internal_test.go

@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@
 package cmd
 
 import (
+	"fmt"
 	"testing"
 )
 
@@ -216,3 +217,46 @@ func TestIsHorizontalRule(t *testing.T) {
 		}
 	}
 }
+
+func TestIsBaseBranchInvalidError(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := []struct {
+		name string
+		err  error
+		want bool
+	}{
+		{
+			name: "nil error",
+			err:  nil,
+			want: false,
+		},
+		{
+			name: "unrelated error",
+			err:  fmt.Errorf("network timeout"),
+			want: false,
+		},
+		{
+			name: "exact GitHub 422 error",
+			err:  fmt.Errorf("failed to create PR: HTTP 422: Validation Failed (https://api.github.com/repos/owner/repo/pulls)\nPullRequest.base is invalid"),
+			want: true,
+		},
+		{
+			name: "short form",
+			err:  fmt.Errorf("base is invalid"),
+			want: true,
+		},
+		{
+			name: "wrapped error",
+			err:  fmt.Errorf("something went wrong: %w", fmt.Errorf("PullRequest.base is invalid")),
+			want: true,
+		},
+	}
+
+	for _, tt := range tests {
+		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			got := isBaseBranchInvalidError(tt.err)
+			if got != tt.want {
+				t.Errorf("isBaseBranchInvalidError() = %v, want %v", got, tt.want)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}