diff --git a/src/cli.ts b/src/cli.ts
index 4a2c2a4..532c3ae 100644
--- a/src/cli.ts
+++ b/src/cli.ts
@@ -36,7 +36,6 @@ type CliOptionState = Pick<
   | 'force'
   | 'checkOverrides'
   | 'coverage'
-  | 'directMerge'
 >;
 
 type MenuContext = {
@@ -79,7 +78,6 @@ function readOptions(opts: Record<string, unknown>): CliOptionState {
     force: opts.force === true,
     checkOverrides: opts.checkOverrides === true,
     coverage: opts.coverage === true,
-    directMerge: opts.directMerge === true,
   };
 }
 
@@ -106,10 +104,6 @@ const serviceDefinitions: ServiceDefinition[] = [
       { flags: '--hard', description: 'overwrite drifted files with upstream version (aggressive realignment)' },
       { flags: '--unpinned', description: 'ignore pinned files (except package.json) to resurface upstream changes' },
       { flags: '--track <mode>', description: 'override upstream tracking for this run: release|branch' },
-      {
-        flags: '--direct-merge',
-        description: 'auto-merge (squash) the sync PR once checks pass — needs auto-merge enabled on the repo',
-      },
     ],
     includeInMenu: (context) => !context.isUpstreamRepo,
     menuDescription: () => 'merge upstream changes + sync package.json',
@@ -219,7 +213,6 @@ function buildProgram(setSelection: (selection: CliServiceSelection) => void): C
         '  $ cella sync --hard',
         '  $ cella sync --unpinned',
         '  $ cella sync --track branch',
-        '  $ cella sync --direct-merge',
         '  $ cella audit --check-overrides',
         '  $ cella contributions --fork raak --json',
       ].join('\n'),
diff --git a/src/config/types.ts b/src/config/types.ts
index ce4601e..62da10c 100644
--- a/src/config/types.ts
+++ b/src/config/types.ts
@@ -272,13 +272,6 @@ export interface RuntimeConfig extends CellaCliConfig {
 
   /** Regenerate test coverage before showing the stats summary (stats service) */
   coverage?: boolean;
-
-  /**
-   * After opening the sync PR, enable GitHub auto-merge (squash) so it merges itself once
-   * required checks pass (sync service). Opt-in per run via `--direct-merge`; needs auto-merge
-   * enabled on the repo. Not the advised default — a sync PR is usually worth a human look.
-   */
-  directMerge?: boolean;
 }
 
 /** File status after analysis */
diff --git a/src/services/sync.ts b/src/services/sync.ts
index c872bc9..709258b 100644
--- a/src/services/sync.ts
+++ b/src/services/sync.ts
@@ -358,22 +358,6 @@ function indentLines(text: string): string {
     .join('\n');
 }
 
-/**
- * Turn on GitHub auto-merge (squash) for the just-opened sync PR: it merges itself once required
- * checks pass, so `--direct-merge` needs no babysitting. Returns whether it was enabled; on failure
- * (the repo doesn't allow auto-merge, `gh` too old) it prints the manual command and returns false.
- */
-function enableAutoMerge(forkPath: string, branch: string): boolean {
-  console.info(pc.dim('enabling auto-merge (squash) once checks pass...'));
-  const merge = mergePrSquash(forkPath, branch, { auto: true, deleteBranch: true });
-  if (merge.ok) return true;
-
-  console.info(pc.yellow('could not enable auto-merge (is it enabled for the repo?). merge it manually:'));
-  if (merge.output) console.info(pc.dim(indentLines(merge.output)));
-  console.info(pc.dim(`  gh pr merge ${branch} --squash --delete-branch`));
-  return false;
-}
-
 /**
  * Push the finished sync branch to `origin`, open a PR into the trunk, and switch back to the
  * trunk. Runs when `cella sync` is invoked on a sync branch whose merge is already committed —
@@ -382,9 +366,6 @@ function enableAutoMerge(forkPath: string, branch: string): boolean {
  * Before pushing, any merge commits on the branch are flattened away (see `flattenSyncBranch`)
  * so the PR never lists the upstream branch's entire history.
  *
- * With `--direct-merge`, once the PR is open GitHub auto-merge is enabled (see `enableAutoMerge`)
- * so it squash-merges itself as soon as required checks pass — no forgotten open PR to trip over.
- *
  * Every step degrades gracefully: a failed push (no `origin`, auth) prints the manual steps and
  * leaves you on the branch; a missing/failed `gh` (or an existing PR) prints the `gh` command but
  * still returns you to the trunk since the branch is already pushed.
@@ -396,7 +377,6 @@ async function shipSyncBranch(config: RuntimeConfig, branch: string): Promise<vo
   const flattened = await flattenSyncBranch(forkPath, branch, base);
   let prUrl: string | undefined;
   let prOpened = false;
-  let autoMergeEnabled = false;
 
   // The squash commit's subject is the versioned sync message — reuse it as the PR title so the
   // PR name carries the upstream version and commit id (release-please only needs the prefix).
@@ -424,9 +404,7 @@ async function shipSyncBranch(config: RuntimeConfig, branch: string): Promise<vo
     });
     prUrl = extractFirstUrl(`${pr.stdout ?? ''}\n${pr.stderr ?? ''}`);
     prOpened = pr.status === 0;
-    if (prOpened) {
-      if (config.directMerge) autoMergeEnabled = enableAutoMerge(forkPath, branch);
-    } else {
+    if (!prOpened) {
       console.info(pc.yellow('could not open the PR automatically (it may already exist). open it with:'));
       if (prUrl) console.info(pc.dim(`  ${prUrl}`));
       printPrCreateStep(branch, base, prTitle);
@@ -443,10 +421,7 @@ async function shipSyncBranch(config: RuntimeConfig, branch: string): Promise<vo
   console.info();
   if (prUrl) {
     console.info(`${pc.green('✓')} Sync pull request ${prOpened ? 'opened' : 'ready'}`);
-    const status = autoMergeEnabled
-      ? `auto-merge on — squashes into '${base}' when checks pass`
-      : `branch pushed, back on '${base}'`;
-    console.info(pc.dim(`  ${prUrl} · ${status}`));
+    console.info(pc.dim(`  ${prUrl} · branch pushed, back on '${base}'`));
   } else {
     console.info(`${pc.green('✓')} Sync branch pushed`);
     console.info(pc.dim(`  '${branch}' is on origin, back on '${base}'`));
diff --git a/src/utils/gh.ts b/src/utils/gh.ts
index 3e81179..813243a 100644
--- a/src/utils/gh.ts
+++ b/src/utils/gh.ts
@@ -72,22 +72,16 @@ export function listOpenSyncPrs(cwd: string, prefix: string): GhPullRequest[] {
 /**
  * Build the argv for `gh pr merge`. Pure — unit-tested.
  *
- * `auto` uses GitHub auto-merge (the PR squashes once required checks pass); without it the
- * merge is attempted immediately and fails when the PR is not mergeable.
+ * The merge is attempted immediately and fails when the PR is not mergeable.
  */
-export function buildMergeArgs(ref: string, options: { auto?: boolean; deleteBranch?: boolean } = {}): string[] {
+export function buildMergeArgs(ref: string, options: { deleteBranch?: boolean } = {}): string[] {
   const args = ['pr', 'merge', ref, '--squash'];
-  if (options.auto) args.push('--auto');
   if (options.deleteBranch) args.push('--delete-branch');
   return args;
 }
 
 /** Squash-merge a PR (by number, branch, or URL). See {@link buildMergeArgs}. */
-export function mergePrSquash(
-  cwd: string,
-  ref: string | number,
-  options: { auto?: boolean; deleteBranch?: boolean } = {},
-): GhResult {
+export function mergePrSquash(cwd: string, ref: string | number, options: { deleteBranch?: boolean } = {}): GhResult {
   return runGh(cwd, buildMergeArgs(String(ref), options));
 }
 
diff --git a/tests/cli.test.ts b/tests/cli.test.ts
index 0904167..1bb7524 100644
--- a/tests/cli.test.ts
+++ b/tests/cli.test.ts
@@ -82,15 +82,5 @@ describe('parseCli', () => {
     expect(config.service).toBe('sync');
     expect(config.logFile).toBe(true);
     expect(config.hard).toBe(true);
-    expect(config.directMerge).toBe(false);
-  });
-
-  it('parses --direct-merge for sync', async () => {
-    process.argv = ['node', 'cella', 'sync', '--direct-merge'];
-
-    const config = await parseCli(baseConfig, '/tmp/fork');
-
-    expect(config.service).toBe('sync');
-    expect(config.directMerge).toBe(true);
   });
 });
diff --git a/tests/gh.test.ts b/tests/gh.test.ts
index b414e45..29225a9 100644
--- a/tests/gh.test.ts
+++ b/tests/gh.test.ts
@@ -45,18 +45,7 @@ describe('buildMergeArgs', () => {
     expect(buildMergeArgs('42')).toEqual(['pr', 'merge', '42', '--squash']);
   });
 
-  it('adds --auto for auto-merge and --delete-branch when requested', () => {
-    expect(buildMergeArgs('cella/sync/x', { auto: true, deleteBranch: true })).toEqual([
-      'pr',
-      'merge',
-      'cella/sync/x',
-      '--squash',
-      '--auto',
-      '--delete-branch',
-    ]);
-  });
-
-  it('can delete the branch without enabling auto-merge', () => {
+  it('deletes the branch when requested', () => {
     expect(buildMergeArgs('7', { deleteBranch: true })).toEqual(['pr', 'merge', '7', '--squash', '--delete-branch']);
   });
 });