+check_if_ref_exists(){
+clone_repo
+cd "$repo"
+if git rev-list refs/heads/master | grep "$ref"; then
+ echo "$ref exists"
+ REF_EXISTS=true
+ cd -
+else
+ echo "$ref Does not exist please submit a valid ref for branching"
+ exit 1
+fi
+}
+
+run_merge(){
+unset NEW_FILES
+if [[ $REF_EXISTS = true && "$JOB_NAME" =~ "merge" ]]; then
+ ssh -n -f -p 29418 gerrit.opnfv.org gerrit create-branch "$repo" "$branch" "$ref"
+ python releases/scripts/create_jobs.py -f $release_file
+ NEW_FILES=$(git status --porcelain --untracked=no | cut -c4-)
+fi
+if [ -n "$NEW_FILES" ]; then
+ git add $NEW_FILES
+ git commit -sm "Create Stable Branch Jobs for $(basename $release_file .yaml)"
+ git push origin HEAD:refs/for/master
+fi
+}