Agent Skills: Git Commit

Git Commit

Create well-crafted local commit(s) from the current working tree. No push, no PR — use ce-commit-push-pr for the full ship flow.

Done when: each logical change is committed with an explicit file list and a message that states the outcome, and git status is clean of those changes. Stop when: the tree is clean (nothing to commit).

Context

Gather context with each command as its own shell tool call (program + args only). Do not join with ;, &&, ||, pipes, $(...), or redirects — that syntax fails under Windows PowerShell. A non-zero exit is a normal state to interpret, not a failure to suppress.

| Command | Purpose | Non-zero / empty means | | --- | --- | --- | | git status | Working-tree state | Not a git repo — stop | | git diff HEAD | Uncommitted changes | Unborn repo / no commits yet | | git branch --show-current | Current branch | Empty = detached HEAD | | git log --oneline -10 | Recent message style | Unborn repo — no history | | git rev-parse --abbrev-ref origin/HEAD | Remote default branch | No origin/HEAD / bare HEAD — try gh repo view --json defaultBranchRef --jq '.defaultBranchRef.name', else main |

Treat this as a snapshot. Re-read branch and staged set immediately before committing if anything may have changed.

Default branch name: strip a leading origin/ from origin/HEAD (so origin/trunk → trunk). Use that bare name for all “on the default branch?” checks — never compare against origin/<name>.

Workflow

0. Gather — run every Context command above (own shell call each), then continue.

1. Nothing to commit — if git status shows no staged, modified, or untracked files, report that and stop. Do not use git diff HEAD alone as cleanliness (it misses untracked files).

2. Branch first — if detached HEAD, or on the default branch (main / master / the bare default name above), create a feature branch from the change content (git checkout -b <name>), then re-read git branch --show-current. Do not ask — commit-only still must not leave work only on a detached HEAD or the default branch. If the derived name exists, pick a non-conflicting suffix.

3. Convention — match project commit conventions already in context; else match the recent log pattern; else conventional commits (type(scope): description). When using conventional commits and fix/feat both fit, default to fix: (remedying broken or missing behavior); reserve feat: for new capabilities. User override wins.

4. Logical commits — if changed files clearly split into distinct concerns, make separate commits (file level only, 2–3 max, no git add -p). If ambiguous, one commit.

5. Message — subject is imperative and names the outcome (what is now possible or fixed), not the file list. Body only when motivation or trade-offs are not obvious from the subject. When a plan Implementation Unit ID is already in hand for this commit (conversation, caller, or the files belong to one unit), append that unit's U-ID in parentheses — (U3) means unit 3. Do not hunt for a plan. Omit when the commit spans units, the unit is unclear, or no plan is in hand.

   • Bad: Update checkout.rb / Add tests and fix stuff
   • Good: Fix double-submit on checkout
   • Good: Add per-subscription mute (U3)

6. Stage and commit — stage named files only (never git add -A or git add .). Honor exclude:<paths> when the invocation carries it: those files stay uncommitted no matter what else changed; say in the report that they were left out. Prefer one shell call per commit group:

git add file1 file2 file3 && git commit -m "$(cat <<'EOF'
type(scope): subject line here

Optional body when the why is not obvious from the subject.
EOF
)" -- file1 file2 file3

The trailing path list on git commit is load-bearing: a bare git commit takes the whole index, so anything already staged before this run (a caller's exclude: paths, or work the user staged and did not name) would ride into the commit. Naming the paths commits exactly the group and leaves other index entries alone.

7. Confirm — git status; report hash(es) and subject(s).