Git Commit Message Skill

Git Commit Message

Instructions

When this skill is invoked, follow these steps:

Check if there are staged changes: Run git status
If the output of git status contains Changes not staged for commit, then:
- Generate an interactive yes/no prompt artifact asking "You have unstaged changes. Would you like me to stage your changes?"
- Upon confirmation, proceed by adding the staged changes
If the output of git status contains nothing to commit, working tree clean, then:
- Display response to the user: "No changes found. Please make changes to your files before trying to commit."
- Stop and exit the skill.
Only proceed if all changes have been staged, and there are no unstaged changes.
Get details of staged changes: Run git diff --cached to get the details of the staged changes. Review the diff output to understand:
- What files were modified
- What functionality changed
- The purpose and impact of the changes
Check current branch: Run git branch --show-current to determine the current branch.
- If the current branch is main or master or dev or development:
  - Using the staged changes already retrieved in step 5, determine the appropriate branch type and a short task description
  - Generate a branch name in the format <type>/<task-description> (see Branch Naming Format section below). Be specific rather than generic in branch name, ie feature/switch-to-branch instead of feature/update-commit-skill
  - Inform the user they are committing directly to the mainline branch
  - Generate an interactive yes/no prompt artifact asking "You're on the <branch> branch. Would you like me to create the branch <suggested-branch-name> for this commit?" with the suggested branch name filled in
  - Upon confirmation, create and switch to the new branch using git switch -c <branch-name>
  - If the user declines, continue committing on the current branch
Determine emoji usage:
- Search the user's original request for keywords like "emoji", "gitmoji", "with emoji", or "use emoji"
- By default (if no emoji keywords found): Generate the commit message in standard format WITHOUT any emojis
- If the user explicitly asks for emojis: Add emojis using the mapping table below, placing the emoji before the type
Generate commit message: Create a commit message following the semantic commit format below, ensuring:
- Appropriate commit type (feat, fix, docs, etc.)
- Only put a gitmoji in first line if user specified gitmoji or emoji
- Relevant scope based on affected codebase area
- Clear, imperative subject line under 50 characters
- Body and footer if needed for complex changes
- Add line breaks in the body if there are multiple sentences.
Present to user for commit approval:
- Display the formatted commit message for review (without showing the git command)
- Generate an interactive yes/no prompt artifact asking "Would you like me to create this commit?"
- Upon confirmation, proceed to step 10
Final branch check before committing: Run git branch --show-current one final time before executing the commit.
- If the current branch is still main or master or dev or development:
  - Warn the user: "You are about to commit directly to <branch>. Are you sure?"
  - Generate an interactive yes/no prompt artifact asking "Commit directly to <branch>?"
  - Upon confirmation, proceed to create the commit
  - If the user declines, stop and ask them to create a new branch before committing
- If the current branch is not a mainline branch, proceed to create the commit
Present to user for push confirmation:

Once the commit is created, generate an interactive yes/no prompt asking "Would you like me to push this to the remote?"
Upon confirmation, proceed with the push operation

Commands to get details of staged changes

Note: git diff --cached and git diff --staged are equivalent commands - both show staged changes.

Show which files are staged, modified, or untracked

git status

Show detailed line-by-line changes in staged files

git diff --staged

Show summary of staged changes with file names and line counts

git diff --staged --stat

Show detailed changes for a specific staged file

git diff --staged path/to/file

Commit Message Format

The basic semantic message format is:

<type>(<scope>): <subject>

<body>

<footer>

Where:

<type>: The type of change (see list below)
<scope>: Optional, the area of codebase affected
<subject>: Brief description in imperative mood
<body>: Optional, detailed explanation
<footer>: Optional, references to issues or breaking changes

Commit Types

The most common types are:

feat: A new feature
fix: A bug fix
docs: Documentation changes
style: Changes that don't affect code meaning (formatting, semicolons, etc.)
refactor: Code changes that neither fix bugs nor add features
perf: Changes that improve performance
test: Adding or updating tests
chore: Changes to build process, dependencies, or tooling

Scope is optional and specifies which part of the codebase is affected, like feat(auth): add login validation or fix(api): handle null responses.

Subject is a short, imperative description—start with a verb and keep it under 50 characters. Use present tense: "add feature" not "added feature."

Body is optional but useful for longer commits. It explains the why and what in more detail, usually wrapped at 72 characters. Separate it from the subject with a blank line.

Footer is optional and often used for referencing issues: Closes #123 or Fixes #456.

A practical example: feat(checkout): add paypal payment option

Added integration with PayPal's API
Implemented error handling

Closes #234

Branch Naming Format

When creating a branch, use the following format:

<type>/<task-description>

Where:

<type>: One of the branch types listed below
<task-description>: A short hyphenated description of the task (3-4 words max, use hyphens instead of spaces)

Branch Types

| Type | Usage | | -------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------- | | feature | New feature for the user | | fix | Bug fix for the user | | docs | Documentation changes | | style | Formatting, missing semicolons, etc. | | refactor | Refactoring production code | | test | Adding missing tests, refactoring tests | | chore | Updating grunt tasks, nothing that an external user would see |

Example Branch Names

feature/add-user-auth
fix/null-response-handling
docs/update-install-guide
style/reformat-buttons
refactor/simplify-data-logic
test/add-edge-cases
chore/upgrade-dependencies

Git Emoji Messages

Only use emojis when explicitly requested by the user.

When emojis are requested, place the emoji at the start of the commit message, before the type. Format:

<emoji> <type>(<scope>): <subject>

Emoji Mappings to Types

| Type | Emoji | | -------- | ----- | | feat | ✨ | | fix | 🐛 | | docs | 📚 | | style | 💄 | | refactor | ♻️ | | perf | ⚡ | | test | ✅ | | chore | 🔨 | | ci | 👷 | | build | 📦 | | revert | ⏮️ | | security | 🔒 | | deps | 📦 |

Example commit messages with emojis:

✨ feat(auth): add two-factor authentication 🐛 fix(api): handle null responses correctly 📚 docs: update installation guide 💄 style(ui): reformat button component ♻️ refactor(core): simplify data processing logic ⚡ perf(database): optimize query performance ✅ test(utils): add edge case tests 🔨 chore: upgrade dependencies 👷 ci: add GitHub Actions workflow 📦 build: update webpack config 🔒 security: patch XSS vulnerability

Guidelines for Commit Messages

When generating commit messages, follow these rules:

ensure the subject line is lowercase only
Keep the first line under 50 characters for better readability in git logs
Be descriptive rather than technical: Explain what changed from a functional perspective, not implementation details
List changes in bullet form, 1 item per line rather than writing long sentences. Keep bullets to 6 points or less.
Use imperative mood: "add feature" not "added feature" or "adds feature"
Include scope when relevant: Helps identify which part of the codebase is affected
Add body for additional context: Explain the why and what in more detail when the subject alone isn't sufficient
Reference issues in footer: Use "Closes #123" or "Fixes #456" when applicable

Output Format

When presenting the generated commit message to the user, use this format:

Here's the suggested commit message based on your staged changes:

`
<generated commit message>
`

Important Notes

Do not run git commit or git push without user approval
Do not add Co-Authored-By trailers: Commits should only show the user as the author. Never add "Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet noreply@anthropic.com" or any similar co-author trailers to commit messages
Analyze all staged files: If there are many staged files, review each one to ensure the commit message accurately reflects all changes

Agent Skills: Git Commit Message

Install this agent skill to your local

Skill Files