Sign Existing Commits

Re-sign unsigned branch commits while preserving commit messages and file content.

When to Use This Skill

• When a branch or pull request has several unsigned commits
• When a repository or branch protection rule requires signed commits
• When you need to re-sign history without changing the code snapshots
• When you want a backup branch before rewriting commit history

Keywords: sign commits, GPG sign branch, re-sign PR commits, verified commits, signed history.

Prerequisites

• Run from the repository root
• git is available and authenticated to the remote
• The wrapper script is available at scripts/sign-commits.sh
• The signing configuration check script is available at scripts/git/check-commit-signing-configuration.sh
• The branch contains only commits that are safe to rewrite

Safety Model

• Create a backup branch before rewriting history
• Rewrite on a temporary branch so the original branch stays untouched until verification passes
• Fail fast on any errors or obstacles
• Stop immediately on any rebase conflict or GPG failure
• Skip commit hooks during --amend so hooks cannot block a metadata-only rewrite
• Preserve commit messages and the exact final tree of the original branch tip

Scripted Workflow

Use the wrapper script for the normal path:

bash scripts/sign-commits.sh

The script performs the same workflow documented below:

• checks for a clean working tree and a checked-out branch
• fetches origin/main
• validates Git and GPG signing configuration
• verifies the branch already contains the latest origin/main
• creates a backup branch
• creates a temporary rewrite branch
• finds the first unsigned branch commit and rewrites only that suffix of history
• re-signs each rewritten commit with --no-verify --allow-empty
• suppresses rebase todo and commit-message editors for non-interactive execution
• verifies the rewritten final tree exactly matches the original branch tip before updating the real branch ref
• verifies signatures and checks for zero content drift after switching the real branch to the verified rewrite
• pushes with --force-with-lease

Step-by-Step Workflow

1. Inspect Current Branch

Run:

git branch --show-current
git status --short

Stop and report to the user if:

• no branch is checked out
• the working tree is not clean

2. Refresh Main and Run Checks

Run:

git fetch origin main
bash scripts/git/check-commit-signing-configuration.sh
git merge-base --is-ancestor origin/main HEAD

Interpretation:

• git fetch origin main must succeed
• bash scripts/git/check-commit-signing-configuration.sh must succeed
• git merge-base --is-ancestor origin/main HEAD must exit with code 0

Stop and report to the user if:

• fetch fails
• the signing configuration check fails
• the current branch is not up to date with origin/main

If the branch is behind origin/main, stop. Rebase or merge origin/main first, resolve that separately, and only then return to this workflow.

3. Create Backup Branch First

Run:

iso_timestamp="$(date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H-%M-%SZ)"
current_branch="$(git branch --show-current)"
backup_branch="backup/${current_branch}/${iso_timestamp}"

git branch "$backup_branch"
git branch --list "$backup_branch"

Stop and report to the user if:

• the backup branch cannot be created
• the backup branch cannot be verified

Recovery path:

git switch "$backup_branch"

4. Create a Temporary Rewrite Branch

Run:

temporary_branch="tmp/sign-commits/<branch-name>/<timestamp>"
git switch -c "$temporary_branch"

Purpose:

• keep the original branch ref unchanged during the rewrite
• make it safe to abandon a failed rewrite without moving the user-facing branch

5. Find the First Unsigned Commit

Run:

git rev-list --reverse --format='%H %G?' origin/main..HEAD | sed '/^commit /d'

Interpretation:

• find the first commit whose signature status is not G or U
• if no such commit exists, stop successfully because nothing needs rewriting
• rewrite starts from that unsigned commit through HEAD

6. Re-sign the Necessary Branch Suffix

Run:

first_unsigned_commit='<first unsigned sha>'
rewrite_base_commit="$(git rev-parse "${first_unsigned_commit}^")"

GIT_SEQUENCE_EDITOR=: GIT_EDITOR=: \
git rebase --exec 'git commit --amend --no-edit -S --no-verify --allow-empty' "$rewrite_base_commit"

This does the following:

• rewrites only commits from the first unsigned commit onward
• amends each replayed commit with a GPG signature
• keeps the existing commit message with --no-edit
• skips commit hooks with --no-verify
• tolerates empty replayed commits with --allow-empty
• suppresses the rebase todo editor with GIT_SEQUENCE_EDITOR=:
• suppresses the commit-message editor with GIT_EDITOR=:

Stop and report to the user immediately if:

• the rebase stops for a conflict
• GPG signing fails
• the --exec amend step fails for any commit

Do not continue automatically after a failure. Surface the exact failure and wait for the user.

7. Verify Exact Final-Tree Equality

Run:

original_head_tree="$(git rev-parse <original-branch-tip>^{tree})"
rewritten_head_tree="$(git rev-parse HEAD^{tree})"

Expected result:

• rewritten_head_tree exactly equals original_head_tree
• if they differ, stop and leave the original branch unchanged

Only after this check passes:

git switch <original-branch>
git reset --hard <temporary-branch>

8. Verify the Result

Run:

git log --show-signature --oneline origin/main..HEAD
git diff --stat "$backup_branch"..HEAD

Expected result:

• every rewritten branch commit shows a valid signature
• git diff --stat "$backup_branch"..HEAD shows no file-content changes

Stop and report to the user if:

• any commit is still unsigned
• the diff shows unexpected content changes

7. Update the Remote Branch

Run:

git push --force-with-lease

Stop and report to the user if the push fails.

Troubleshooting

Completion Criteria

• Checks passed
• Backup branch exists
• Temporary rewrite branch was used during the rewrite
• Rebase completed without manual conflict resolution
• Rewritten commits are signed
• Final tree exactly matches the original branch tip
• Remote branch was updated with --force-with-lease

References

• Create backups first with backup-code
• Run the wrapper script with bash scripts/sign-commits.sh