Git Commit

Write clean, atomic commits that communicate intent clearly.

When to Use This Skill

Activate when any of the following are true:

User asks to "commit", "make a commit", "stage changes", or "write a commit message"
User says "commit my changes" or "commit this"
A logical unit of work is complete and ready to land
User asks about git add, git commit, or git amend

Decision Tree

What does the user need?

Stage + commit changes?
  → Check what changed: git status + git diff --staged
  → Group related changes (atomic commit rule below)
  → Write message in conventional format
  → If hook fails: fix root cause, re-stage, new commit

Amend the last commit?
  → ONLY if NOT yet pushed to remote
  → OK for: missing file, minor message fix, small oversight
  → New commit instead: substantial change, already pushed

Write a commit message only?
  → Follow conventional format below
  → Lead with "why", not "what"

Hook failure?
  → Read the full hook output
  → Fix the root cause — never use --no-verify

Conventional Commits Format

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

<body>      ← optional; explain *why*, not *what*
<footer>    ← optional; breaking changes, refs

Types

Type	When
`feat`	New feature or capability
`fix`	Bug fix
`refactor`	Code restructure, no behavior change
`docs`	Documentation only
`test`	Adding or fixing tests
`chore`	Build, tooling, dependency updates
`perf`	Performance improvement
`ci`	CI/CD workflow changes

Rules

Subject: ≤ 72 chars, imperative mood ("add" not "added"), no trailing period
Body: wrap at 72 chars; explain motivation, not mechanics
Breaking change: BREAKING CHANGE: footer, or ! after type (feat!:)

Atomic Commits

One commit = one logical change. A reviewer should understand it without other commits.

Group together: all files for a single feature or fix; tests with the code they cover.

Keep separate: refactors from behavior changes; unrelated fixes; half-done work.

Never commit "WIP" or "misc fixes" — squash or split before finalizing.

Staging Checklist

Before git add, verify:

No secrets, API keys, or credentials
No debug code or temporary hacks (console.log, TODO: remove)
Changes are related (one logical unit)
.gitignore respected — no build artifacts or generated files unless intentional

Examples

Feature

feat(auth): add OAuth2 login flow

Replaces username/password form. Supports Google and GitHub as providers.
Token refresh is handled automatically by the auth middleware.

Bug fix

fix(publish): handle missing platform binary gracefully

Previously threw unhandled error when the platform package was absent.
Now logs a clear message and exits with code 1.

Breaking change

feat!: change publish config to support multiple binaries

BREAKING CHANGE: `binary` field renamed to `binaries` array.
Migrate: `binary: 'my-cli'` → `binaries: [{ name: 'my-cli', ... }]`

Chore

chore(deps): upgrade pnpm to 10.6.2

Pre-commit Hook Failures

Read the full hook output — it tells you exactly what failed
Fix the underlying issue (lint, type error, formatting)
Re-stage the fixed files
Create a new commit — do not amend the failed attempt
Never use --no-verify unless the user explicitly asks

Setup & Activation

npx skills add -g onsager-ai/dev-skills --skill git-commit -a claude-code -y

Auto-activates when: user says "commit", "stage", "git add", or "commit message".