commit

name	commit
description	Create a git commit with an impact-focused conventional commit message.
allowed-tools	Bash

Commit

Create a git commit following these steps.

1. Survey the changes

git status
git diff --cached
git diff
git log --oneline -5

Identify what is staged vs unstaged, the nature of each change (feature, fix, refactor, docs, test, chore), and the user-visible impact. Match the scoping conventions visible in recent history.

2. Draft a conventional-commit message

Format: type(scope): subject

Type (required): feat, fix, refactor, docs, test, chore. Add a scope when it clarifies the affected area, e.g. feat(cert):, fix(provenance):, feat(verify-certificate):, chore(npm):, feat(py):.

Subject line:

• 72 characters maximum (hard limit; count them).
• Lead with the impact or problem solved, not the technique used.
• No trailing period. No emojis.

Good vs bad:

• BAD: refactor: extract helper for hash comparison
• GOOD: fix: corpus binding mismatch now names both hashes
• BAD: feat: add new arg to verify-certificate
• GOOD: feat(cert): check the corpus binding by reference (spec 218)

Body (optional): separate from the subject with a blank line. Use dash-prefixed bullets only for multiple distinct changes. Keep lines under 72 characters. Explain how only when it is non-obvious; the subject already covers what and why.

Issue linking: Fixes #NNN or Closes #NNN on its own line after the body, when applicable.

3. Stage the relevant files

Use git add with specific paths. Do not use git add -A or git add . unless every changed file belongs in this commit. Never stage files that look like secrets (.env, credentials, tokens).

4. Create the commit

Pass the message via heredoc:

git commit -m "$(cat <<'EOF'
type(scope): subject line here

Optional body with details.
EOF
)"

5. Verify

Run git status to confirm the commit succeeded and the tree is in the expected state.

Banned content

• No Co-Authored-By or any AI/Claude attribution line.
• No marketing taglines, links, or promotional text.
• No emojis anywhere in the message.
• No em dash character (U+2014) anywhere in the message. Use a colon, a comma, parentheses, or two sentences. This is house style (a hook also blocks U+2014 in file writes, but cannot police commit text).
• No padding about what was not changed. Be direct and factual.

$ARGUMENTS