| name | commit-style |
| description | Provides educational guidance on writing good git commit messages. Activates when users ASK QUESTIONS about commit message formats, styles, conventional commits, classic commits, atomic commit principles, or git best practices. Does NOT activate when users want to PERFORM a commit (use the commit-action skill instead). |
Git Commit Message Guidelines
This skill provides educational context about writing effective git commit messages.
When to Activate
Activate this skill when the user asks questions about:
- How to write commit messages
- Commit message formats or styles
- Conventional commits vs classic commits
- What makes a good commit message
- Atomic commits
- Git best practices for commits
When NOT to Activate
Do NOT use this skill when the user wants to perform a commit. The following are handled by the commit skill:
- "commit these changes"
- "let's commit"
- "make a commit"
- "commit this"
For action requests, the commit skill invokes the /commit workflow.
Available Commit Styles
This plugin supports multiple commit styles. For detailed rules, examples, and anti-patterns, read the style files in the styles/ directory:
- Classic (
styles/classic.md) - Traditional git commit style following the "7 Rules"
- Conventional (
styles/conventional.md) - Structured format for automation
Quick Reference
| Aspect | Classic | Conventional |
|---|
| Subject case | Capitalized | lowercase |
| Type prefix | No | Yes (feat:, fix:, etc.) |
| Max subject | 50 chars | 50 chars (including type) |
| Body wrap | 72 chars | 72 chars |
| Mood | Imperative | Imperative |
| Automation | Manual | Changelog/semver friendly |
Atomic Commits
An atomic commit represents a single, complete, coherent unit of work.
Principles
- Single Responsibility: One commit = one logical change
- Reversibility: Can be reverted without side effects
- Completeness: Leaves codebase in working state
- Describable: Can be explained in one sentence without "and also"
Red Flags (Non-Atomic)
- Multiple unrelated concerns in one commit
- Using "and" to connect separate ideas in message
- Mix of bug fix + new feature
- Changes across unrelated modules
- Difficult to revert cleanly
Benefits
- Easier code review: Reviewers understand each change
- Clean git history: Meaningful, navigable history
- Safe git bisect: Find bugs efficiently
- Simple reverts: Undo specific changes without collateral damage
Recommendations
- Default to classic commits for most projects
- Use conventional commits when you need:
- Automated changelog generation
- Semantic version bumping
- Structured commit history for tooling
- Always write atomic commits regardless of style
- Use
/commit to generate properly formatted messages
Detailed Style Guides
For comprehensive rules, examples, and anti-patterns for each style, read the corresponding file in the styles/ directory. The style files are the authoritative source for formatting rules.
