checkpoint-commit

name	checkpoint-commit
description	Slash command that creates governance checkpoint commits. Analyzes changes, validates .gitignore, and creates formatted checkpoint commits linked to Change Requests. Trigger with /checkpoint-commit [CR-XXXX] [summary].
license	Apache-2.0
metadata	{"copyright":"Copyright Daniel Grenemark 2026","version":"1.0"}

/checkpoint-commit

Creates a governance checkpoint commit to preserve work-in-progress state. Analyzes all repository changes, validates .gitignore, and creates a properly formatted commit linked to a Change Request.

Usage: /checkpoint-commit [CR-XXXX] [summary]

Both arguments are optional. The command will auto-detect the CR ID and generate a summary if not provided.

Workflow

Follow these steps in order.

Step 1: Context Detection

Determine the CR identifier:

• If CR-ID is provided in $ARGUMENTS: Use the provided CR-ID.
• If CR-ID is NOT provided:
  1. Check the current Git branch name for a pattern like dev/CR-XXXX or any branch containing CR- followed by digits.
  2. If not found in branch name, check the most recently modified file in docs/cr/ using git log --diff-filter=M -1 --name-only -- docs/cr/.
  3. If the CR-ID is ambiguous or cannot be determined, MUST prompt the user for confirmation. Do NOT proceed without a confirmed CR-ID.

Step 2: Analyze Changes

Examine all changes in the repository:

# Staged changes
git diff --staged

# Unstaged changes
git diff

# Untracked files
git ls-files --others --exclude-standard

• MUST identify all staged, unstaged, and untracked files.
• If there are no changes (no staged, unstaged, or untracked files), report "No changes to checkpoint" and stop. Do NOT create a commit.

Step 3: Update .gitignore

Before staging, review untracked files and update .gitignore to exclude:

• Temporary files (.tmp, .bak, *.log)
• Build artifacts (dist/, build/, node_modules/)
• Generated content (compiled files, cache directories)
• IDE-specific files not already covered

This step is mandatory to prevent repository bloat. If more than 50 untracked files are detected, MUST confirm with the user before proceeding.

Step 4: Write Summary

• If summary is provided in $ARGUMENTS: Use the provided summary.
• If summary is NOT provided: Analyze the diff output and generate a "Golden Summary" — a concise one-sentence description of the changes.

Compose the full commit message:

• Subject line: checkpoint(CR-xxxx): {summary}
• Body: Detailed description with bullet points explaining what changed and why.

Step 5: Stage All Changes

git add -A

Step 6: Create Checkpoint Commit

git commit -m "checkpoint(CR-xxxx): {summary}

{detailed body with bullet points}"

Step 7: Report

Share the result with the user:

• The commit hash (from git log -1 --format="%H")
• Summary of actions performed
• List of files included in the commit

Safety Rules

• MUST NOT perform destructive Git operations: git reset, git rebase, git commit --amend, git push --force
• MUST preserve all work without data loss
• MUST ensure idempotent operations safe to run multiple times
• MUST validate .gitignore before staging