commit-gate

name	commit-gate
description	The only path to a commit. Routed to when the user invokes /commit or otherwise instructs codeArbiter to persist staged changes. Nine gated phases — permission, branch, classification, verification (test/lint/secrets), behavioral proof, diff review, selective stage, message, commit. Nothing reaches version control without clearing every gate; "it looks good" is not authorization.

commit-gate

The only permitted path to a commit. Bypassing it is a hard-rule violation. Routed to when the user invokes /commit or any equivalent instruction to persist staged changes.

Pre-flight

Read these, or STOP and surface the gap — never guess a command:

• {{PROJECT_DIR}}/.codearbiter/tech-stack.md — test, lint, and secrets-scan invocations. Stop if missing; do not guess.
• A git repository must be present and git status available.
• The tdd skill must have cleared all six phases for any new or modified feature code in the staged set. If tdd is incomplete, STOP and surface the gap.

Phase 1 — Permission · gate: BLOCK

Confirm the user explicitly authorized this commit. Speculative commits are prohibited.

Explicit instructions: "commit", "commit this", "go ahead and commit", "create the commit". Ambiguous signals — "looks good", "that should work" — are NOT authorization. Record the instruction text for the report.

Gate: explicit user authorization is on record. Inferred or assumed permission does not pass.

Phase 2 — Branch · gate: BLOCK

Run git branch --show-current. If the branch is main, master, or any protected branch, STOP and instruct the user to create a feature branch. Record the branch name for the report.

Gate: the working branch is not protected.

Phase 3 — Classification · gate: BLOCK

Read the staged set (git diff --cached --name-only and --stat). Classify the change into a commit type:

• feat — new capability or behavior
• fix — corrects a defect
• test — tests only
• refactor — restructures without behavior change
• docs — documentation only
• chore — build, tooling, dependency updates
• ci — pipeline changes

Derive the scope from the staged paths. If the staged set spans more than one type, split it — stage and commit each type separately.

Flag any staged database migration (per _hooklib.is_migration_path) here — it carries a mandatory migration-review routing in Phase 4 (the H-14 gate), independent of the commit type.

Gate: the staged set is type-homogeneous with a single type and scope.

Phase 4 — Verification · gate: BLOCK

Read the test, lint, and secrets-scan commands from tech-stack.md. Then:

• Run the test command. ALL tests green. Any failure blocks.
• Run lint, and the type-check if the project is statically typed. Zero errors.
• Run the secrets scan on ALL staged files, regardless of commit type. Any finding blocks.
• Security gates (mandatory routing): if the staged diff touches crypto/TLS or secret patterns, route it through crypto-compliance and/or secret-handling ({{PLUGIN_ROOT}}/skills/) — they scan against security-controls.md and, on pass, record the diff-bound marker .codearbiter/.markers/security-gate-passed (via hooks/security-pass.py). This is not optional: the PreToolUse commit hook H-09b/H-10b blocks the commit until that gate pass is recorded AND covers every sensitive line being committed.
• Migration gate (mandatory routing): if the staged set contains a database migration (Phase 3 flags it; the detection rule is _hooklib.is_migration_path — default migration globs, extendable/narrowable via a migration-paths block in security-controls.md), dispatch the migration-reviewer agent ({{PLUGIN_ROOT}}/agents/migration-reviewer.md). On a genuine PASS only, record the content-bound marker .codearbiter/.markers/migration-gate-passed by running python3 "{{PLUGIN_ROOT}}/hooks/migration-pass.py" || python "{{PLUGIN_ROOT}}/hooks/migration-pass.py". This is not optional: the PreToolUse commit hook H-14 blocks the commit until the pass is recorded AND covers every migration file being committed (by content digest, no freshness window — an edit to a reviewed migration re-blocks). This closes the bare-/commit / small-lane gap from issue #77. On a BLOCK, do not record the pass.
• CI/deploy review (mandatory routing, no marker gate): if the staged set touches a CI/CD workflow (_hooklib.is_ci_path — defaults extendable via a ci-paths block in security-controls.md) or a deployment/IaC manifest (_hooklib.is_deploy_path — deploy-paths block), dispatch the security-reviewer agent ({{PLUGIN_ROOT}}/agents/security-reviewer.md). This is the enforcement point the advisory post-write-edit reminders H-15/H-16 point to, and it closes the bare-/commit / small-lane gap for CI/deploy (the /review, /pr, /checkpoint, and sprint lanes already dispatch it). Unlike crypto/secret/migration there is no commit-block marker — a CI workflow runs only once merged and IaC bites only on apply, so a BLOCK-level finding halts the commit via Phase 6 review, but routine CI/deploy edits are not gated per-commit. Act on the findings by severity; do not record a marker.

Record each result (PASS / BLOCK) for the report.

Gate: test, lint, secrets scan, and (when crypto/secret is touched) the security gate all PASS. Any failure halts the commit until fixed and re-run.

Phase 5 — Behavioral proof · gate: BLOCK

Apply the shared fresh-run discipline in {{PLUGIN_ROOT}}/includes/fresh-verification.md, with the spec's acceptance criterion as the target — prove the behavior against the spec, not against a self-report.

• Identify the proving command or observable: the acceptance criterion from {{PROJECT_DIR}}/.codearbiter/specs/<slug>.md (or the task's verification in the plan). If none exists, derive the smallest command that exercises the claimed behavior.
• Run it fresh in this phase, read its output and exit code, and confirm the observed behavior matches the spec's acceptance criteria. A mismatch, or an unverifiable claim, blocks.

Stakes: a behavioral-proof mismatch means the change does not do what the spec claims — state what would ship broken if this passed ("the retry path never fires; a transient error would hang the caller"), not just "proof mismatch." That gap is exactly what a green-looking suite hides.

Gate: the change is proven to do what it claimed by fresh evidence — command output and exit code read in this phase. A self-reported "it works" does not pass.

Phase 5.5 — Provenance auto-heal (conditional)

Compute the heal worklist from the staged set via _provenancelib.heal_worklist(staged_paths, provenance, current_hashes) — the subset of staged paths that are drift_trigger:true provenance entries whose recorded hash has diverged or is absent. Empty worklist → skip this phase entirely; most commits pay nothing (cost guarantee: ordinary commits touching no provenance source do zero re-scout work).

Non-empty worklist → run an incremental re-scout scoped to those paths only (not the full repo). For each path, re-examine whether the claims in the backing doc still hold:

• Claim still holds → silently re-baseline. Call _provenancelib.rebaseline to update the stored hash in .codearbiter/.provenance/<doc>.json and stage that file by explicit path so the re-baselined record rides THIS commit (ADR-0008 ride-along pattern — nothing is surfaced to the user). After staging, re-run the secrets scan from tech-stack.md over the newly-staged path(s) — any file staged after Phase 4 must still pass the automated secrets scan before the commit proceeds.
• Claim changed → route to the existing Phase 6 diff-review. The doc or code-map edit required to reflect the changed claim is proposed in diff review — the user reviews it as part of the normal diff; nothing is silently rewritten.

Phase 6 — Diff review · gate: BLOCK

Read the complete staged diff (git diff --cached). Flag as blocking:

• Unexpected files — not discussed in the session.
• Credentials, tokens, API keys, or any secret — belt-and-suspenders to Phase 4.
• Incomplete changes — TODO markers, placeholder values, dead commented-out code, partial stubs.
• Tests disabled or skipped that were not intentionally disabled.
• Scope creep — changes outside the agreed feature or fix boundary.

Board-edit exemption (ADR-0008): an edit to open-tasks.md where _taskboardlib.classify_board_diff(old, new) returns a clean transition (done-flip [~]→[x], start-flip [ ]→[~], or a single queued-add [ ]) is expected and RETAINED — it is not scope creep and MUST NOT be unstaged. Any other open-tasks.md change — a reworded or deleted entry, or an arbitrary content edit — does not classify as a transition and still flags as scope creep.

Provenance re-baseline exemption (ADR-0008): a .codearbiter/.provenance/<doc>.json file written by the Phase 5.5 auto-heal re-baseline is likewise expected and RETAINED — it is not scope creep and MUST NOT be unstaged. A heal-proposed doc or code-map edit (the claim-changed path from Phase 5.5) appears in the diff for normal review; treat it as any other finding. This exemption waives the scope-creep flag only; the secrets check is not waived — the automated re-scan in Phase 5.5 covers the provenance file.

On any blocking finding, unstage the affected files, surface the finding, and STOP. An out-of-scope change that should not be lost gets an inline [NEEDS-TRIAGE] marker before it is set aside.

Stakes: name what the finding would have cost if committed — a leaked credential is live the moment it lands and must be rotated; a scope-creep file ships untested behavior the review waved through. State that consequence on a credential or scope finding, not just "out of scope."

Gate: the diff is clean — zero blocking findings.

Phase 7 — Selective stage · gate: BLOCK

First, run the follow-up harvest — before staging anything. Run the follow-up harvest ({{PLUGIN_ROOT}}/includes/harvest.md) over any Phase 6 [NEEDS-TRIAGE] set-asides — promote discovered follow-ups to open-tasks.md (work) or open-questions.md (decision) via the existing harvest procedure. Running this before the commit means raised board tasks are staged and ride the work commit in the same payload.

Atomicity rule: a raised task riding the work commit is a contingent default — if the PR/branch is abandoned, the board additions are abandoned with it (self-correcting, ADR-0008). A follow-up that must survive PR abandonment is filed as a GitHub issue, not the board.

Then selectively stage: if files were unstaged in Phase 6, re-stage only the clean files by explicit path: git add path/to/file. When a clean task-board transition was retained by the Phase 6 board-edit exemption, include open-tasks.md in the selective stage by explicit path (git add open-tasks.md) alongside the work files, so the flip rides the same commit. Include any open-tasks.md additions produced by the harvest step in the same explicit-path stage. When Phase 5.5 produced a re-baselined provenance record, include the affected .codearbiter/.provenance/<doc>.json file(s) by explicit path in the same selective stage so the re-baselined record rides the work commit. Re-run git diff --cached --name-only and confirm the staged list matches the intended set exactly — no extra files. Unstage any extra and report the discrepancy.

Gate: the staged set contains exactly the intended files. MUST NOT use git add -A, git add ., or any wildcard.

Phase 8 — Message · gate: BLOCK

Compose a Conventional Commits message:

• Subject: <type>(<scope>): <imperative summary>, MUST NOT exceed 72 characters.
• Blank line, then a body explaining WHY — not a restatement of what changed.
• For feat and fix, add a CHANGELOG: footer summarizing the user-visible impact.
• If the commit closes an issue or references a decision, add the footer (Closes #NN, Ref: ADR-NNNN).
• No content-free subjects — "fix bug", "update code", "changes" do not pass.

Gate: subject ≤ 72 chars, a body is present, and any feat/fix carries a CHANGELOG: footer.

Phase 9 — Commit · gate: BLOCK

Commit with the approved message via -m or heredoc with proper quoting — never an interactive editor. Capture the resulting SHA.

If a pre-commit hook fails: read its output in full, fix the issue, re-stage by explicit path (Phase 7 rules apply), and create a NEW commit. MUST NOT --amend after a hook failure.

After a successful commit, run git status to confirm the tree is clean. Deliver the report: SHA, branch, explicit file list, gate results (test / lint / secrets), and the message used.

Gate: the commit lands and git status is clean. Unexpected uncommitted changes after the commit block closure — report the discrepancy.

Hard rules

• MUST NOT commit without explicit user authorization. "It looks good" is not permission.
• MUST NOT commit to main, master, or any protected branch.
• MUST NOT run git add -A, git add ., or any wildcard staging.
• MUST NOT commit while any test is failing, any lint error stands, or any secret is present.
• MUST NOT accept a self-reported "it works" — prove the behavior against the spec with a fresh command run (Phase 5) before committing.
• MUST NOT skip, disable, or work around any automated gate.
• MUST NOT commit a staged database migration without a recorded migration-review pass — the H-14 hook blocks it until migration-reviewer passes and hooks/migration-pass.py records the content-bound marker.
• MUST NOT --amend after a pre-commit hook failure — create a new commit.
• MUST NOT guess the test, lint, or secrets-scan command — read tech-stack.md or STOP.
• MUST NOT silently rewrite a doc's claims — a claim-change edit proposed by Phase 5.5 goes through diff review (Phase 6), never through the silent re-baseline path. The re-baseline path is strictly for claims that still hold; the Phase 5.5 re-baseline MUST ride the work commit (staged by explicit path in Phase 7).
• MUST, at Phase 7 before staging, run the follow-up harvest ({{PLUGIN_ROOT}}/includes/harvest.md) over any Phase 6 [NEEDS-TRIAGE] set-aside — promote to open-tasks.md (work) or open-questions.md (decision) so raised tasks ride the work commit. A follow-up that must survive PR abandonment is filed as a GitHub issue, not the board.