// Use when picking a branch name, staging files, or writing a commit message — covers branch conventions, the project's Conventional Commits format with the scope vocabulary observed in history, and the documentation-update gate that fires before every commit (`docs/*`, `README.md`, godoc, Helm values).
Use when opening or updating a pull request, responding to review, or filing a GitHub issue — covers the PR body skeleton matched to recent merged PRs, draft → ready → squash mechanics, rebase-vs-merge policy, and the issue-template routing (`bug_report.yml` / `feature_request.yml`, blank issues disabled).
Use when deciding whether to run an out-of-process test suite (real binary or live instance) — picks between `make smoke`, `make abs-contract`, and `make predeploy-smoke` after the unit suite passes but you've changed handler wiring, scheduler jobs, downloader integration, ABS imports, or anything that boots the binary. For the routine pre-PR matrix (lint / vet / test / typecheck / build) see the `testing` skill.
Use when cutting a release — composing the `## [vX.Y.Z]` `CHANGELOG.md` section, picking the version bump, and walking commits since the last tag. Authoring only; the maintainer pushes the tag (which triggers GoReleaser + provenance signing) and the deploy bot auto-bumps Helm `values.yaml`.
Use when writing or running Bindery tests, before pushing, or before opening a PR — covers the full pre-PR matrix (lint, vet, govulncheck, test, frontend), pinned tool versions, the project's test patterns (db.OpenMemory, httptest, vitest), and common failure modes.
| name | commits |
| description | Use when picking a branch name, staging files, or writing a commit message — covers branch conventions, the project's Conventional Commits format with the scope vocabulary observed in history, and the documentation-update gate that fires before every commit (`docs/*`, `README.md`, godoc, Helm values). |
| Use | Form |
|---|---|
| Feature work | feature/<short-slug> |
| Bug fix tied to an issue | fix/<NN>-<short-slug> (NN = issue number) |
| Codex / agent branches | codex/<slug> |
| Release / deploy | bot-owned — never push manually |
Branch from main, not development (no development branch in this repo). Keep one branch focused on one change. If you find yourself fixing two unrelated things, that's two branches.
<type>(<scope>): <imperative subject, lowercase, no trailing period>
<optional body — explain *why*, not *what*. Wrap at ~72 cols.>
Types observed in history: feat, fix, chore, docs, test, perf. The repo doesn't use refactor, style, or ci as types — ci is a scope.
Scopes (use one of these when it fits; invent sparingly):
| Layer | Scopes |
|---|---|
| Backend domain | api, auth, oidc, db, metadata, indexer, downloader, importer, recommender, scheduler, notifier, series, author, abs, calibre, telemetry, opds, httpsec |
| Cross-cutting | ci, release, deploy, lint, deps / deps-dev, migrate, sync, scanner, search |
| Other | test, docs, web |
Issue link in the subject: append (#NN) — e.g. fix(indexer): strip possessive author prefix from title before relevance matching (#446).
Reserved: chore(deploy): promote bindery to vX.Y.Z [skip ci] is bot-only. Never include [skip ci] in human or agent commits — it bypasses CI and CI is the gate.
Subject examples from real history:
feat(oidc): test discovery button surfaces IdP errors before login (#460)fix(recommender): don't gate author-new / series / genre-popular on ratings countperf(author): parallelize author work discovery and searchestest(downloader): cover download client edge-case matrix (#451)docs(series): document enhanced hardcover series workflowBefore staging the commit, walk the diff and update the matching docs in the same commit (or at minimum the same PR — never a follow-up).
| If your diff touches… | Update… |
|---|---|
| Env vars, config, startup flags, upgrade path | docs/DEPLOYMENT.md |
| Auth modes / OIDC / proxy auth | docs/auth-multiuser.md, docs/auth-oidc.md, docs/auth-proxy.md, docs/troubleshooting-auth.md as applicable |
| ABS import flow | docs/abs_import.md (+ docs/ABS-Import-Wiki.md for user-facing changes) |
| Hardcover / series feature | docs/Hardcover-Series-Wiki.md |
| Upgrade-from-v1 path | docs/upgrade-v2.md |
| Multi-user behaviour | docs/multi-user.md |
| Feature surface advertised at top level | README.md |
| Helm chart values, env, image config | charts/bindery/values.yaml |
| New exported Go symbol with non-obvious behaviour | godoc comment on the symbol |
| Agent process / lifecycle / skill triggers | AGENTS.md (only when the agent contract genuinely changes — don't routinely touch) |
Rule of thumb: the entire docs/ directory and README.md are maintained at every commit — they should never lag behind the code. AGENTS.md is updated only when contributor / agent process actually shifts. CONTRIBUTING.md is human-maintained — don't auto-edit unless the user asks.
Pure refactors with no behaviour change require no doc update.
CHANGELOG.md sections are authored at tag/deploy time, not at commit time. Don't add an [Unreleased] entry; don't modify versioned sections. The tag-release skill covers CHANGELOG authoring when cutting ## [vX.Y.Z].
[skip ci] in human or agent commits.--amend after a hook failure — the commit didn't happen, so amend modifies the previous one. Re-stage and create a new commit.