committing-changes

name	committing-changes
description	Commit work with feature-branch + PR discipline and enforce commit-message rules via git hooks. Use when committing code, opening a PR, or setting up a new repo's commit hygiene. Installs three git hooks (commit-msg subject rules, pre-commit auto-checks, pre-push protect-main), creates a feature branch from main if needed, runs the project's lint/format/test before commit, generates a conformant commit message (capital start, ≤72 chars, no trailing period, no Co-Authored-By, one logical change per commit), pushes, opens a PR via gh pr create, and prunes merged branches. Never pushes to main, never merges PRs, never force-pushes. Co-activates with shell-discipline and engineering-philosophy.
allowed-tools	Read, Edit, Write, Bash(git status *), Bash(git diff *), Bash(git log *), Bash(git add *), Bash(git commit *), Bash(git push *), Bash(git checkout *), Bash(git branch *), Bash(git merge *), Bash(git fetch *), Bash(git rev-parse *), Bash(gh pr *), Bash(gh repo *), Bash(bash scripts/install-hooks.sh)

Workflow

1. Install hooks (once per repo). From inside the repo, run the installer that ships with this skill:

   bash <skills>/committing-changes/scripts/install-hooks.sh
   

   This copies commit-msg and pre-push into .git/hooks/ and makes them executable. Idempotent.

2. Branch check. If on main, switch to a feature branch:

   git checkout -b <type>/<description>
   

   Valid type prefixes: feat, fix, refactor, docs, test, chore.

3. Auto-fix before commit. Run the project's linter/formatter (e.g., ruff format && ruff check for Python, golangci-lint run for Go, forge fmt && solhint for Solidity). The pre-commit hook (if installed) runs the project's full quality gate.

4. Commit & push.

   git add <specific paths>
   git commit -m "<subject conforming to rules below>"
   git push -u origin <branch>
   

5. Sync with main.

   git fetch origin main
   git merge origin/main
   

   Resolve conflicts; commit the merge; push.

6. PR creation (first push only).

   gh pr list --head <branch>
   gh pr create --fill   # if no PR exists yet
   

7. Branch cleanup (after the user has merged).

   git fetch --prune
   git branch --merged main | grep -v '^\*\|main' | xargs -r git branch -d
   

Rules

• Never push directly to main. Always feature branches + PRs. The pre-push hook blocks this.
• Never merge branches or PRs. Always let the user merge.
• Never force-push. No --force, no --force-with-lease. Create new commits instead.
• One logical change per commit.
• Commit-message subject (enforced by commit-msg hook):
  • Capital start (imperative mood: "Add", "Fix", "Refactor", not "added"/"adds").
  • ≤ 72 chars.
  • No trailing period.
  • No Co-Authored-By: lines.

Why this discipline

Each rule traces to a specific failure mode:

• No direct push to main → no broken main, every change is reviewable.
• No agent-side merge → the human keeps the merge decision; agents never close the loop unilaterally.
• No force-push → preserves history; reviewers can trust commit hashes.
• One logical change per commit → bisect works; reverts are surgical.
• Subject rules → consistent log readability; no noisy attribution lines.

Cross-references

• shell-discipline — issue these git/gh commands one per call, no && chains.
• engineering-philosophy — "Small Steps" and "Investigate, Don't Mask" map directly to one-logical-change-per-commit and don't-disable-failing-hooks.

Reference

• scripts/commit-msg — subject-line rules enforcer.
• scripts/pre-commit — runs project's lint/format/test before commit.
• scripts/pre-push — blocks direct push to main/master.
• scripts/install-hooks.sh — idempotent installer.
• reference/commit-md-original.md — original Claude-Code commit.md command verbatim.
• reference/git-rule.md — original rules/git.md verbatim.
• reference/hook-troubleshooting.md — common failure modes + fixes.