Agent protocol: Generate commit message

Goal: Draft a commit message that adheres to Conventional Commits specification and project standards, then present it for user approval.

When: Use when the agent needs to generate a commit message for staged changes.

NOTE: Use this skill only for generating a commit message, but not for making commits.

Primary directives

Follow these rules when crafting, formatting, and presenting the commit message:

• ALWAYS study references/conventional-commit.md before drafting.
• Aim for brevity and precision, but don't sacrifice clarity.
• Use bullet points to list changes; optionally precede with brief "why" summary.
• Character limits: Subject ≤50 chars (hard limit: 72); body/footer wrap at 72.
• Use plain text, not markdown. NEVER use backticks (causes shell errors).
• Don't use line numbers or code blocks.

Presentation directives

• NEVER use shell commands, like echo, cat, or similar, when presenting the commit message.
• Present the commit message directly as plain text in a formatted code block within the agent's response.

Confirmation directives

After presenting the commit message, offer 4 options:

1. Approve and commit - Proceed with commit
2. Edit staged files - Unstage and return to staging
3. Regenerate message - Generate new message
4. Abort commit process - Cancel workflow

Make option 1 the default response. Assume "Approve and commit" if the user gives an empty response.

Git directives

Git commands (use --no-pager and --no-ext-diff for diffs):

For staged changes

git --no-pager diff --staged --no-ext-diff --stat --minimal --patience \
    --histogram --find-renames --summary --no-color -U10

For unstaged changes

git --no-pager diff --no-ext-diff --stat --minimal --patience --histogram \
    --find-renames --summary --no-color -U10 <file_group>

For repository status

git status --porcelain=v2 --branch

Efficiency directives

• Batch git operations on all files simultaneously, avoid individual file processing
• Use parallel execution when possible
• Reduce token usage

Task management

For complex tasks: use todo system to break down, plan, and optimize workflow.

Workflow

1. Study references/conventional-commit.md
2. Analyze staged changes via git directives
3. Draft and format complete commit message
4. Verify formatting rules and NO BACKTICKS
5. Present message and prompt for confirmation with 4 options
6. Await user response before further action

Output

Files created:

• None (message generation only)

Status communication:

First line of output indicates user's decision:

• APPROVED: [commit message follows] - user approved message
• REJECTED_EDIT_FILES: user wants to modify staged files - User wants to re-stage
• REJECTED_REGENERATE: user wants new message - User wants message regenerated
• REJECTED_ABORT: user cancelled commit - User aborted process
• ERROR: [message] - Failed to generate message

Following lines (when APPROVED): complete commit message text