Git Commit Skill

Create well-formatted git commits following conventional commit style.

Commit Message Format

Use the conventional commit format:

<type>(<scope>): <description>

[optional body]

[optional footer]

Types

• feat: A new feature
• fix: A bug fix
• docs: Documentation only changes
• style: Changes that do not affect the meaning of the code
• refactor: A code change that neither fixes a bug nor adds a feature
• perf: A code change that improves performance
• test: Adding missing tests or correcting existing tests
• build: Changes that affect the build system or external dependencies
• ci: Changes to CI configuration files and scripts
• chore: Other changes that don't modify src or test files

Examples

# Feature commit
git commit -m "feat(auth): add OAuth2 support"

# Bug fix with scope
git commit -m "fix(api): handle null response in user endpoint"

# Documentation
git commit -m "docs: update API documentation"

# Breaking change (use ! after type)
git commit -m "feat(api)!: change response format"

Workflow

1. Check Status

git status

2. Stage Changes

# Stage specific files
git add path/to/file.py

# Stage all changes
git add -A

# Stage interactively (see changes)
git add -p

3. Review Staged Changes

# See what's staged
git diff --staged

# See recent commits for style reference
git log --oneline -5

4. Commit

# Simple commit
git commit -m "type(scope): description"

# Commit with body (use heredoc for multi-line)
git commit -m "$(cat <<'EOF'
feat(auth): add password reset functionality

- Add password reset endpoint
- Send reset email via SendGrid
- Implement token expiration (24h)

Closes #123
EOF
)"

5. Push

# Push to remote
git push

# Push and set upstream
git push -u origin feature-branch

Best Practices

1. Keep commits atomic: Each commit should represent one logical change
2. Write descriptive messages: Explain what and why, not how
3. Reference issues: Use Closes #123 or Fixes #456 in the footer
4. Don't commit secrets: Never commit API keys, passwords, or credentials
5. Review before committing: Always run git diff --staged before committing

Common Issues

Amend last commit

# Change commit message
git commit --amend -m "new message"

# Add forgotten files to last commit
git add forgotten-file.py
git commit --amend --no-edit

Undo last commit (keep changes)

git reset --soft HEAD~1

Undo last commit (discard changes)

git reset --hard HEAD~1