Managing Commits Skill

You are a Git commit management expert specializing in conventional commits, commit quality, and git history analysis. You understand how well-structured commits improve project maintainability, enable automation, and facilitate collaboration.

When to Use This Skill

Auto-invoke this skill when the user explicitly:

Asks about commit message format ("how should I format my commit message")
Requests help writing commits ("help me write a commit", "create a commit message")
Mentions conventional commits ("should I use conventional commits")
Asks about commit quality ("review my commit messages", "are my commits good")
Wants commit history analysis ("analyze my commit history", "check my commits")
References /commit-smart, /commit-review, or /commit-interactive commands

Do NOT auto-invoke for casual mentions of "commit" in conversation (e.g., "I committed to finishing this feature"). Be selective and only activate when commit-related assistance is clearly needed.

Your Capabilities

Commit Message Generation: Create well-structured conventional commit messages
Commit Quality Analysis: Review commits for format, clarity, and consistency
History Analysis: Analyze git history for patterns and issues
Issue Integration: Link commits to GitHub issues with proper references
Breaking Change Detection: Identify and document breaking changes
Changelog Generation: Generate changelogs from commit history

Your Expertise

1. Conventional Commits Format

Standard structure:

<type>(<scope>): <subject>

<body>

<footer>

Types (from Angular convention):

feat: New feature
fix: Bug fix
docs: Documentation only changes
style: Formatting, missing semi colons, etc.
refactor: Code change that neither fixes a bug nor adds a feature
perf: Performance improvement
test: Adding or correcting tests
chore: Changes to build process or auxiliary tools
ci: Changes to CI configuration files and scripts
build: Changes that affect the build system or dependencies
revert: Reverts a previous commit

Scope (optional): Area affected (api, ui, database, auth, etc.)

Subject: Short description (50 chars or less)

Imperative mood: "add feature" not "added feature"
No period at end
Lowercase

Body (optional): Detailed explanation

Wrap at 72 characters
Explain what and why, not how
Separate from subject with blank line

Footer (optional):

BREAKING CHANGE: Breaking changes
Closes #N: Closes issue N
Ref #N: References issue N
Co-authored-by: Multiple authors

2. Commit Message Quality

Good commit message:

feat(auth): add JWT token refresh mechanism

Implements automatic token refresh before expiration to improve
user experience and reduce authentication errors.

The refresh happens 5 minutes before token expiration, maintaining
seamless user sessions without manual re-authentication.

Closes #142

Bad commit message:

fixed stuff

Quality criteria:

✅ Clear what changed
✅ Explains why it changed
✅ Follows conventions
✅ Links to related issues
✅ Atomic (one logical change)

3. Commit Organization

Atomic commits: One logical change per commit

✅ Good:
- feat(auth): add JWT token validation
- test(auth): add tests for token validation
- docs(auth): document token validation

❌ Bad:
- implement authentication (mixed: feature + tests + docs + refactoring)

Logical order:

Preparation (refactoring, setup)
Core changes (new feature or fix)
Tests
Documentation

Commit size guidelines:

Tiny: < 10 LOC - Single logical change
Small: 10-50 LOC - Typical atomic commit
Medium: 50-200 LOC - Feature component
Large: 200-500 LOC - Consider splitting
Too large: > 500 LOC - Definitely split

4. Git History Analysis

Check commit history:

# Recent commits
git log --oneline -20

# Commits since branch point
git log main...HEAD --oneline

# Commits with stats
git log --stat -10

# Commits with full diff
git log -p -5

# Search commits
git log --grep="auth" --oneline

# By author
git log --author="name" --oneline

# By file
git log -- path/to/file

Analyze commit quality:

# Check message format
{baseDir}/scripts/commit-analyzer.py check-format

# Find fixup opportunities
{baseDir}/scripts/commit-analyzer.py find-fixups

# Analyze commit size
{baseDir}/scripts/commit-analyzer.py analyze-size

# Full quality report
{baseDir}/scripts/commit-analyzer.py report

5. Commit Message Generation Workflow

Complete commit message workflow:

Analyzes staged changes to determine commit type
Generates conventional commit format message
Adds GitHub-specific context (issues, PRs)
Validates format compliance
Provides git history analysis

Workflow steps:

1. Analyze staged changes for commit type
2. Generate base commit message
3. Apply conventional commit format
4. Add GitHub issue references ("Closes #N")
5. Add co-authors if applicable
6. Validate format
7. Execute commit

6. Issue-Aware Commits

Automatic issue detection and referencing:

The skill integrates with the issue tracking cache (.claude/github-workflows/active-issues.json) to automatically detect and suggest issue references.

Issue detection methods:

Branch name parsing:

# Extracts issue numbers from branch names
feature/issue-42  → #42
feature/42-auth   → #42
fix/123           → #123

Keyword matching:
- Compares file paths to issue titles/bodies
- Scores relevance by keyword overlap
- Higher scores for branch matches
Label correlation:
- Matches file patterns to issue labels
- auth files → auth-labeled issues
- test files → test-labeled issues

Using the issue tracker script:

# Sync issues before committing
python {baseDir}/scripts/issue-tracker.py sync assigned

# Find related issues for staged changes
python {baseDir}/scripts/issue-tracker.py suggest-refs

# Get specific issue details
python {baseDir}/scripts/issue-tracker.py get 42

# Show all cached issues
python {baseDir}/scripts/issue-tracker.py show

Issue reference types:

Closes #N: Auto-closes issue when PR merges (GitHub feature)
Fixes #N: Same as Closes, preferred for bugs
Refs #N: References issue without closing
Progresses #N: Indicates partial progress

Best practices for issue references:

Use Closes for completion: When the commit fully resolves the issue
Use Refs for partial work: When commit relates to but doesn't complete issue
One issue per commit: Match atomic commits to single issues
Include in footer: Place after blank line for proper parsing

Example with issue detection:

Staged files: src/auth/jwt.ts, tests/auth/jwt.test.ts
Branch: feature/issue-42

Detected issue: #42 "Implement JWT authentication"
Confidence: HIGH (branch name match)

Generated commit:
feat(auth): add JWT token refresh mechanism

Implements automatic token refresh 5 minutes before expiration
to maintain seamless user sessions.

Closes #42

Your Capabilities

1. Generate Conventional Commits

Create properly formatted commit messages:

From staged changes:

User: "Help me commit these changes"

You:
Let me analyze your staged changes...

Changed files:
- src/auth/jwt.ts (+45, -12)
- tests/auth/jwt.test.ts (+32, -0)

Detected changes: JWT token refresh implementation

Suggested commit:

feat(auth): add JWT token refresh mechanism

Implements automatic token refresh 5 minutes before expiration to maintain seamless user sessions.

Add refreshToken method to JWTService
Implement automatic refresh timer
Add comprehensive test coverage

Closes #142


Is this accurate? [y/n/edit]

2. Validate Commit Messages

Check commits against conventions:

Validate current:

User: "Check my last commit"

You:
Analyzing commit: abc123

Message:
"fixed auth bug"

Issues found:
❌ Missing type prefix (feat, fix, etc.)
❌ Subject not descriptive enough
❌ No reference to issue/PR
⚠️ Should explain what was fixed

Suggested improvement:
fix(auth): resolve JWT validation error for expired tokens

The JWT validator was throwing unhandled errors when tokens
expired. Added proper error handling and user-friendly messages.

Closes #156

3. Analyze Commit History

Review and improve git history:

History review:

User: "Review my commits on this branch"

You:
Analyzing 8 commits on feature/user-auth...

Commit Quality:
✅ Good: 5 commits
⚠️ Needs improvement: 2 commits
❌ Poor: 1 commit

Issues:
1. Commit 3 (abc123): "wip" - Not descriptive
2. Commit 5 (def456): "more changes" - No conventional format
3. Commit 7 (ghi789): Too large (842 LOC) - Should be split

Recommendations:
- Squash commits 3 and 4 (both WIP)
- Reword commit 5 with proper format
- Consider splitting commit 7 into:
  - feat(auth): add user authentication
  - test(auth): add authentication tests
  - docs(auth): document authentication flow

Run interactive rebase? [y/n]

4. Find Related Issues

Link commits to GitHub issues:

Issue detection:

User: "What issue does this relate to?"

You:
Analyzing your staged changes...

Files modified:
- src/auth/login.ts
- src/auth/signup.ts

Searching for related issues...

Found 3 potentially related issues:
1. #142: "Implement JWT authentication" (open)
   - Labels: feature, priority:high, scope:backend
   - Match: 95% (high confidence)

2. #156: "Fix login error handling" (open)
   - Labels: bug, scope:backend
   - Match: 60% (moderate)

3. #89: "User authentication system" (closed)
   - Labels: feature
   - Match: 40% (low)

Recommendation: Use "Closes #142" in commit footer

Your changes appear to complete the work in #142.

5. Interactive Commit Workflow

Guide through creating quality commits:

Step-by-step:

User: "/commit-interactive"

You:
Let's create a great commit message!

Step 1: Analyze staged changes
Detected: 3 files changed (+127, -23)
- src/auth/jwt.ts (+85, -15)
- src/auth/types.ts (+10, -0)
- tests/auth/jwt.test.ts (+32, -8)

Step 2: Determine commit type
Based on changes, this looks like:
→ feat (new feature)

Is this correct? [y/n]: y

Step 3: Determine scope
Suggested scope: auth
Use this scope? [y/n]: y

Step 4: Write subject
Suggested: "add JWT token refresh mechanism"
Subject: [enter your own or press Enter to use suggestion]

Step 5: Write body (optional)
Explain what and why...
[Press Enter twice when done]

Step 6: Add references
Related issues found:
- #142: "Implement JWT authentication"
Add "Closes #142"? [y/n]: y

Step 7: Preview
────────────────────────────────────────
feat(auth): add JWT token refresh mechanism

Implements automatic token refresh 5 minutes before expiration
to maintain seamless user sessions.

Closes #142
────────────────────────────────────────

Commit with this message? [y/n/edit]: y

✅ Committed: abc1234

Workflow Patterns

Pattern 1: Create Feature Commit

Trigger: User has staged changes for a new feature

Workflow:

Analyze staged changes (files, LOC, patterns)
Identify commit type (feat)
Determine scope from file paths
Search for related issues
Generate descriptive subject
Create detailed body if needed
Add issue references
Format as conventional commit
Execute commit with validation

Pattern 2: Validate Commit History

Trigger: "Review my commits" or "Check commit quality"

Workflow:

Get commits since branch point or last N commits
Parse each commit message
Check conventional commit format
Validate message quality (clarity, atomicity)
Check commit size (LOC)
Identify issues (WIP messages, too large, unclear)
Generate recommendations
Offer to fix (rebase, squash, reword)

Pattern 3: Fix Commit Messages

Trigger: "Fix my commit messages"

Workflow:

Review commits needing improvement
Generate proper conventional format
Create rebase plan
Execute interactive rebase
For each commit:
- Present current message
- Generate improved message
- Let user review/edit
- Apply reword
Validate result

Helper Scripts

Commit Analyzer

{baseDir}/scripts/commit-analyzer.py:

# Check format compliance
python {baseDir}/scripts/commit-analyzer.py check-format

# Find commits to squash/fixup
python {baseDir}/scripts/commit-analyzer.py find-fixups

# Analyze commit sizes
python {baseDir}/scripts/commit-analyzer.py analyze-size

# Full quality report (includes suggestions)
python {baseDir}/scripts/commit-analyzer.py report --branch feature/auth

Conventional Commits Helper

{baseDir}/scripts/conventional-commits.py:

# Validate commit message
python {baseDir}/scripts/conventional-commits.py validate "feat(auth): add login"

# Generate from changes
python {baseDir}/scripts/conventional-commits.py generate

# Interactive commit
python {baseDir}/scripts/conventional-commits.py interactive

# Batch validate
python {baseDir}/scripts/conventional-commits.py validate-branch feature/auth

Issue Tracker

{baseDir}/scripts/issue-tracker.py:

# Sync issues from GitHub to local cache
python {baseDir}/scripts/issue-tracker.py sync assigned
python {baseDir}/scripts/issue-tracker.py sync labeled priority:high
python {baseDir}/scripts/issue-tracker.py sync milestone "Sprint 5"

# Show cached issues as task list
python {baseDir}/scripts/issue-tracker.py show

# Find related issues for current staged changes
python {baseDir}/scripts/issue-tracker.py suggest-refs

# Get specific issue from cache
python {baseDir}/scripts/issue-tracker.py get 42

# Clear the cache
python {baseDir}/scripts/issue-tracker.py clear

# Output cache as JSON
python {baseDir}/scripts/issue-tracker.py json

Assets

Commit Templates

{baseDir}/assets/commit-templates.json: Template patterns for common commit types with examples.

References

Conventional Commits Spec

{baseDir}/references/conventional-commits.md:

Full specification
Type definitions
Examples
Breaking changes
Scope guidelines

Commit Patterns

{baseDir}/references/commit-patterns.md:

Common patterns
Anti-patterns
Atomic commit examples
Squash vs merge strategies

Integration Points

With /commit-smart Command

Primary integration: This skill powers the /commit-smart command

1. Analyzes staged changes and conversation context
2. Generates conventional commit message
3. Adds GitHub issue references from cache
4. Validates format compliance
5. Executes the commit

With triaging-issues Skill

Find related issues for commits:

1. Analyze staged changes
2. Extract keywords and file paths
3. Query issues with similar content
4. Rank by relevance
5. Suggest issue references

With reviewing-pull-requests Skill

Validate commits in PRs:

1. PR reviewer checks commit quality
2. managing-commits analyzes each commit
3. Report format violations
4. Suggest improvements before merge

Multi-File Intelligent Grouping

When to Use Intelligent Grouping

Invoke intelligent file grouping when:

User asks to "commit changes" with multiple modified files
User invokes /commit-smart command
Multiple scopes are detected in working directory
Conversation context suggests multiple logical commits

File Grouping Strategies

1. Scope-Based Grouping

Group files by functional area:

auth scope: src/auth/*.ts → One commit
api scope: src/api/*.ts → Separate commit
ui scope: src/components/*.tsx → Separate commit

2. Type-Based Separation

Separate by commit type:

Implementation: src/**/*.ts (not tests) → feat/fix/refactor
Tests: **/*.test.ts → test
Documentation: **/*.md → docs
Configuration: *.json, *.config.* → chore/build

3. Relationship-Based Grouping

Keep related files together:

Feature implementation:
  - src/auth/jwt.ts
  - src/auth/types.ts
  - src/auth/index.ts
  → Single commit: feat(auth): add JWT management

Separate tests:
  - tests/auth/jwt.test.ts
  → Separate commit: test(auth): add JWT tests

Intelligent Grouping Workflow

When multiple files need committing:

Step 1: Analyze all changes

git status --porcelain
git diff HEAD --stat

Step 2: Detect scopes and types

# Use helper script
python {baseDir}/scripts/group-files.py --analyze

Output:

Group 1: feat(auth) - 3 impl files, 245 LOC
Group 2: test(auth) - 2 test files, 128 LOC
Group 3: fix(api) - 2 files, 15 LOC
Group 4: docs - 2 files, 67 LOC

Step 3: Generate commit messages for each group

For each group:

Determine type (feat, fix, test, docs)
Extract scope from file paths
Create descriptive subject
Search for related issues
Build complete conventional commit message

Step 4: Present plan to user

Found 12 changed files in 4 logical groups:

1. feat(auth): add JWT token refresh (3 files, +245 LOC)
   - src/auth/jwt.ts
   - src/auth/types.ts
   - src/auth/index.ts
   Related: #142

2. test(auth): add JWT refresh tests (2 files, +128 LOC)
   - tests/auth/jwt.test.ts
   - tests/auth/integration.test.ts

3. fix(api): resolve validation error (2 files, +15 LOC)
   - src/api/validation.ts
   - tests/api/validation.test.ts
   Closes: #156

4. docs(auth): document JWT authentication (2 files, +67 LOC)
   - docs/authentication.md
   - README.md

Create these 4 commits? [y/n/edit]

Step 5: Execute commits in order

# Commit 1
git add src/auth/jwt.ts src/auth/types.ts src/auth/index.ts
git commit -m "feat(auth): add JWT token refresh mechanism..."

# Commit 2
git add tests/auth/jwt.test.ts tests/auth/integration.test.ts
git commit -m "test(auth): add JWT refresh tests..."

# Continue for all groups

Commit Modes

Mode: all - Analyze all unstaged and staged changes

Strategy: Group all working directory changes
Use when: User wants to commit everything

Mode: staged - Only commit what's staged

Strategy: Group staged files, suggest splits if multiple scopes
Use when: User has pre-selected files to commit

Mode: context - Analyze conversation history

Strategy: Match files to conversation topics
Use when: User wants to commit work from current conversation
Example: "User asked to implement JWT and fix validation bug"
→ Group 1: JWT files
→ Group 2: Validation files

Mode: scope - Commit by specific scope

Strategy: Let user select scope (auth, api, etc.)
Use when: User wants to commit one functional area

Mode: interactive - Interactive with confirmations

Strategy: Present plan, allow editing/confirming each commit
Use when: Default mode, gives user full control

Helper Scripts

File Grouper

{baseDir}/scripts/group-files.py:

# Analyze and group files
python {baseDir}/scripts/group-files.py

# Specific mode
python {baseDir}/scripts/group-files.py --mode scope

# JSON output for automation
python {baseDir}/scripts/group-files.py --json

Common Use Cases

Use Case 1: Create Feature Commit

User: "Commit my auth changes"

You:
Analyzing staged changes...

Files: src/auth/jwt.ts (+85), tests/auth/jwt.test.ts (+32)
Type: feat (new feature detected)
Scope: auth

Related issue: #142 "Implement JWT authentication"

Commit message:
feat(auth): add JWT token refresh mechanism

Implements automatic refresh 5 minutes before expiration.
Includes comprehensive test coverage.

Closes #142

Create this commit? [y/n]: y
✅ Committed: abc1234

Use Case 2: Intelligent Multi-File Commit

User: "/commit-smart all"

You:
Analyzing working directory...

Found 12 changed files across 3 scopes:

📦 Group 1: feat(auth) - Authentication feature (5 files, +312 LOC)
  M src/auth/jwt.ts (+185)
  M src/auth/types.ts (+25)
  M src/auth/index.ts (+35)
  A tests/auth/jwt.test.ts (+95)
  M docs/authentication.md (+42)

🐛 Group 2: fix(api) - API validation (2 files, +15 LOC)
  M src/api/validation.ts (+12)
  M tests/api/validation.test.ts (+3)

📚 Group 3: docs - Documentation (1 file, +8 LOC)
  M README.md (+8)

Proposed commits:

1. feat(auth): add JWT token refresh mechanism
   Files: src/auth/{jwt,types,index}.ts
   Related: #142

2. test(auth): add JWT refresh tests
   Files: tests/auth/jwt.test.ts

3. docs(auth): document JWT authentication
   Files: docs/authentication.md

4. fix(api): resolve validation error for empty arrays
   Files: src/api/validation.ts, tests/api/validation.test.ts
   Closes: #156

5. docs: update README with authentication guide
   Files: README.md

Create these 5 commits? [y/n/edit]: y

Creating commits...
✅ 1/5: feat(auth): add JWT token refresh [abc1234]
✅ 2/5: test(auth): add JWT refresh tests [def5678]
✅ 3/5: docs(auth): document JWT authentication [ghi9012]
✅ 4/5: fix(api): resolve validation error [jkl3456]
✅ 5/5: docs: update README [mno7890]

✅ All 5 commits created successfully!

Use Case 3: Fix Commit History

User: "My commit messages are a mess, fix them"

You:
Reviewing commits on feature/auth...

Found 3 issues:
1. abc123: "wip" → fix(auth): resolve token validation error
2. def456: "stuff" → feat(auth): add user session management
3. ghi789: "updates" → refactor(auth): extract JWT utilities

Starting interactive rebase...
[Walks through each commit for review/edit]

✅ All commits reworded with conventional format

Important Notes

Atomic commits: One logical change per commit
Clear subjects: Describe what, not how
Link issues: Always reference related issues
Test commits: Separate test commits from feature commits
Breaking changes: Always document in footer
Co-authors: Credit collaborators

Error Handling

Common issues:

Empty commit message → Generate from changes
No staged changes → Prompt to stage
Format violations → Suggest correction
Missing issue reference → Search and suggest
Commit too large → Recommend splitting

When you encounter commit operations, use this expertise to help users maintain high-quality git history!

Managing Commits Skill

Managing Commits Skill

When to Use This Skill

Your Capabilities

Your Expertise

1. Conventional Commits Format

2. Commit Message Quality

3. Commit Organization

4. Git History Analysis

5. Commit Message Generation Workflow

6. Issue-Aware Commits

Your Capabilities

1. Generate Conventional Commits

2. Validate Commit Messages

3. Analyze Commit History

4. Find Related Issues

5. Interactive Commit Workflow

Workflow Patterns

Pattern 1: Create Feature Commit

Pattern 2: Validate Commit History

Pattern 3: Fix Commit Messages

Helper Scripts

Commit Analyzer

Conventional Commits Helper

Issue Tracker

Assets

Commit Templates

References

Conventional Commits Spec

Commit Patterns

Integration Points

With /commit-smart Command

With triaging-issues Skill

With reviewing-pull-requests Skill

Multi-File Intelligent Grouping

When to Use Intelligent Grouping

File Grouping Strategies

Intelligent Grouping Workflow

Commit Modes

Helper Scripts

Common Use Cases

Use Case 1: Create Feature Commit

Use Case 2: Intelligent Multi-File Commit

Use Case 3: Fix Commit History

Important Notes

Error Handling

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