multiline-commit-messages

This skill guides the agent to use single-quoted strings with embedded newlines for multiline git commit messages instead of heredoc syntax.

by PrismaOfficial publisherNot reviewed

Identity proven by GitHub's verified organisation badge (prisma)

Agents: Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot, OpenCode, claude.ai and API
License: Apache-2.0 (permissive)
Pin: 55458c4pinned Oct 9, 2026
Context cost: about 250 tokenswhen the skill loads
GitHub stars: 415on prisma/prisma-next
Scripts: None found

What it does

“Use single-quoted strings for multiline git commit messages in the Shell tool. Prevents heredoc escaping failures that produce garbled commit messages.”

The author's description, from SKILL.md

Generated summary from the skill's own text

This skill guides the agent to use single-quoted strings with embedded newlines for multiline git commit messages instead of heredoc syntax. It prevents the Shell tool from producing garbled commit messages when heredoc delimiters and escaping fail silently.

When to use it

Composing commit messages with body paragraphs or additional context
Using the Shell tool to run git commands with multiline messages
Working with git workflows that require detailed commit documentation
Avoiding silent failures from nested quoting in heredoc syntax

When not to

Single-line commit messages where heredocs are not involved
Using git tools outside the Shell tool for commit composition

Review

Not reviewed by a person yet. The trust card below shows what our automated checks found at the pinned commit.

Trust card

What our automated checks found

At commit 55458c441d2cf452028c22eed21370447720840a, checked Oct 8, 2026.

License: Apache-2.0 (permissive), from LICENSE
Scripts: None found
Network domains: None found
allowed-tools: None requested
Unpinned packages: None found
Spec issues: None found
Files: 1 file, 1.2 KB in totalLargest: SKILL.md (1.2 KB)
Context cost: Description: 151 characters, in context whenever the agent runs.Body: about 250 tokens, in context when the skill loads.
Warnings: None
Repository: Archived on GitHub, so it no longer receives changes.

Automated checks look for known patterns and can be bypassed. They decide what a reviewer reads first. This is not a guarantee.

Pins

Pin history

55458c4Oct 9, 2026Current

Install

These commands install from the publisher's repository and need no account.

skills CLI

npx skills add prisma/prisma-next --skill multiline-commit-messages

Installs from the repository's default branch, which may have changed since the commit we checked.

GitHub CLI 2.90 or later

gh skill install prisma/prisma-next multiline-commit-messages@55458c441d2cf452028c22eed21370447720840a

Installs the commit we checked (55458c4).

Copy by hand

Download the folder at 55458c4 and put it in .claude/skills/multiline-commit-messages for Claude Code and in .agents/skills/multiline-commit-messages for Codex, Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode.

Skill folder on GitHub at 55458c4

Copy for your agent

A prompt for any coding agent. It installs this skill from GitHub at the pinned commit, copies the files as they are, and runs nothing unless you ask.

Prompt

Install the agent skill "multiline-commit-messages" by Prisma.

Source, pinned to commit 55458c441d2cf452028c22eed21370447720840a:
https://github.com/prisma/prisma-next/tree/55458c441d2cf452028c22eed21370447720840a/skills-contrib/multiline-commit-messages

1. Download that folder at exactly this commit. Do not use the default branch.
2. Copy every file unchanged, keeping the folder structure, into .claude/skills/multiline-commit-messages/ for Claude Code and .agents/skills/multiline-commit-messages/ for Codex, Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode. Create the folders if they do not exist.
3. Do not edit the files, and do not run any script in the folder unless I ask you to.
4. When you are done, list the files you copied and where you put them.

Listing and checks: https://www.agentnative.dev/skills/prisma/multiline-commit-messages

SKILL.md at the pin

---
name: multiline-commit-messages
description: >-
  Use single-quoted strings for multiline git commit messages in the Shell tool.
  Prevents heredoc escaping failures that produce garbled commit messages.
---

# Multiline commit messages

The Shell tool sends commands as a single string. Heredoc syntax (`<<'EOF'`) inside `$(cat ...)` is fragile and fails silently — the literal `$(cat <<'EOF' ...` ends up as the commit message instead of the intended text.

## Rule

**Never** use `$(cat <<'EOF' ...)` or `$(cat <<EOF ...)` for commit messages.

Use single-quoted strings with embedded newlines:

```bash
git commit -m 'short summary line

Longer body paragraph explaining why the change exists.
Additional context if needed.'
```

## Why heredocs fail

The Shell tool passes the command as a single string argument. When you write:

```bash
git commit -m "$(cat <<'EOF'
message
EOF
)"
```

The shell may not parse the heredoc correctly in this context — the `EOF` delimiter, newlines, and nested quoting interact unpredictably. The result is the raw `$(cat <<'EOF' ...` text appearing as the commit message.

Single-quoted strings with literal newlines are simple, portable, and always work.

From prisma/prisma-next at 55458c4, shown as plain text under its license: Apache-2.0 (permissive). The license text is in LICENSE.

View SKILL.md on GitHub at 55458c4

Files

SKILL.md1.2 KB · 064f41e656ca

1 file, 1.2 KB in total. Each file has a sha256 in the pin's manifest; the first 12 characters are shown.

Skill folder on GitHub at 55458c4

All 44 skills from Prisma

multiline-commit-messages

What it does

When to use it

When not to

Install

Copy for your agent

SKILL.md at the pin

Files

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