commit

---
name: commit
license: MIT
compatibility: "Claude Code 2.1.277+."
description: "Creates commits with Conventional Commits format (feat/fix/docs/refactor/test/chore), scope detection, co-author attribution, and pre-commit hook compliance. Validates staged changes and prevents secrets or generated-only files from being committed. Use for requests to commit, stage and commit, save progress, or write a commit message. Do not invoke it for incidental git commits during other work; those stay a bare CLI call."
argument-hint: "[message]"
context: inherit
user-invocable: true
disable-model-invocation: false
allowed-tools: "Bash Read Write AskUserQuestion"
skills: [chain-patterns]
effort: low
hooks:
  PreToolUse:
    - matcher: "Bash"
      hooks:
        - type: command
          command: "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/hooks/bin/run-hook.mjs skill/commit-convention-loader"
          once: true
metadata:
  category: workflow-automation
  version: "1.2.0"
  author: "OrchestKit"
  complexity: "low"
  tags: "git, commit, version-control, conventional-commits"
triggers:
  keywords: [commit, comit, "commit message", "stage and commit", "save progress", "save my progress", "wrap it up", "conventional commit"]
  examples:
    - "commit my changes"
    - "create a conventional commit for these files"
    - "stage and commit the new tests"
  anti-triggers: [push, pr, "pull request", review, rebase, merge]
invocation_hooks:
  - "git rev-parse --is-inside-work-tree >/dev/null 2>&1 || echo 'Warning: not inside a git repository'"
---

# Smart Commit

Host-neutral workflow. Invoke by skill name (`commit`). Claude Code slash routing, YAML hook loaders, and `.claude/chain` live in `references/claude-code.md`.

Simple, validated commit creation. Run checks locally, no agents needed for standard commits.

> **Note:** If `disableSkillShellExecution` is enabled (CC 2.1.91), the git repository check won't run. This skill requires a git repository.

## Quick Start

```bash
commit
commit fix typo in auth module
```

## Argument Resolution

```python
COMMIT_MSG = "$ARGUMENTS"  # Optional commit message, e.g., "fix typo in auth module"
# If provided, use as commit message. If empty, generate from staged changes.
# $ARGUMENTS[0] is the first token (CC 2.1.59 indexed access)
```

## STEP 0: Choose Commit Mode (AskUserQuestion — M118 #1465)

Default is "new commit", but voice-flow needs explicit choice when amend / push / stash is wanted:

```python
# Skip when a flag in the invocation makes the mode unambiguous:
#   commit --amend  → skip, mode=amend
#   commit --push   → skip, mode=new+push
#   commit --stash  → skip, mode=stash-first
#   ORK_COMMIT_DEFAULT_MODE=new (or amend|push|stash) → skip, use env value
#
# Otherwise, ask:
AskUserQuestion(questions=[{
  "question": "How should this commit land?",
  "header": "Commit mode",
  "options": [
    {"label": "New commit (default)", "description": "Create a new commit, leave HEAD intact"},
    {"label": "Amend HEAD", "description": "Fold staged changes into the last commit (LOCAL ONLY — refuses if HEAD is published)"},
    {"label": "New commit + push", "description": "Commit then `git push` (refuses on protected branches)"},
    {"label": "Stash first", "description": "Stash unrelated working-tree changes, then commit only what was already staged"}
  ]
}])
```

**Mode-specific guards:**

- **Amend HEAD** — verify HEAD is not on origin (`git rev-list HEAD..origin/<branch>` empty); if it is published, refuse and recommend "New commit" instead.
- **New commit + push** — re-check the protected-branch rule from Phase 1 before pushing; if HEAD's branch is `main`/`master`/`dev`, abort.
- **Stash first** — `git stash push -k -m "ork:commit autostash"` (keep-index), commit, then `git stash pop` after push success.

## Workflow

### Phase 0: Confirm there is a repository to act on

Before any guard, run `git rev-parse --is-inside-work-tree`. If it fails, or
if the Bash tool is not available in this session, say so in one sentence and
produce the commit message text only. Skip Phases 1 to 3 entirely.

Never print a branch guard, a validation status, or any other repository fact
you did not observe. Measured with `claude plugin eval` on 2026-09-12: in a
sandbox with no repository and no Bash, this skill rendered a "pre-commit
guard" box claiming the branch was `main` and protected. Nothing had been
checked. A message-only answer that says "I could not verify branch or lint
state" is correct; an invented guard is a defect.

### Phase 1: Pre-Commit Safety Check

```bash
# CRITICAL: Verify we're not on dev/main
BRANCH=$(git branch --show-current)
if [[ "$BRANCH" == "dev" || "$BRANCH" == "main" || "$BRANCH" == "master" ]]; then
  echo "STOP! Cannot commit directly to $BRANCH"
  echo "Create a feature branch: git checkout -b issue/<number>-<description>"
  exit 1
fi
```

### Phase 2: Run Validation Locally

Run every check that CI runs:

```bash
# Backend (Python)
poetry run ruff format --check app/
poetry run ruff check app/
poetry run mypy app/

# Frontend (Node.js)
npm run format:check
npm run lint
npm run typecheck
```

Fix any failures before proceeding.

### Phase 3: Review Changes

```bash
git status
git diff --staged   # What will be committed
git diff            # Unstaged changes
```

### Phase 3b: Agent Attribution (automatic)

Before committing, check for the branch activity ledger at `.claude/agents/activity/{branch}.jsonl`.
If it exists and has entries since the last commit, include them in the commit message:

1. Read `.claude/agents/activity/{branch}.jsonl` (one JSON object per line)
2. Filter entries where `ts` is after the last commit timestamp (`git log -1 --format=%cI`)
3. Skip agents with `duration_ms < 5000` (advisory-only agents go in PR, not commits)
4. Add an **"Agents Involved:"** section between the commit body and the Co-Authored-By trailer
5. Add per-agent `Co-Authored-By` trailers: `Co-Authored-By: ork:{agent} <noreply@orchestkit.dev>`

If the ledger doesn't exist or is empty, skip this step — commit normally.

### Phase 4: Stage and Commit

> **CC 2.1.113 idiom:** Multi-line Bash with leading `# intent:` comments now shows the full command in the transcript — prefix complex scripts with a one-line intent comment so future readers (and `/recap` scans) can grep the transcript for what happened without re-reading the diff.

```bash
# intent: stage the hook change + its test + built artifacts
# Stage files
git add <files>
# Or all: git add .

# Commit with conventional format (with agent attribution if ledger exists)
git commit -m "<type>(#<issue>): <brief description>

- [Change 1]
- [Change 2]

Agents Involved:
  backend-system-architect — API design + data models (2m14s)
  security-auditor — Dependency audit (0m42s)

Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
Co-Authored-By: ork:backend-system-architect <noreply@orchestkit.dev>
Co-Authored-By: ork:security-auditor <noreply@orchestkit.dev>"

# Verify
git log -1 --stat
```

> **CC 2.1.183 — `attribution.sessionUrl`:** In web and Remote Control sessions, CC appends a claude.ai session link to commit/PR attribution. Set `attribution.sessionUrl: false` (`/config attribution.sessionUrl=false`) to omit it — useful for public repos where the session link should not leak. The `Co-Authored-By` trailers above are unaffected.

### Handoff File

After successful commit, write handoff:

```python
Write(".claude/chain/committed.json", JSON.stringify({
  "phase": "commit", "sha": "<commit-sha>",
  "message": "<commit-message>", "branch": "<branch>",
  "files": [<staged-files>]
}))
```

## Commit Types

| Type | Use For |
|------|---------|
| `feat` | New feature |
| `fix` | Bug fix |
| `refactor` | Code improvement |
| `docs` | Documentation |
| `test` | Tests only |
| `chore` | Build/deps/CI |

## Quick Rules

1. **Run validation locally** - Don't spawn agents to run lint/test
2. **NO file creation** - Don't create MD files or documentation
3. **One logical change per commit** - Keep commits focused
4. **Reference issues** - Use `#123` format in commit message
5. **Subject line < 72 chars** - Keep it concise

## Quick Commit

For trivial changes (typos, single-line fixes):

```bash
git add . && git commit -m "fix(#123): Fix typo in error message

Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>"
```

## Verification Gate

Before committing, apply the 5-step gate: `Read("../../shared/rules/verification-gate.md")`. Run tests fresh. Read the output. Only commit if tests pass. "Should be fine" is not evidence.

## Quality Bar

Done means all of these hold:
- Commit landed on a feature branch, never dev/main/master (Phase 1 guard held)
- Subject uses a conventional type (feat/fix/docs/refactor/test/chore) matching the diff content, <=72 chars
- Issue reference (#N) present in the message whenever HEAD is on an issue branch
- Local validation for the touched stack (lint/type/test) ran and passed before the commit
- `Co-Authored-By: Claude` trailer present; per-agent trailers added only when the activity ledger has post-last-commit entries
- `git log -1 --stat` shows exactly the intended files, no secrets and no generated-only-noise commit

## Related Skills
- `ork:create-pr`: Create pull requests from commits
- `ork:review-pr`: Review changes before committing
- `ork:fix-issue`: Fix issues and commit the fixes
- `ork:issue-progress-tracking`: Auto-updates GitHub issues with commit progress

## Rules

Each category has individual rule files in `rules/` loaded on-demand:

| Category | Rule | Impact | Key Pattern |
|----------|------|--------|-------------|
| Atomic Commits | `rules/atomic-commit.md` | CRITICAL | One logical change per commit, atomicity test |
| Branch Protection | `rules/branch-protection.md` | CRITICAL | Protected branches, required PR workflow |
| Commit Splitting | `rules/commit-splitting.md` | HIGH | `git add -p`, interactive staging, separation strategies |
| Conventional Format | `rules/conventional-format.md` | HIGH | type(scope): description, breaking changes |
| History Hygiene | `rules/history-hygiene.md` | HIGH | Squash WIP, fixup commits, clean history |
| Issue Reference | `rules/issue-reference-required.md` | HIGH | Reference issue `#N` in commits on issue branches |
| Merge Strategy | `rules/merge-strategy.md` | HIGH | Rebase-first, conflict resolution, force-with-lease |
| Stacked PRs | `rules/stacked-pr-workflow.md` | HIGH | Stack planning, PR creation, dependency tracking |
| Stacked PRs | `rules/stacked-pr-rebase.md` | HIGH | Rebase management, force-with-lease, retargeting |

**Total: 9 rules across 8 categories**

## References

Load on demand with `Read("references/<file>")`:
| File | Content |
|------|---------|
| `references/conventional-commits.md` | Conventional commits specification |
| `references/recovery.md` | Recovery procedures |

From yonatangross/orchestkit at 7626a41, shown as plain text under its license: MIT (permissive). The license text is in src/skills/commit/SKILL.md.

• SKILL.md11 KB · 41d2fce3aec0
• references/
• claude-code.md773 B · 8f54c0d425ea
• conventional-commits.md1.3 KB · 7ea1a9dd0885
• recovery.md819 B · 697a64d6a470
• rules/
• _sections.md1.1 KB · 6435d5bce825
• _template.md339 B · 1f6b17cb8c02
• atomic-commit.md4.1 KB · 2fad069781bd
• branch-protection.md1.6 KB · c75d22599f24
• commit-splitting.md3.6 KB · f867322dcfc6
• conventional-format.md2.9 KB · 2a2623245058
• history-hygiene.md1.7 KB · 67b88f5516e5
• issue-reference-required.md2.0 KB · 2bb6ed149d23
• merge-strategy.md1.6 KB · e935e5a73b8a
• stacked-pr-rebase.md3.5 KB · 3401dca0c56e
• stacked-pr-workflow.md1.4 KB · 691f4623df8d
• scripts/
• validate-conventional.sh4.8 KB · a7e2bdf4639f
• test-cases.json2.9 KB · 2cb20f84d113

17 files, 45 KB in total. Each file has a sha256 in the pin's manifest; the first 12 characters are shown.