Commit Work

Commit Work

Split by intent. One commit per reason to change.

Goals

• One intent per commit
• Conventional commit messages, imperative mood
• Honest splits — never bundle unrelated changes behind a broad message
• Branch safety — never commit directly on main, master, develop, or the remote default branch
• Ticket number in every commit scope

Workflow

1. Check branch safety first

Run:

• git branch --show-current
• git symbolic-ref refs/remotes/origin/HEAD 2>/dev/null | sed 's@^refs/remotes/origin/@@'
• or git remote show origin if origin/HEAD is unavailable

If the current branch is main, master, develop, or the remote default branch, stop.

Warn the user and ask whether to create or switch to a feature branch before committing. Do not commit on those branches unless the user explicitly overrides the guardrail.

2. Resolve the ticket number

A ticket number is required in every commit scope: type(TICKET-123): summary

If the ticket number is not already known from the branch, MR, or conversation, ask for it before continuing.

3. Inspect the diff

Run git status and git diff HEAD. Read every changed file.

Never include these agent-generated working files unless the user explicitly asks:

• PLAN.md
• IMPROVE.md
• REVIEW.md
• INVESTIGATION.md

4. Plan the split

Group changes by intent. A good split separates things like:

• a new feature from the refactoring that made room for it
• a bug fix from unrelated formatting or cleanup changes
• generated files from hand-written code
• changes in unrelated modules with different reasons to change

When in doubt, split. A slightly smaller commit is easier to review and safer to revert.

Plan the split, then proceed directly to committing. Do not ask for permission — make a good judgement call and execute.

5. Stage and commit each group

For each group in order:

1. Stage only the relevant files: git add <files>
2. Write the commit message
3. Commit: git commit -m "message" (or add a body when the why is not obvious)

Format

type(TICKET-123): imperative summary

Examples:

• feat(PROJ-214): add investigation workflow
• fix(PROJ-214): correct GitLab target option

Common types:

• feat
• fix
• docs
• style
• refactor
• perf
• test
• build
• ci
• chore

Conventional Commits gives semantic meaning primarily to feat, fix, and BREAKING CHANGE. The rest are common types used by convention, not a hard mandatory list from the spec.

Message rules:

• Imperative mood: add X, not added X or adding X
• Lowercase summary, no period at the end
• Ticket number is required in the scope position
• Use a body only when the why is not obvious from the summary alone
• If the message needs and to connect unrelated ideas, split the commit

6. Report

After all commits, show the list of commits made and confirm whether any staged or unstaged changes remain.

Rules

• Never commit unrelated changes together
• Never push — that is a separate step
• Never include PLAN.md, IMPROVE.md, REVIEW.md, or INVESTIGATION.md unless the user explicitly asks
• Do not ask for permission to commit — plan the split, make a judgement call, and execute
• Call out risky git operations before taking them