How do I install the Stage Hunk skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add block65/stage-hunk in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

Is Stage Hunk safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. Capability flags: executes scripts. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Stage Hunk?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Stage Hunk free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

Who published Stage Hunk?

block65 (@block65) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Stage Hunk by block65 — Agent Skill

Name: Stage Hunk
Rating: 4.2 (5 reviews)
Author: block65

Stage Hunk

Stage or unstage specific hunks, or individual lines within a hunk, from a changed file in a git repo without interactive prompts. Use this skill whenever you need to partially stage or unstage changes: committing only the bug fix hunk but not the refactor, taking one line out of a block of added lines, or unstaging something that was staged by mistake. Common phrases: 'commit only the X changes', 'stage that hunk', 'stage just that line', 'only the second of those lines', 'don't include the Y part', 'unstage the refactor'. Pass args as: first line = file path, remaining lines = plain-language description of which changes to (un)stage. Example args: "src/foo.ts\nstage only the import changes, leave the function rename".

block65 Updated Sep 10, 2026

File contents

You stage or unstage specific hunks from a file. You do NOT commit.

Arguments

$ARGUMENTS is a single string with this structure:

First line: the file path with changes (unstaged or staged). Call this the file.
Remaining lines: a plain-language description of which changes to stage/unstage, or line numbers if known. Call this the description. May contain the words "stage", "unstage", "only", etc.; these are part of the description, not field labels.

Treat the whole $ARGUMENTS string verbatim. Do not look for key: value fields, do not ask the caller to re-format. Mentally split on the first newline: everything before it is the file; everything after it is the description.

If $ARGUMENTS is empty or contains only the file path with no description, report back asking the caller for the description; do not guess.

Steps

Path rule, read before running any command:

The script path is always ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/stage-hunk/scripts/stage_hunk.py. Use that exact form in every Bash call so the shell expands $CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT. Never substitute a relative path (./skills/...), never cd into a development copy of the plugin, never glob for the script under ~/.claude/plugins/cache/.... If $CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT is empty when you echo it, stop and report back; do not improvise.

The file may be absolute or relative to your cwd; the script resolves it to absolute and changes to the file's directory internally, so caller cwd does not matter.

Procedure, in the minimum number of Bash calls. Do not prepare variables, do not echo, do not probe lengths, do not stage in batches.

Mentally split $ARGUMENTS into the file and the description. Do not export shell variables for these; substitute the actual file path inline in the commands below.
List the available hunks in exactly one Bash call:
```
${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/stage-hunk/scripts/stage_hunk.py --list-hunks <file>
```
For unstaging, add --staged. Prints each hunk with index, line range, and preview.
Match the description to the listed hunks. The script accepts indices and ranges only (3, 3-5), so convert the description into the indices shown by --list-hunks.

Stage (or unstage) all matched hunks in one Bash call, passing every index in a single invocation:

${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/stage-hunk/scripts/stage_hunk.py <file> 1 3-5
${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/stage-hunk/scripts/stage_hunk.py --unstage <file> 2

Do not run one command per hunk.

Report what was staged/unstaged.

The whole flow should be 2 Bash calls: list, then stage.

When the description names part of a hunk, a hunk index is too coarse: a hunk is a contiguous run of changed lines, and the caller may want only some of them. Swap both calls for the line-addressed pair, same shape and same 2-call budget:

${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/stage-hunk/scripts/stage_hunk.py --list-lines <file>
${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/stage-hunk/scripts/stage_hunk.py --lines <file> 2 5-7

--list-lines numbers every changed line and shows which hunk it belongs to; --staged and --unstage work as they do for hunks. A rewritten line is a -/+ pair; select both indices to rewrite it, or one alone to leave the old and new line both in the index (the script warns when a selection does this).

If the listing is insufficient to match the description, you may add one git diff -U10 -- <file> call for more context. If you still can't match, report back with a summary so the caller can clarify; do not guess indices.

---name: stage-hunkdescription: Stage or unstage specific hunks, or individual lines within a hunk, from a changed file in a git repo without interactive prompts. Use this skill whenever you need to partially stage or unstage changes: committing only the bug fix hunk but not the refactor, taking one line out of a block of added lines, or unstaging something that was staged by mistake. Common phrases: 'commit only the X changes', 'stage that hunk', 'stage just that line', 'only the second of those lines', 'don't include the Y part', 'unstage the refactor'. Pass args as: first line = file path, remaining lines = plain-language description of which changes to (un)stage. Example args: "src/foo.ts\nstage only the import changes, leave the function rename".---You stage or unstage specific hunks from a file. You do NOT commit.## Arguments`$ARGUMENTS` is a single string with this structure:- **First line**: the file path with changes (unstaged or staged). Call this the _file_.- **Remaining lines**: a plain-language description of which changes to stage/unstage, or line numbers if known. Call this the _description_. May contain the words "stage", "unstage", "only", etc.; these are part of the description, not field labels.Treat the whole `$ARGUMENTS` string verbatim. Do not look for `key: value` fields, do not ask the caller to re-format. Mentally split on the first newline: everything before it is the file; everything after it is the description.If `$ARGUMENTS` is empty or contains only the file path with no description, report back asking the caller for the description; do not guess.## Steps**Path rule, read before running any command:**The script path is **always** `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/stage-hunk/scripts/stage_hunk.py`. Use that exact form in every Bash call so the shell expands `$CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT`. Never substitute a relative path (`./skills/...`), never `cd` into a development copy of the plugin, never glob for the script under `~/.claude/plugins/cache/...`. If `$CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT` is empty when you `echo` it, stop and report back; do not improvise.The file may be absolute or relative to your cwd; the script resolves it to absolute and changes to the file's directory internally, so caller cwd does not matter.**Procedure, in the minimum number of Bash calls. Do not prepare variables, do not echo, do not probe lengths, do not stage in batches.**1. Mentally split `$ARGUMENTS` into the file and the description. Do not export shell variables for these; substitute the actual file path inline in the commands below.2. List the available hunks in exactly one Bash call: ``` ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/stage-hunk/scripts/stage_hunk.py --list-hunks <file> ``` For unstaging, add `--staged`. Prints each hunk with index, line range, and preview.3. Match the description to the listed hunks. The script accepts indices and ranges only (`3`, `3-5`), so convert the description into the indices shown by `--list-hunks`.4. Stage (or unstage) all matched hunks in **one** Bash call, passing every index in a single invocation: ``` ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/stage-hunk/scripts/stage_hunk.py <file> 1 3-5 ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/stage-hunk/scripts/stage_hunk.py --unstage <file> 2 ``` Do not run one command per hunk.5. Report what was staged/unstaged.The whole flow should be 2 Bash calls: list, then stage.**When the description names part of a hunk**, a hunk index is too coarse: a hunk is a contiguous run of changed lines, and the caller may want only some of them. Swap both calls for the line-addressed pair, same shape and same 2-call budget:```${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/stage-hunk/scripts/stage_hunk.py --list-lines <file>${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/stage-hunk/scripts/stage_hunk.py --lines <file> 2 5-7````--list-lines` numbers every changed line and shows which hunk it belongs to; `--staged` and `--unstage` work as they do for hunks. A rewritten line is a `-`/`+` pair; select both indices to rewrite it, or one alone to leave the old and new line both in the index (the script warns when a selection does this).If the listing is insufficient to match the description, you may add one `git diff -U10 -- <file>` call for more context. If you still can't match, report back with a summary so the caller can clarify; do not guess indices.

Frequently asked questions