Spectra Commit

Commit files related to a specific Spectra change.

This is a utility skill (not a workflow step). It reads source file tracking data and artifact changes to stage and commit only the files belonging to one change — useful when multiple changes are in progress simultaneously.

Input: Optionally specify a change name after $spectra-commit (e.g., $spectra-commit add-auth). If omitted, check if it can be inferred from conversation context. If vague or ambiguous you MUST prompt for available changes.

Prerequisites: This skill requires git. Run git --version. If git is not available (command not found or similar error), inform the user to install git and STOP.

Steps

1. Select the change

   If a name is provided, use it. Otherwise:

   • Infer from conversation context if the user mentioned a change
   • Auto-select if only one active change exists
   • If ambiguous, run spectra list --json to get available changes. Use the AskUserQuestion tool to let the user select

   Always announce: "Committing for change: "

2. Read tracking file

   Check for .spectra/touched/<change-name>.json. If it exists, parse it to get source files grouped by task.

   Expected format:

   {
     "change": "<change-name>",
     "touched": [
       {
         "task_id": "1",
         "task_desc": "Task description",
         "files": ["src/file1.ts", "src/file2.ts"]
       }
     ]
   }
   

   If the file does not exist, proceed without source file data — only artifact files will be included.

3. Collect artifact files

   Run git status --porcelain and filter the output to files under openspec/changes/<name>/. These are the change's artifact files (proposal, design, tasks, specs, etc.).

4. Identify unrelated dirty files

   From the full git status --porcelain output, any dirty files NOT in the artifact set and NOT in the tracking file are "unrelated changes."

5. Display commit plan

   Show the file list grouped into sections:

   ## Commit Plan: <change-name>
   
   ### Change Artifacts
   - M  openspec/changes/<name>/proposal.md
   - M  openspec/changes/<name>/tasks.md
   
   ### Source Files
   **Task 1: <task description>**
   - M  src/lib/components/search.svelte
   - A  src/lib/stores/search.ts
   
   **Task 3: <task description>**
   - M  src/routes/+page.svelte
   
   ### Unrelated Changes (not included)
   - M  src/lib/utils/format.ts
   - ??  tmp/scratch.js
   

   If no tracking file was found, show a warning instead of the Source Files section:

   ### Source Files
   ⚠ No source file tracking data found.
   Only artifact files will be committed. Use `spectra task done` during apply to enable source file tracking.
   

   If there are no artifact files AND no tracked source files, inform the user that there is nothing to commit and STOP.

6. User confirmation

   Use the AskUserQuestion tool to ask the user how to proceed.

   Options:

   • Commit as shown: Proceed with the displayed artifact + source files
   • Include all dirty files: Add all unrelated files to the commit as well
   • Customize: Let the user add or remove specific files from the commit set
   • Archive first, then commit together: Run archive before committing — archive file moves will be included in this commit

   If the user selects "Customize":

   • Show a numbered list of all dirty files (included and excluded)
   • Ask which files to add or remove
   • Re-display the updated commit plan for confirmation

   If the user selects "Archive first, then commit together":

   • Proceed to step 6a (Archive sub-flow) before continuing to step 7

6a. Archive sub-flow (only when the user selected "Archive first, then commit together")

This sub-flow executes three checks in sequence before returning to the main commit flow.

**6a-i. Incomplete task handling**

Read the tasks file at `openspec/changes/<name>/tasks.md`. Count `- [x]` (complete) and `- [ ]` (incomplete) checkboxes.

- If **all tasks are complete**: skip to 6a-ii.
- If **incomplete tasks exist**:
  - Display the list of incomplete tasks
  - Use the **AskUserQuestion tool** to ask: "These tasks are still incomplete. Mark all as complete before archiving?"
    - **Yes**: set a flag to pass `--mark-tasks-complete` to `spectra archive`
    - **No**: proceed without the flag (archive will continue with a warning)

  If **AskUserQuestion tool** is not available, ask the same question as plain text and wait for the user's response.

**6a-ii. Delta spec sync check**

Check whether delta specs exist at `openspec/changes/<name>/specs/`.

- If **no delta specs exist** (directory is empty or absent): skip to 6a-iii.
- If **delta specs exist**:
  - Use the **AskUserQuestion tool** to ask: "Delta specs found. Sync to main specs before archiving?"
    - **Yes**: run `spectra sync <name>` before proceeding
    - **No**: proceed without syncing

  If **AskUserQuestion tool** is not available, ask the same question as plain text and wait for the user's response.

**6a-iii. Archive execution and file collection**

Execute the archive:

```bash
spectra archive <name>          # without --mark-tasks-complete
spectra archive <name> --mark-tasks-complete  # if user chose to mark tasks complete in 6a-i
```

After archive completes successfully:

1. Re-run `git status --porcelain` to capture all file changes produced by the archive (deletions from `openspec/changes/<name>/`, additions in `openspec/archived/`)
2. Add these archive-related file changes to the commit set
3. Display an **updated commit plan** showing all sections:

```
## Updated Commit Plan: <change-name> (with archive)

### Change Artifacts (archived)
- D  docs/specs/changes/<name>/proposal.md
- D  docs/specs/changes/<name>/tasks.md
- ...

### Archived Files
- A  docs/specs/archived/<name>/proposal.md
- A  docs/specs/archived/<name>/tasks.md
- ...

### Source Files
(same as before)

### Spec Sync Changes (if sync was performed)
- M  docs/specs/specs/<spec-name>/spec.md
- ...
```

Then continue to step 7.

7. Generate commit message

   Read the proposal file at openspec/changes/<name>/proposal.md. Extract the first sentence from the Why section (or Problem/Summary section if Why is absent).

   Generate a message in this format:

   spectra(<change-name>): <summary>
   
   Change: <change-name>
   Tasks: <completed>/<total> complete
   

   If the archive sub-flow was executed (user selected "Archive first, then commit together"), add Archived: yes to the message body:

   spectra(<change-name>): <summary>
   
   Change: <change-name>
   Tasks: <completed>/<total> complete
   Archived: yes
   

   Task progress comes from reading the tasks file and counting - [x] vs - [ ] checkboxes.

   Show the generated message to the user and allow editing before proceeding.

8. Selective staging

   Stage each confirmed file individually:

   git add <file1>
   git add <file2>
   ...
   

   NEVER use git add . or git add -A. Each file must be staged explicitly.

9. Commit

   git commit -m "<message>"
   

10. Show result

    git log --oneline -1
    

    Display the commit hash and message to confirm.

Output On Success

## Committed: <change-name>

**Commit:** <short-hash> spectra(<change-name>): <summary>
**Files:** <N> files committed (<A> artifacts, <S> source files)
**Tasks:** <completed>/<total> complete

Output On Nothing To Commit

## Nothing to Commit

**Change:** <change-name>

No dirty files found for this change (no modified artifacts, no tracked source files).

Guardrails

• NEVER use git add . or git add -A — every file must be staged individually with git add <file>
• NEVER commit files the user hasn't confirmed — always show the file list and get explicit confirmation first
• Always show the full file list before committing — no silent staging
• If the tracking file is missing, warn but don't block — artifact-only commits are valid
• The "Unrelated Changes" section is informational only — these files are excluded by default
• If AskUserQuestion tool is not available, ask the same questions as plain text and wait for the user's response