Gentleman-Programming When to Use
Use this skill when:
- Creating a pull request for any change
- Preparing a branch for submission
- Helping a contributor open a PR
Critical Rules
- Every PR MUST link an approved issue — no exceptions
- Every PR MUST have exactly one
type:*label - Automated checks must pass before merge is possible
- Blank PRs without issue linkage will be blocked by GitHub Actions
Workflow
1. Verify issue has `status:approved` label
2. Create branch: type/description (see Branch Naming below)
3. Implement changes with conventional commits
4. Run shellcheck on modified scripts
5. Open PR using the template
6. Add exactly one type:* label
7. Wait for automated checks to pass
Branch Naming
Branch names MUST match this regex:
^(feat|fix|chore|docs|style|refactor|perf|test|build|ci|revert)\/[a-z0-9._-]+$
Format: type/description — lowercase, no spaces, only a-z0-9._- in description.
| Type | Branch pattern | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Feature | feat/<description> |
feat/user-login |
| Bug fix | fix/<description> |
fix/zsh-glob-error |
| Chore | chore/<description> |
chore/update-ci-actions |
| Docs | docs/<description> |
docs/installation-guide |
| Style | style/<description> |
style/format-scripts |
| Refactor | refactor/<description> |
refactor/extract-shared-logic |
| Performance | perf/<description> |
perf/reduce-startup-time |
| Test | test/<description> |
test/add-setup-coverage |
| Build | build/<description> |
build/update-shellcheck |
| CI | ci/<description> |
ci/add-branch-validation |
| Revert | revert/<description> |
revert/broken-setup-change |
PR Body Format
The PR template is at .github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md. Every PR body MUST contain:
1. Linked Issue (REQUIRED)
Closes #<issue-number>
Valid keywords: Closes #N, Fixes #N, Resolves #N (case insensitive).
The linked issue MUST have the status:approved label.
2. PR Type (REQUIRED)
Check exactly ONE in the template and add the matching label:
| Checkbox | Label to add |
|---|---|
| Bug fix | type:bug |
| New feature | type:feature |
| Documentation only | type:docs |
| Code refactoring | type:refactor |
| Maintenance/tooling | type:chore |
| Breaking change | type:breaking-change |
3. Summary
1-3 bullet points of what the PR does.
4. Changes Table
| File | Change |
|------|--------|
| `path/to/file` | What changed |
5. Test Plan
- [x] Scripts run without errors: `shellcheck scripts/*.sh`
- [x] Manually tested the affected functionality
- [x] Skills load correctly in target agent
6. Contributor Checklist
All boxes must be checked:
- Linked an approved issue
- Added exactly one
type:*label - Ran shellcheck on modified scripts
- Skills tested in at least one agent
- Docs updated if behavior changed
- Conventional commit format
- No
Co-Authored-Bytrailers
Automated Checks (all must pass)
| Check | Job name | What it verifies |
|---|---|---|
| PR Validation | Check Issue Reference |
Body contains Closes/Fixes/Resolves #N |
| PR Validation | Check Issue Has status:approved |
Linked issue has status:approved |
| PR Validation | Check PR Has type:* Label |
PR has exactly one type:* label |
| CI | Shellcheck |
Shell scripts pass shellcheck |
Conventional Commits
Commit messages MUST match this regex:
^(build|chore|ci|docs|feat|fix|perf|refactor|revert|style|test)(\([a-z0-9\._-]+\))?!?: .+
Format: type(scope): description or type: description
type— required, one of:build,chore,ci,docs,feat,fix,perf,refactor,revert,style,test(scope)— optional, lowercase witha-z0-9._-!— optional, indicates breaking changedescription— required, starts after:
Type-to-label mapping:
| Commit type | PR label |
|---|---|
feat |
type:feature |
fix |
type:bug |
docs |
type:docs |
refactor |
type:refactor |
chore |
type:chore |
style |
type:chore |
perf |
type:feature |
test |
type:chore |
build |
type:chore |
ci |
type:chore |
revert |
type:bug |
feat! / fix! |
type:breaking-change |
Examples:
feat(scripts): add Codex support to setup.sh
fix(skills): correct topic key format in sdd-apply
docs(readme): update multi-model configuration guide
refactor(skills): extract shared persistence logic
chore(ci): add shellcheck to PR validation workflow
perf(scripts): reduce setup.sh execution time
style(skills): fix markdown formatting
test(scripts): add setup.sh integration tests
ci(workflows): add branch name validation
revert: undo broken setup change
feat!: redesign skill loading system
Commands
# Create branch
git checkout -b feat/my-feature main
# Run shellcheck before pushing
shellcheck scripts/*.sh
# Push and create PR
git push -u origin feat/my-feature
gh pr create --title "feat(scope): description" --body "Closes #N"
# Add type label to PR
gh pr edit <pr-number> --add-label "type:feature"