Tool Git

tool-git

When To Use

• Inspect working tree state and commit history.
• Review and stage focused diffs before commit.
• Compare branches and verify what changed.

Trusted Commands

git status --short
git --no-pager diff
git --no-pager diff --staged
git --no-pager log --oneline -n 20
git --no-pager show HEAD
git add path/to/file
git restore --staged path/to/file

Safe Defaults

• Use --no-pager in non-interactive contexts.
• Stage only task-relevant files.
• Check status before and after edits to avoid accidental scope creep.

Common Pitfalls

• Mixing unrelated edits into one commit.
• Using destructive reset/checkout patterns without explicit approval.
• Misreading staged vs unstaged columns in short status output.

Output Interpretation

• ?? indicates untracked files.
• Left/right M columns in short status represent index/worktree changes.

Why It Matters For Agents

• Git state determines safe automation and review boundaries.
• High-signal diff workflows prevent accidental regressions.

Commit Identity (per remote host)

• Commits must carry the identity that matches the remote; set it per repo, not globally. Leaving the global user.email unset is deliberate — with no email git silently commits a …@hostname.local address, which pollutes and de-anonymizes history.

• Before committing, verify git config user.email is set for this repo; if empty or a .local/(none) hostname value, set git config --local user.name/user.email first.

• Automate it with git conditional includes so identity follows the remote URL:

  # ~/.gitconfig  (email is set only inside the includes; global email stays unset)
  [includeIf "hasconfig:remote.*.url:https://github.com/**"]
      path = ~/.gitconfig-github
  [includeIf "hasconfig:remote.*.url:https://git.example.com/**"]
      path = ~/.gitconfig-work
  

  Scaffold this with .scripts/setup_git_identity.py add --host <host> --name <n> --email <e>.

• Enforcement: the identity-guard pre-commit hook blocks a commit whose identity is missing or auto-generated. Optionally require a domain per repo with git config basicly.identityAllowEmail '@example\.com$'.

Repo Conventions

• Never rewrite history or run destructive git commands without explicit confirmation.
• Keep diffs minimal and avoid unrelated reformatting.

Trigger Examples

• Should trigger: "Review my staged diff for regressions before commit."
• Should trigger: "Show what changed in this branch compared to main."
• Should not trigger: "Lint this shell script for POSIX issues."