Github Selective Push

GitHub Selective Push

Overview

Use this skill to perform a narrow, auditable GitHub upload from an existing local repository. Favor safety over convenience: inspect state first, stage only the files the user named, and confirm what is actually in the index before committing.

Workflow

1. Inspect repository state.

• Run git rev-parse --is-inside-work-tree, git remote -v, and git status --short --ignored.
• If the directory is not a Git repository, run git init.
• If origin is missing, add the user-provided GitHub SSH or HTTPS remote.

2. Configure local Git identity when needed.

• Set repository-local identity instead of global unless the user asks otherwise.
• Use:

  git config user.name "<github-name>"
  git config user.email "<github-email>"
  

3. Prepare GitHub SSH access when the remote uses SSH.

• Check for ~/.ssh/id_ed25519 and ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub.
• If missing, generate them with:

  ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "<github-email>" -f ~/.ssh/id_ed25519 -N ""
  

• Show the public key with cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub so the user can add it to GitHub.
• If ssh -T git@github.com fails with host-key verification, append the host key with:

  ssh-keyscan github.com >> ~/.ssh/known_hosts
  

• Confirm connectivity with:

  ssh -T git@github.com
  

4. Stage only the requested files.

• Never run git add . unless the user explicitly wants a broad commit.
• Add exact paths only.
• If the requested file lives under an ignored path such as result/, use git add -f <path> only when the user explicitly asked to upload that file.
• Verify the staged set with:

  git diff --cached --name-status
  

5. Commit only after the staged set is correct.

• Use a concise Conventional Commit message when practical, such as:

  git commit -m "chore: add experiment reward plot"
  

6. Push and handle first-push divergence cleanly.

• Rename the branch to main if needed with git branch -M main.
• Push with:

  git push -u origin main
  

• If push is rejected because remote main already contains an initial commit, run:

  git fetch origin main
  git rebase origin/main
  git push -u origin main
  

• Avoid force-pushing unless the user explicitly requests it and understands the consequence.

Operating Rules

• Keep unrelated untracked or modified files out of the commit.
• Respect existing .gitignore rules unless the user explicitly asks to override them for a specific path.
• Report the exact file paths staged, the commit hash, and whether push succeeded.
• If a push fails, explain the concrete blocker and the next corrective command.

Common Patterns

For a single ignored artifact:

git add -f result/analysis/example.png
git diff --cached --name-status
git commit -m "chore: add experiment figure"
git push -u origin main

For a few specific source files:

git add README.md configs core scripts tests
git diff --cached --name-status
git commit -m "chore: initial import"
git push -u origin main