Commit

commit

You are generating a commit message for the user's staged changes. Work in phases. Never run git commit until the user has confirmed the message.

0. Drift check (quick, non-blocking)

Run bash bin/session-check.sh --flow=commit. If it produces output, surface the line to the user verbatim. Do not block the flow.

1. Gather context

Run bin/commit.sh --target <cwd>. The script emits a JSON context object (target, branch, on_main, convention, staged_files, summary, diff, truncated).

Exit code handling:

• 0 → JSON context emitted. Check the nothing_staged field:
  • nothing_staged: true → ask the user what they want to stage (git add <paths>, git add -p, or "everything"), then re-run.
  • Otherwise → full context available. Continue.
• 2 → not a git repo. Tell the user, stop.

If on_main: true, warn the user that the block-main hook will reject the commit. Suggest they create a feature branch via the new-branch skill before continuing.

1.5. Pre-action guards + commit hygiene

Run both of these before generating the message — they inform scope choice and prevent obvious mistakes from reaching the commit message step:

bash bin/pre-action-guard.sh --flow commit --target <cwd> [--profile <resolved-profile.json>]
bash bin/commit-hygiene.sh --target <cwd> [--profile <resolved-profile.json>]

Guard handling (exit code)

Don't silently pass critical failures. The merge-conflict-markers guard catching <<<<<<< in the staged diff is exactly the case where "warn and continue" would let a broken merge into a commit.

Hygiene findings

commit-hygiene.sh emits {scope_suggestion, incomplete_staging, debug_artifacts, dead_code, summary}. Surface them inline:

• scope_suggestion.primary (when non-null) — pre-fill the CC scope in §3 with this value unless the user objects.
• incomplete_staging[] — surface each entry as a short warning ("package.json staged but lockfile is modified-but-unstaged"). Don't block; the user may genuinely intend a partial commit.
• debug_artifacts[] — show file:line:match. Ask the user via AskUserQuestion whether to abort + clean up, or continue.
• dead_code[] — show file:line:name. Same prompt as debug artifacts.

If summary.warnings == 0, skip the hygiene surface entirely — quiet when there's nothing to say.

2. Pick a convention

Read context.convention:

In every case you are writing Conventional Commits. Load references/conventional-commits.md for the authoritative rules and examples before generating.

3. Generate the message

Using the diff + file summary + convention, write a message with this shape:

<type>[(<scope>)][!]: <description>

[optional body — wrap at 72 chars, use imperative mood]

[optional footers: "Closes #N", "BREAKING CHANGE: ..."]

Rules you must respect (full rationale in the reference):

1. <type> ∈ {feat, fix, chore, docs, refactor, test, perf, ci, build, style, revert}.
2. Subject ≤ 72 chars, no trailing period, imperative mood ("add", not "added").
3. Use ! before the : ONLY when the change is a breaking public-API change. Pair with a BREAKING CHANGE: footer if so.
4. Scope (in parens) is a noun naming the subsystem. Infer from the touched paths.
5. Multi-file diffs pick the dominant change — never "feat: misc updates".
6. If a single commit mixes feat + fix + chore, tell the user it should be split. Don't invent a catch-all subject.
7. Closes #N / Fixes #N go in the footer block only — never in the subject.

4. Preview and confirm

Show the user the generated message plus:

• The active convention (so they know what's being enforced).
• Which files are in the commit.
• A one-line reminder they can edit before you commit.

You MUST call the AskUserQuestion tool (not plain text) to confirm:

{
  "questions": [
    {
      "question": "Proceed with this commit message?",
      "header": "Commit",
      "multiSelect": false,
      "options": [
        { "label": "Commit", "description": "Create the commit with this message" },
        { "label": "Edit", "description": "Let me revise the message first" },
        { "label": "Abort", "description": "Cancel, don't commit anything" }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

5. Commit

Invoke bin/try-commit.sh --target <target> --subject <subject> [--body <body>]. It attempts git commit and emits a structured JSON result instead of failing the tool call, so you can branch on result:

{"result":"committed","sha":"abc123","subject":"feat: ...","stage":null,"reason":null,"exit_code":0}
{"result":"rejected","sha":null,"subject":"...","stage":"commit-msg","reason":"<hook stderr>","exit_code":1}
{"result":"error","sha":null,"subject":"...","stage":null,"reason":"<stderr>","exit_code":N}

Never pass --no-verify. The commit-msg hook is a safety net, not noise.

6. Retry on hook rejection

If result == "rejected" and stage == "commit-msg":

1. Parse reason for the hook's failure line (typically the regex it wanted or the specific rule that rejected the subject).
2. Regenerate the message with that constraint folded in. Keep the original user-facing scope/intent; only adjust the form.
3. Invoke try-commit.sh again with the corrected subject.
4. Cap at 2 retries. If the third attempt also fails, stop: show the user the last rejection's reason + the message you tried, and ask for manual input. Do not loop further. Do not suggest --no-verify.

For result == "rejected" on pre-commit stage, the user usually needs to fix their working tree (formatter / linter / block-main). Surface the reason verbatim and stop — don't try to auto-fix code.

For result == "error" (non-hook failure, e.g. identity missing), pass the reason verbatim to the user. They fix their environment.

Output summary

On success, end with:

• The committed SHA (git rev-parse HEAD).
• The subject line.
• Any footer (scope / breaking change note) worth highlighting.

When something goes wrong

• nothing_staged: true in the JSON → ask what to stage, then re-run §1. Don't assume "everything".
• User says "abort" → exit cleanly. Nothing to undo.
• Two retries failed → print the last hook error + the generated message; ask the user to rewrite. Don't loop further.
• git commit errors for non-hook reasons (e.g. author missing) → surface the git error verbatim; the user fixes their environment.

When to hand off

• "Now open a PR" / "ship it" → pr skill (PR only) or ship skill (PR + merge in one step).
• "Sync my branch with main first" → sync skill.
• "I need a new branch first" → new-branch skill.
• "Undo that commit" → undo skill.

Reference

Details: references/conventional-commits.md.