Git Workflow

Git Workflow Skill

Overview

This skill provides quick reference for common git operations, commit message patterns specific to this repository, and safety checklists for git workflows. Use this when you need a refresher on git commands or want to verify you're following project conventions.

Workflow Decision Tree

What do you need to do?

├─ Save work locally
│  ├─ Stage specific files → git add <files>
│  ├─ Stage all changes → git add . (check for sensitive files first!)
│  └─ Commit changes → git commit (analyze style from git log first)
│
├─ Share work with team
│  ├─ Push current branch → git push (REQUIRES user confirmation)
│  ├─ Create pull request → gh pr create (analyze full branch history first)
│  └─ Update from remote → git pull
│
├─ Manage branches
│  ├─ Create new branch → git checkout -b <name> or git switch -c <name>
│  ├─ Switch branches → git checkout <name> or git switch <name>
│  ├─ List branches → git branch -vv (shows tracking info)
│  └─ Delete branch → git branch -d <name> (confirm if unmerged)
│
├─ Review changes
│  ├─ See current status → git status
│  ├─ View uncommitted changes → git diff
│  ├─ View commit history → git log --oneline --graph
│  ├─ View file history → git log -- <file>
│  └─ Compare branches → git diff <branch1>...<branch2>
│
├─ Fix mistakes
│  ├─ Undo last commit (keep changes) → git reset --soft HEAD~1
│  ├─ Amend last commit → git commit --amend
│  ├─ Discard local changes → git restore <file> (CONFIRM first)
│  └─ Hard reset → git reset --hard (CONFIRM first - destructive!)
│
└─ Temporary storage
   ├─ Save work in progress → git stash push -m "description"
   ├─ List stashes → git stash list
   ├─ Apply latest stash → git stash pop
   └─ Apply specific stash → git stash apply stash@{N}

Core Guidelines

Project-Specific Requirements

CRITICAL RULES:

• ❌ NEVER include Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet footer in commits
• ❌ NEVER include "🤖 Generated with [Claude Code]" branding
• ⚠️ ALWAYS confirm with user before pushing to remote (git push)
• ✅ Commits can be made freely locally
• ✅ Pushing requires explicit user approval

Commit Message Style

Based on analysis of this repository's commit history:

Format: <Action verb> <concise description>

Action Verbs:

• Add - New features, files, or functionality
• Fix - Bug fixes or corrections
• Improve - Enhancements to existing features
• Redesign - Significant UI/UX changes
• Optimize - Performance improvements
• Security - Security-related changes
• Refactor - Code restructuring without behavior change
• Update - Dependencies or configuration updates

Examples from this repo:

Add animated waveform visualization to recording indicator
Fix slow dictation transcription with enhanced logging and safety timeout
Improve waveform visualizer: fix amplitude scaling and light mode support
Redesign Meeting Transcription window and fix dictation indicator tracking
Optimize dictation latency for faster text insertion
Security: Redact transcription content from crash reports

Style Rules:

• Single line (no body unless absolutely necessary)
• Focus on what changed and why, not implementation details
• Use colon to separate component from details (optional)
• NO emojis, markdown, or special formatting
• NO attribution footers or branding

Safety Checklist

Before Staging Files:

• Check for sensitive files (.env, credentials.json, *.key, *.pem)
• Review git diff to understand what's being committed
• Verify no debug code, console.logs, or TODO comments
• Ensure no large binary files (use .gitignore if needed)

Before Committing:

• Run git status to see what will be committed
• Review git log --oneline -5 to match commit message style
• Write clear, descriptive commit message
• NO Co-Authored-By footer
• NO Claude Code branding

Before Pushing:

• Verify correct branch (git branch --show-current)
• Check remote tracking (git branch -vv)
• Run git log origin/<branch>..HEAD to see outgoing commits
• Get user confirmation (REQUIRED for this project)

Before Destructive Operations:

• Understand what will be lost
• Consider alternatives (stash instead of hard reset)
• Get user confirmation
• Never force push to main/master without explicit approval

Quick Reference

Common Commands

Status & Information:

git status                           # Show working tree status
git status -sb                       # Short status with branch info
git diff                             # Show unstaged changes
git diff --staged                    # Show staged changes
git log --oneline --graph -10        # Pretty commit history
git log --oneline --all --graph      # All branches history
git branch -vv                       # List branches with tracking info

Staging & Committing:

git add <file>                       # Stage specific file
git add <dir>                        # Stage directory
git add .                            # Stage all changes (check sensitive files!)
git restore --staged <file>          # Unstage file
git commit -m "message"              # Commit with message
git commit --amend                   # Modify last commit

Branching:

git switch -c <branch>               # Create and switch to new branch
git switch <branch>                  # Switch to existing branch
git checkout -b <branch>             # Create and switch (older syntax)
git branch -d <branch>               # Delete merged branch (safe)
git branch -D <branch>               # Force delete branch (confirm first!)
git branch -m <old> <new>            # Rename branch

Remote Operations:

git fetch                            # Download remote changes
git pull                             # Fetch and merge
git push                             # Push to remote (REQUIRES confirmation)
git push -u origin <branch>          # Push and set upstream
git remote -v                        # Show remote URLs

Stashing:

git stash push -m "description"      # Save work in progress
git stash list                       # List all stashes
git stash pop                        # Apply and remove latest stash
git stash apply                      # Apply latest stash (keep in list)
git stash drop                       # Delete latest stash
git stash clear                      # Delete all stashes

Undo Operations:

git restore <file>                   # Discard local changes (CONFIRM!)
git reset --soft HEAD~1              # Undo last commit, keep changes
git reset --mixed HEAD~1             # Undo last commit and staging
git reset --hard HEAD~1              # Undo last commit and changes (CONFIRM!)
git revert <commit>                  # Create new commit that undoes changes

PR Creation Checklist

When creating a pull request:

1. Analyze full branch context:

   git log main..HEAD                # All commits in this branch
   git diff main...HEAD              # All changes since branching
   git status                        # Current state
   

2. Draft PR components:

   • Title: < 70 characters, descriptive
   • Summary: 2-3 bullet points of what changed
   • Test Plan: How to verify the changes work
   • Issue link: If created from a GitHub issue, include Closes #NNN so GitHub auto-closes the issue on merge

3. Push and create:

   git push -u origin <branch>       # Get user confirmation first!
   gh pr create --title "..." --body "..."
   

4. PR Body Template:

   ## Summary
   - First major change
   - Second major change
   - Third major change
   
   ## Test Plan
   - [ ] Step 1 to test
   - [ ] Step 2 to test
   - [ ] Step 3 to test
   
   Closes #NNN
   

   Note: Replace #NNN with the actual issue number. Omit the Closes line if the PR is not associated with an issue. GitHub recognizes: Closes, Fixes, Resolves (case-insensitive).

Git Troubleshooting Guide

"I accidentally committed to the wrong branch"

# 1. Note the commit hash
git log --oneline -1

# 2. Undo the commit (keep changes)
git reset --soft HEAD~1

# 3. Switch to correct branch
git switch <correct-branch>

# 4. Commit on correct branch
git add .
git commit -m "message"

"I need to undo my last commit"

# Keep changes, undo commit
git reset --soft HEAD~1

# Undo commit and unstage, keep changes
git reset --mixed HEAD~1

# Completely undo (DESTRUCTIVE - confirm first!)
git reset --hard HEAD~1

"I want to sync with remote main"

# From your feature branch
git fetch origin
git rebase origin/main
# Or if you prefer merge
git merge origin/main

"My branch is ahead of remote and I want to force push"

# DANGEROUS - get user confirmation first!
# NEVER do this on main/master
git push --force-with-lease

"I have uncommitted changes but need to switch branches"

# Option 1: Stash changes
git stash push -m "work in progress"
git switch <other-branch>
# Later: git stash pop

# Option 2: Commit changes
git add .
git commit -m "WIP: work in progress"
git switch <other-branch>

"I accidentally staged sensitive files"

# Unstage specific file
git restore --staged .env

# Unstage all files
git restore --staged .

# Add to .gitignore to prevent future accidents
echo ".env" >> .gitignore
git add .gitignore
git commit -m "Add .env to .gitignore"

Safety Notes

Destructive Commands (always confirm with user):

• git reset --hard - Permanently deletes uncommitted changes
• git push --force - Overwrites remote history
• git branch -D - Deletes unmerged branch
• git clean -fd - Deletes untracked files
• git stash drop - Permanently removes stashed changes

Never Use Without Explicit User Request:

• --no-verify - Skips pre-commit hooks
• --no-gpg-sign - Skips commit signing
• --force on main/master - Can break production

Sensitive Files to Watch For:

• .env, .env.local, .env.*
• credentials.json, secrets.*
• *.key, *.pem, *.crt
• config/secrets.yml
• *.sqlite, *.db (if contains sensitive data)

Philosophy

Git is powerful but unforgiving. This skill emphasizes:

• Safety first: Confirm before destructive operations
• Project compliance: Follow repository-specific rules
• Clear communication: Write commit messages for humans
• Reversibility: Prefer soft resets and reverts over hard resets
• Context awareness: Understand what you're committing and why

Source: qaid/look-ma-no-hands — distributed by TomeVault.