Conventional commit message

Conventional Commit Message

Core Workflow

1. Determine the task:
   • Commit repository changes.
   • Validate an existing message.
   • Rewrite a message to match the convention.
2. If committing repository changes, stage all current changes first:
   • Run git add -A.
   • Inspect the staged result with git diff --cached --stat and git diff --cached.
   • If nothing is staged after git add -A, report that there are no changes to commit.
3. Derive the commit message from the staged diff unless the user provided a full message.
4. Validate the header before committing with the Python 3 helper ./scripts/validate_commit_header.py. Resolve this path relative to the skill directory that contains this SKILL.md; it is owned by this skill, not by the repository being committed.
5. Create exactly one commit with the validated message.
6. Do not run tests, lint, build, or type checks unless the user explicitly asks for them.

Message Format

<type>(<optional scope>)<optional !>: <description>

<optional body>

<optional footer>

The command form is:

git commit -m"<header>" -m"<optional body>" -m"<optional footer>"

Header Rules

• type is mandatory.
• description is mandatory.
• scope is optional and project-defined.
• Do not use issue identifiers as scopes.
• Use imperative, present tense: change, not changed or changes.
• Start the description with a lowercase letter.
• Do not end the description with a period.
• Use ! before : when the commit introduces a breaking change.

Allowed types:

• feat: API or UI feature added, adjusted, or removed.
• fix: API or UI bug fixed.
• refactor: code rewritten or restructured without API or UI behavior change.
• perf: performance-focused refactor.
• style: code style only, with no behavior change.
• test: missing tests added or existing tests corrected.
• docs: documentation-only changes.
• build: build tools, dependencies, project version, or packaging.
• ops: infrastructure, deployment, CI/CD, backups, monitoring, or recovery.
• chore: maintenance tasks such as init commits or .gitignore updates.

Special cases:

• Initial commit: chore: init
• Merge commit: keep Git's default Merge branch '<branch name>'
• Revert commit: keep Git's default Revert "<reverted commit subject line>"

Validation Helper

Run the skill-owned validator from the skill directory, or pass the equivalent skill-relative path to Python from another working directory:

./scripts/validate_commit_header.py "<header>"

Use this helper for deterministic header validation before creating a commit or when validating, rewriting, or explaining a message. If the helper cannot be executed in the current environment, fall back to manually checking the rules in this skill and report that fallback in the result.

Body Rules

The body is optional. Include it when the header alone does not explain the motivation or when previous behavior matters.

• Use imperative, present tense.
• Explain the motivation for the change.
• Contrast the change with previous behavior.
• Keep lines readable in common Git tools.

Footer Rules

The footer is optional except for breaking changes.

• Use issue references when useful, such as Closes #123 or Fixes JIRA-456.
• Put issue references in the footer, not in the scope.
• Breaking changes must start with BREAKING CHANGE:.
• For a single-line breaking-change note, continue after the colon.
• For a multi-line breaking-change note, put a blank line after BREAKING CHANGE:.

When a commit has a breaking change, prefer both:

feat(api)!: remove status endpoint

BREAKING CHANGE: status endpoint is no longer available.

Commit Guidance

• Use multiple -m arguments for multi-paragraph messages:

git commit -m"<header>" -m"<optional body>" -m"<optional footer>"

• If the user provides a complete commit message, use it exactly after validation.
• If the user provides only a type or type(scope), keep that prefix and derive the description, body, and footer from the staged diff.
• If validation fails for a user-provided message, explain the specific rule violations and do not commit until the message is corrected or a valid replacement is derived.

Output Guidance

• After a successful commit, report the commit hash and final commit message.
• If validation fails, list the specific rule violations and provide a corrected message.
• If multiple messages are plausible, provide up to three options with distinct type or scope choices only when not committing automatically.
• Do not invent issue IDs. Include issue footers only when the user provides them or the repository context makes them clear.

Reference

For detailed examples and versioning notes, read references/convention.md only when the task needs extra guidance.