Git Commit Helper

Helps create atomic, well-formatted commits following conventional commit standards. Automatically analyzes changes to determine if they should be split into multiple commits.

Core Responsibilities

•Parallel git operations - Run git status and git diff concurrently for speed
•Smart staging detection - Check if files are already staged, otherwise auto-stage
•Intelligent diff analysis - Determine if changes should be split into multiple commits
•Conventional commit messages - Generate properly formatted commit messages
•Commit attribution - Add Claude Code attribution to commit messages

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:

•User explicitly requests commit creation
•Creating commits with proper conventional format
•Analyzing changes to determine if they should be split
•Need to generate meaningful commit messages automatically
•Working with staging area and need guidance

Use direct git commands when:

•User wants to run specific git commands directly
•Debugging git issues
•Complex git operations beyond basic commits

Workflow

1. Gather Information (Parallel)

bash

# Run concurrently for speed
git status & git diff --staged & git diff & git diff --stat

2. Analyze and Decide

Single commit if:

•All changes relate to one purpose
•Changes are tightly coupled
•Splitting would create incomplete features
•Total diff is reasonably sized

Split commits if:

•Different functionality (features vs bug fixes vs refactoring)
•Different subsystems (auth vs API vs UI)
•Different file types (code vs docs vs config)
•Different purposes (implementation vs tests vs dependencies)

3. Stage Strategically

bash

# Stage all (excluding secrets)
git add .

# Stage specific files
git add path/to/file1.js path/to/file2.js

# Stage by pattern
git add src/auth/*

# Stage interactively
git add -p file.js

4. Create Commit

Always use HEREDOC format:

bash

git commit -m "$(cat <<'EOF'
<type>[optional scope]: <description>

[optional body explaining why, not what]

[optional footer: Fixes #123]

🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)

Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
EOF
)"

5. Verify

bash

git status    # Verify commit created
git log -1    # Review last commit

Conventional Commit Types

•feat - A new feature
•fix - A bug fix
•docs - Documentation only changes
•style - Code style changes (formatting, semicolons, etc.)
•refactor - Code change that neither fixes a bug nor adds a feature
•perf - Performance improvement
•test - Adding or correcting tests
•build - Build system or external dependencies
•ci - CI configuration files and scripts
•chore - Other changes that don't modify src or test files
•revert - Reverts a previous commit

With scope: feat(auth): add password reset Breaking change: feat!: remove deprecated API (note the !)

Commit Message Rules

Description line:

•Use imperative mood: "add" not "added" or "adds"
•Don't capitalize first letter
•No period at the end
•Keep under 72 characters
•Be specific: ✓ fix: resolve race condition in data sync ✗ fix: bug fix

Body (optional):

•Wrap at 72 characters
•Explain "why" not "what"
•Include motivation and context

Footer (optional):

•Reference issues: Fixes #123, Closes #456, See also: #789
•Breaking changes: BREAKING CHANGE: removed /v1/auth endpoint

Security: Never Commit Secrets

Always exclude:

•.env*, credentials.json, secrets.json
•*.pem, *.key, *.p12, *.pfx
•API tokens, passwords, private keys

If secrets detected: Warn user, suggest .gitignore or environment variables, only proceed if user explicitly confirms

Pre-commit Hook Handling

Standard flow:

•Attempt commit
•If hooks fail, read error message
•Fix issues hooks identified
•Retry commit

If hooks modify files:

bash

# Check if safe to amend (should show Claude as author, not pushed)
git log -1 --format='%an %ae'
git status

# If safe, amend
git add .
git commit --amend --no-edit

# Otherwise, create new commit
git commit -m "$(cat <<'EOF'
chore: apply pre-commit hook fixes

🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)

Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
EOF
)"

Bypass hooks: Only when user explicitly requests --no-verify

Common Patterns

Simple Commit

bash

git status & git diff
git add .
git commit -m "$(cat <<'EOF'
feat: add user dashboard with activity widgets

🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)

Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
EOF
)"
git status

Commit Staged Files Only

bash

git diff --staged
git commit -m "$(cat <<'EOF'
fix: resolve email validation for plus addressing

🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)

Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
EOF
)"

Split Commits

bash

# First commit
git add src/auth/*
git commit -m "$(cat <<'EOF'
feat: implement OAuth2 authentication flow

🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)

Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
EOF
)"

# Second commit
git add tests/auth/*
git commit -m "$(cat <<'EOF'
test: add OAuth2 flow integration tests

🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)

Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
EOF
)"

With Detailed Body

bash

git commit -m "$(cat <<'EOF'
refactor: extract API client configuration to separate module

Moved API client setup logic from individual service files to
centralized config module to reduce duplication and simplify updates.

Fixes #123

🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)

Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
EOF
)"

Quick Troubleshooting

•Hooks rejected commit: Read error, fix issues, retry
•Wrong message: git commit --amend -m "new message" (if not pushed)
•Forgot files: git add file && git commit --amend --no-edit (if not pushed)
•Need to split: git reset HEAD~1, then stage and commit separately (if not pushed)
•Committed secrets: git reset HEAD~1, restage without secrets (if not pushed; if pushed, use git-filter-repo)

Best Practices

•Each commit = one logical change (atomic commits)
•Test before committing
•Review diffs before staging
•Write clear, descriptive messages
•Commit frequently (small commits > large commits)
•Don't mix unrelated changes
•Use conventional format for parseable history
•Reference issue tracker when relevant

Performance Tips

•Run git commands in parallel when independent
•Use git diff --stat for quick overview before full diff
•Use HEREDOC directly (no temp files)
•Cache staging status to avoid repeated checks

Integration

•Git hooks: Compatible with pre-commit, commit-msg, prepare-commit-msg
•Changelog generators: conventional-changelog, semantic-release, standard-version
•Issue trackers: Reference issues in footers (Fixes #123)

Quick Reference

bash

# Analyze (parallel)
git status & git diff --staged & git diff & wait

# Stage
git add .                           # All files
git add path/to/file1 path/to/file2 # Specific files
git add src/**/*.ts                 # Pattern

# Commit
git commit -m "$(cat <<'EOF'
<type>: <description>

[optional body]

🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)

Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
EOF
)"

# Verify
git status && git log -1

# Fix (if not pushed)
git commit --amend --no-edit  # Amend
git commit --amend -m "msg"   # Change message
git reset HEAD~1              # Undo commit

Resources

•Conventional Commits: https://www.conventionalcommits.org/
•Git Documentation: https://git-scm.com/doc
•Git Best Practices: https://git-scm.com/book/en/v2/Distributed-Git-Contributing-to-a-Project