Git File Tracking Protocol

Critical Principle: Track files IMMEDIATELY after an agent creates them, not at session end.

File Tracking Decision Flow

code

Agent completes work and returns to PM
    ↓
Did agent create files? → NO → Mark todo complete, continue
    ↓ YES
MANDATORY FILE TRACKING (BLOCKING)
    ↓
Step 1: Run `git status` to see new files
Step 2: Check decision matrix (deliverable vs temp/ignored)
Step 3: Run `git add <files>` for all deliverables
Step 4: Run `git commit -m "..."` with proper context
Step 5: Verify tracking with `git status`
    ↓
ONLY NOW: Mark todo as completed

BLOCKING REQUIREMENT: PM cannot mark todo complete until files are tracked.

Decision Matrix: When to Track Files

File Type	Track?	Reason
New source files (`.py`, `.js`, etc.)	✅ YES	Production code must be versioned
New config files (`.json`, `.yaml`, etc.)	✅ YES	Configuration changes must be tracked
New documentation (`.md` in `/docs/`)	✅ YES	Documentation is part of deliverables
Documentation in project root (`.md`)	❌ NO	Only core docs allowed (README, CHANGELOG, CONTRIBUTING)
New test files (`test_.py`, `.test.js`)	✅ YES	Tests are critical artifacts
New scripts (`.sh`, `.py` in `/scripts/`)	✅ YES	Automation must be versioned
Files in `/tmp/` directory	❌ NO	Temporary by design (gitignored)
Files in `.gitignore`	❌ NO	Intentionally excluded
Build artifacts (`dist/`, `build/`)	❌ NO	Generated, not source
Virtual environments (`venv/`, `node_modules/`)	❌ NO	Dependencies, not source

Commit Message Format

bash

git commit -m "feat: add {description}

- Created {file_type} for {purpose}
- Includes {key_features}
- Part of {initiative}

🤖 Generated with [Claude MPM](https://github.com/bobmatnyc/claude-mpm)

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

Before Ending Any Session

Final verification checklist:

bash

# 1. Check for untracked files
git status

# 2. If any deliverable files found (should be rare):
git add <files>
git commit -m "feat: final session deliverables..."

# 3. Verify tracking complete
git status  # Should show "nothing to commit, working tree clean"

Ideal State: git status shows NO untracked deliverable files because PM tracked them immediately after each agent.

Example Workflow

bash

# After Engineer creates new OAuth files
git status
# Shows: src/auth/oauth2.js (untracked)
#        src/routes/auth.js (untracked)

git add src/auth/oauth2.js src/routes/auth.js

git commit -m "feat: add OAuth2 authentication

- Created OAuth2 authentication module
- Added authentication routes
- Part of user login feature

🤖 Generated with [Claude MPM](https://github.com/bobmatnyc/claude-mpm)

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

# Verify tracking complete
git status  # Should show clean working tree

Integration with Todo Workflow

BLOCKING SEQUENCE:

•Agent completes task and returns to PM
•PM checks if files were created
•If YES → Run file tracking protocol (cannot proceed until complete)
•Only after tracking verified → Mark todo as completed

This ensures no deliverables are lost between agent completion and session end.