git.commit.smart

Purpose

This skill automates the creation of high-quality git commits for Carbon ACX by:

•Analyzing staged changes to understand what changed and why
•Drafting commit messages following conventional commit format
•Matching existing repository commit style
•Including standardized Claude Code footer
•Handling pre-commit hook failures gracefully
•Ensuring no secrets or credentials are committed

When to Use

Trigger Patterns:

•"Create a commit"
•"Commit these changes"
•"Make a commit with..."
•User has staged changes and needs to commit
•After completing a task that modified files

Do NOT Use When:

•No changes are staged (git status shows clean)
•User wants to review changes first (show diff instead)
•Creating a pull request (use git.pr.create skill instead)
•Amending existing commits (different workflow)

Allowed Tools

•bash - Run git commands (status, diff, log, add, commit)
•read_file - Read modified files for context
•grep - Search for patterns in changes

Access Level: 2 (File Modification - can create commits)

Tool Rationale:

•bash: Required for all git operations
•read_file: Helps understand changes for better commit messages
•grep: Search commit history for style patterns

Explicitly Denied:

•No --no-verify flag (never skip hooks)
•No force operations
•No git config modifications
•No committing files in .gitignore patterns

Expected I/O

Input:

•Type: Commit request (implicit or explicit)
•Context: Staged files ready to commit
•Optional: User-provided commit message hint or scope

Example:

code

"Commit the UX improvements to the dashboard"
"Create a commit for these changes"
"Commit with message: fix typo in README"

Output:

•Type: Git commit successfully created
•Format: Commit hash + message summary
•
Includes:
- •Files committed (summary)
- •Commit message used
- •Commit hash
- •Next steps suggestion (push, create PR, run tests)

Validation:

•Commit message follows conventional format
•No secrets detected in changes
•Pre-commit hooks passed (or handled)
•Commit footer includes Claude Code attribution

Dependencies

Required:

•Git repository (.git directory exists)
•Git configured with user.name and user.email
•Changes staged for commit (git add already run)

Optional:

•Pre-commit hooks installed
•gh CLI for GitHub integration (for suggesting PR creation)

Workflow

Step 1: Gather Context

Run in parallel:

bash

git status
git diff --staged
git log --oneline -10

Analysis:

•What files are staged?
•What type of changes (features, fixes, docs, chores)?
•What's the commit message style in recent history?

Step 2: Draft Commit Message

Format:

code

<type>(<scope>): <subject>

<body>

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

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

Conventional Commit Types:

•feat - New feature
•fix - Bug fix
•chore - Maintenance, dependencies, tooling
•docs - Documentation only
•refactor - Code restructuring without behavior change
•test - Adding or updating tests
•style - Formatting, whitespace, missing semicolons
•perf - Performance improvements

Scope Examples:

•web - Modern web app (apps/carbon-acx-web)
•site - Static React site
•calc - Derivation engine
•data - CSV data files
•workers - Cloudflare Workers
•ci - CI/CD workflows

Subject Line:

•Max 72 characters
•Imperative mood ("add feature" not "added feature")
•No period at end
•Lowercase after colon

Body:

•Explain WHY, not WHAT (what is in the diff)
•Wrap at 100 characters
•Use bullet points for multiple reasons
•Reference issues: Closes #123, Relates to #456

Step 3: Create Commit

Use HEREDOC for message:

bash

git commit -m "$(cat <<'EOF'
feat(web): add dark mode toggle to dashboard

Users requested ability to switch between light and dark themes
for extended analysis sessions. This adds a theme toggle in the
header that persists preference to localStorage.

Closes #42

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

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

Step 4: Handle Pre-commit Hooks

If hook fails:

•Read hook output
•
Determine failure type:
- •Linter errors: Fix automatically if possible, re-commit
- •Formatter changes: Files were modified by hook
- •Test failures: Report to user, cannot auto-fix

If hook modified files:

bash

# Check if safe to amend
git log -1 --format='%an %ae'  # Verify we're the author
git status                      # Verify not pushed yet

# If both checks pass:
git add .
git commit --amend --no-edit

If unsafe to amend:

•Create NEW commit with hook fixes (never amend other developers' work)

Step 5: Confirm Success

bash

git log -1 --oneline
git status

Report to user:

•✅ Commit created: abc1234 feat(web): add dark mode toggle
•Files committed: 3 files changed, 127 insertions(+), 45 deletions(-)
•Next steps: Run tests, push to remote, or create PR?

Examples

Example 1: Feature Commit

User: "Commit the new emission chart component"

Claude Process:

•Run git status, git diff --staged, git log -10
•Analyze changes: New React component in apps/carbon-acx-web/src/components/

•Draft message:

code

feat(web): add EmissionChart component for layer visualization

Creates reusable chart component using Recharts to display
emission data by layer. Includes responsive design, hover
tooltips, and accessibility labels.

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

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

•Execute commit
•Report success with hash

Example 2: Fix Commit

User: "Commit the bug fix"

Claude Process:

•Analyze staged changes: Fix in calc/derive.py line 245
•Read recent commits for style

•Draft message:

code

fix(calc): correct emission factor calculation for aviation layer

Previous calculation was using wrong unit conversion factor
(kg instead of tCO2e). This fixes the multiplier to match the
emission_factors.csv schema.

Fixes #128

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

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

•Execute commit
•Suggest running pytest tests/ to verify fix

Example 3: Chore Commit with Pre-commit Hook

User: "Commit the dependency updates"

Claude Process:

•Analyze: package.json and pnpm-lock.yaml modified

•Draft message:

code

chore(deps): update React and TypeScript dependencies

- React 18.2.0 → 18.3.1 (security patch)
- TypeScript 5.5.3 → 5.5.4 (bug fixes)

All tests pass with updated versions.

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

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

•Execute git commit
•Pre-commit hook runs and fails: ESLint finds unused imports
•Read hook output, identify issue
•Run pnpm run lint --fix to auto-fix
•Check authorship: matches current user ✅
•Check pushed: branch is ahead, not pushed ✅
•
Amend commit:
bash
```
git add .
git commit --amend --no-edit
```
•Report: "Commit created (with pre-commit lint fixes applied)"

Example 4: Documentation Commit

User: "Commit the README updates"

Claude Process:

•Analyze: Only README.md changed

•Draft message:

code

docs: update installation instructions for pnpm workspaces

Clarifies the difference between running commands from repo
root vs within app directory. Adds troubleshooting section
for common pnpm workspace issues.

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

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

•Execute commit
•Suggest: "Documentation updated. Ready to push or create PR?"

Example 5: Multi-file Refactor

User: "Commit these refactoring changes"

Claude Process:

•Analyze: 8 files changed across apps/carbon-acx-web/src/
•Identify pattern: Moving components to new directory structure

•Draft message:

code

refactor(web): reorganize components into feature-based folders

Restructures components from flat directory to feature-based
organization:
- charts/ - All visualization components
- forms/ - Activity and data entry forms
- layout/ - Headers, footers, navigation

No functional changes, only file moves and import updates.

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

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

•Execute commit
•Suggest: "Run pnpm test to verify imports still resolve correctly"

Limitations

Scope Limitations:

•Cannot commit unstaged changes (user must git add first)
•Cannot resolve merge conflicts (different skill)
•Cannot amend commits by other authors (safety constraint)
•Cannot skip pre-commit hooks without user approval

Known Edge Cases:

•Empty commits (no changes staged) → Report error, suggest git add
•Detached HEAD state → Warn user, suggest checking out branch
•Merge in progress → Warn, suggest completing or aborting merge first
•Untracked files only → Remind to git add files first

Performance Constraints:

•Very large diffs (1000+ files) may take 10-20 seconds to analyze
•Binary files can't be analyzed for context (rely on filenames)

Security Boundaries:

•Scans for common secret patterns (.env, credentials, API keys)
•Rejects commits with potential secrets (warns user)
•Cannot detect all possible credential formats
•User must manually review sensitive changes

Validation Criteria

Success Metrics:

•✅ Commit message follows conventional commit format
•✅ Commit includes Claude Code footer
•✅ Type and scope appropriate for changes
•✅ Subject line ≤72 characters
•✅ Body explains WHY (not just WHAT)
•✅ No secrets detected in commit
•✅ Pre-commit hooks passed or handled
•✅ User informed of success and next steps

Failure Modes:

•❌ No staged changes → Ask user to git add files
•❌ Secret detected → Reject commit, warn user
•❌ Pre-commit hook failed → Report error, suggest fixes
•❌ Commit type unclear → Ask user for clarification
•❌ Git not configured → Report error, suggest git config

Recovery:

•If uncertain about commit type: Ask user
•If hook fails repeatedly: Show error, ask user to investigate
•If secret detected: Explain pattern matched, ask user to confirm false positive
•If commit message unclear: Draft and ask user to review before committing

Related Skills

Composes With:

•git.pr.create - After committing, create pull request
•git.branch.manage - Create branch before committing
•schema.linter - Validate data files before committing changes

Dependencies:

•None - foundational skill

Alternative Skills:

•For PRs: git.pr.create
•For releases: git.release.prep

Maintenance

Owner: Workspace Team (shared skill) Review Cycle: Monthly Last Updated: 2025-10-24 Version: 1.0.0

Maintenance Notes:

•Update conventional commit types if Carbon ACX adds new categories
•Adjust secret detection patterns as new credential types emerge
•Review pre-commit hook handling as repo hooks evolve
•Keep commit message examples synchronized with actual repo style