Dotfiles Commit Skill

Manage commits for a bare git repo (~/.dotfiles.git, worktree $HOME) using Conventional Commits.

Git Command

All git operations MUST use this prefix:

git --work-tree=$HOME --git-dir=$HOME/.dotfiles.git <command>

Abbreviated as dotgit below for clarity. Always expand to the full form when executing.

Workflow

1. Check status and diff

# Always run these three in parallel to understand current state
dotgit status --porcelain
dotgit diff --staged
dotgit diff

If nothing is staged, ask the user what to stage, or stage all changed tracked files.

2. Review recent commits for style consistency

dotgit log --oneline -10

3. Stage files

# Stage specific files (preferred - be explicit)
dotgit add ~/.zshrc ~/.config/nvim/init.lua

# Stage all tracked changes
dotgit add -u

NEVER stage secrets: .env, credentials, private keys, tokens.

4. Commit

dotgit commit -m "$(cat <<'EOF'
<type>(<scope>): <description>

<optional body>
EOF
)"

5. Push (if requested)

Argument parsing: Check if the user passed push as an argument (e.g., /dotfile push).

If push argument is present:

dotgit push

If push fails due to no upstream, set it:

dotgit push -u origin $(dotgit branch --show-current)

If push argument is NOT present, do NOT push.

Commit Convention

Format: <type>(<scope>): <description>

Types: feat, fix, docs, style, refactor, chore

Common scopes for dotfiles:

Omit scope if changes span multiple unrelated areas.

Rules:

• •Imperative mood, present tense: "add", not "added"
• •Description < 72 chars
• •One logical change per commit
• •Analyze the actual diff content to determine type and scope, don't guess

Safety

• •NEVER update git config
• •NEVER run destructive commands (--force, hard reset) without explicit request
• •NEVER skip hooks unless user asks
• •If commit fails due to hooks, fix and create a NEW commit (don't amend)