commit

---
name: commit
description: Creates commits with Conventional Commits format (feat/fix/docs/refactor/test/chore), automatic scope detection, co-author attribution, and pre-commit hook compliance. Validates staged changes, generates descriptive messages focusing on the 'why', and prevents secrets or generated-only files from being committed. Requires an explicit request naming this skill; plain `git commit` during normal work stays a bare CLI call. Use when committing changes or generating commit messages.
license: MIT
---

# Smart Commit

Simple, validated commit creation. Run checks locally, no agents needed for standard commits.

> **Note:** If `disableSkillShellExecution` is enabled (CC 2.1.91), the git repository check won't run. This skill requires a git repository.

## Quick Start

```bash
/ork:commit
/ork:commit fix typo in auth module
```

## Argument Resolution

```python
COMMIT_MSG = "$ARGUMENTS"  # Optional commit message, e.g., "fix typo in auth module"
# If provided, use as commit message. If empty, generate from staged changes.
# $ARGUMENTS[0] is the first token (CC 2.1.59 indexed access)
```

## STEP 0: Choose Commit Mode (AskUserQuestion — M118 #1465)

Default is "new commit", but voice-flow needs explicit choice when amend / push / stash is wanted:

```python
# Skip when a flag in the invocation makes the mode unambiguous:
#   /ork:commit --amend  → skip, mode=amend
#   /ork:commit --push   → skip, mode=new+push
#   /ork:commit --stash  → skip, mode=stash-first
#   ORK_COMMIT_DEFAULT_MODE=new (or amend|push|stash) → skip, use env value
#
# Otherwise, ask:
AskUserQuestion(questions=[{
  "question": "How should this commit land?",
  "header": "Commit mode",
  "options": [
    {"label": "New commit (default)", "description": "Create a new commit, leave HEAD intact"},
    {"label": "Amend HEAD", "description": "Fold staged changes into the last commit (LOCAL ONLY — refuses if HEAD is published)"},
    {"label": "New commit + push", "description": "Commit then `git push` (refuses on protected branches)"},
    {"label": "Stash first", "description": "Stash unrelated working-tree changes, then commit only what was already staged"}
  ]
}])
```

**Mode-specific guards:**

- **Amend HEAD** — verify HEAD is not on origin (`git rev-list HEAD..origin/<branch>` empty); if it is published, refuse and recommend "New commit" instead.
- **New commit + push** — re-check the protected-branch rule from Phase 1 before pushing; if HEAD's branch is `main`/`master`/`dev`, abort.
- **Stash first** — `git stash push -k -m "ork:commit autostash"` (keep-index), commit, then `git stash pop` after push success.

## Workflow

### Phase 1: Pre-Commit Safety Check

```bash
# CRITICAL: Verify we're not on dev/main
BRANCH=$(git branch --show-current)
if [[ "$BRANCH" == "dev" || "$BRANCH" == "main" || "$BRANCH" == "master" ]]; then
  echo "STOP! Cannot commit directly to $BRANCH"
  echo "Create a feature branch: git checkout -b issue/<number>-<description>"
  exit 1
fi
```

### Phase 2: Run Validation Locally

Run every check that CI runs:

```bash
# Backend (Python)
poetry run ruff format --check app/
poetry run ruff check app/
poetry run mypy app/

# Frontend (Node.js)
npm run format:check
npm run lint
npm run typecheck
```

Fix any failures before proceeding.

### Phase 3: Review Changes

```bash
git status
git diff --staged   # What will be committed
git diff            # Unstaged changes
```

### Phase 3b: Agent Attribution (automatic)

Before committing, check for the branch activity ledger at `.claude/agents/activity/{branch}.jsonl`.
If it exists and has entries since the last commit, include them in the commit message:

1. Read `.claude/agents/activity/{branch}.jsonl` (one JSON object per line)
2. Filter entries where `ts` is after the last commit timestamp (`git log -1 --format=%cI`)
3. Skip agents with `duration_ms < 5000` (advisory-only agents go in PR, not commits)
4. Add an **"Agents Involved:"** section between the commit body and the Co-Authored-By trailer
5. Add per-agent `Co-Authored-By` trailers: `Co-Authored-By: ork:{agent} <noreply@orchestkit.dev>`

If the ledger doesn't exist or is empty, skip this step — commit normally.

### Phase 4: Stage and Commit

> **CC 2.1.113 idiom:** Multi-line Bash with leading `# intent:` comments now shows the full command in the transcript — prefix complex scripts with a one-line intent comment so future readers (and `/recap` scans) can grep the transcript for what happened without re-reading the diff.

```bash
# intent: stage the hook change + its test + built artifacts
# Stage files
git add <files>
# Or all: git add .

# Commit with conventional format (with agent attribution if ledger exists)
git commit -m "<type>(#<issue>): <brief description>

- [Change 1]
- [Change 2]

Agents Involved:
  backend-system-architect — API design + data models (2m14s)
  security-auditor — Dependency audit (0m42s)

Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
Co-Authored-By: ork:backend-system-architect <noreply@orchestkit.dev>
Co-Authored-By: ork:security-auditor <noreply@orchestkit.dev>"

# Verify
git log -1 --stat
```

> **CC 2.1.183 — `attribution.sessionUrl`:** In web and Remote Control sessions, CC appends a claude.ai session link to commit/PR attribution. Set `attribution.sessionUrl: false` (`/config attribution.sessionUrl=false`) to omit it — useful for public repos where the session link should not leak. The `Co-Authored-By` trailers above are unaffected.

### Handoff File

After successful commit, write handoff:

```python
Write(".claude/chain/committed.json", JSON.stringify({
  "phase": "commit", "sha": "<commit-sha>",
  "message": "<commit-message>", "branch": "<branch>",
  "files": [<staged-files>]
}))
```

## Commit Types

| Type | Use For |
|------|---------|
| `feat` | New feature |
| `fix` | Bug fix |
| `refactor` | Code improvement |
| `docs` | Documentation |
| `test` | Tests only |
| `chore` | Build/deps/CI |

## Quick Rules

1. **Run validation locally** - Don't spawn agents to run lint/test
2. **NO file creation** - Don't create MD files or documentation
3. **One logical change per commit** - Keep commits focused
4. **Reference issues** - Use `#123` format in commit message
5. **Subject line < 72 chars** - Keep it concise

## Quick Commit

For trivial changes (typos, single-line fixes):

```bash
git add . && git commit -m "fix(#123): Fix typo in error message

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

## Verification Gate

Before committing, apply the 5-step gate: `Read("${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/shared/rules/verification-gate.md")`. Run tests fresh. Read the output. Only commit if tests pass. "Should be fine" is not evidence.

## Quality Bar

Done means all of these hold:
- Commit landed on a feature branch, never dev/main/master (Phase 1 guard held)
- Subject uses a conventional type (feat/fix/docs/refactor/test/chore) matching the diff content, <=72 chars
- Issue reference (#N) present in the message whenever HEAD is on an issue branch
- Local validation for the touched stack (lint/type/test) ran and passed before the commit
- `Co-Authored-By: Claude` trailer present; per-agent trailers added only when the activity ledger has post-last-commit entries
- `git log -1 --stat` shows exactly the intended files, no secrets and no generated-only-noise commit

## Related Skills
- `ork:create-pr`: Create pull requests from commits
- `ork:review-pr`: Review changes before committing
- `ork:fix-issue`: Fix issues and commit the fixes
- `ork:issue-progress-tracking`: Auto-updates GitHub issues with commit progress

## Rules

Each category has individual rule files in `rules/` loaded on-demand:

| Category | Rule | Impact | Key Pattern |
|----------|------|--------|-------------|
| Atomic Commits | `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/commit/rules/atomic-commit.md` | CRITICAL | One logical change per commit, atomicity test |
| Branch Protection | `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/commit/rules/branch-protection.md` | CRITICAL | Protected branches, required PR workflow |
| Commit Splitting | `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/commit/rules/commit-splitting.md` | HIGH | `git add -p`, interactive staging, separation strategies |
| Conventional Format | `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/commit/rules/conventional-format.md` | HIGH | type(scope): description, breaking changes |
| History Hygiene | `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/commit/rules/history-hygiene.md` | HIGH | Squash WIP, fixup commits, clean history |
| Issue Reference | `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/commit/rules/issue-reference-required.md` | HIGH | Reference issue `#N` in commits on issue branches |
| Merge Strategy | `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/commit/rules/merge-strategy.md` | HIGH | Rebase-first, conflict resolution, force-with-lease |
| Stacked PRs | `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/commit/rules/stacked-pr-workflow.md` | HIGH | Stack planning, PR creation, dependency tracking |
| Stacked PRs | `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/commit/rules/stacked-pr-rebase.md` | HIGH | Rebase management, force-with-lease, retargeting |

**Total: 9 rules across 8 categories**

## References

Load on demand with `Read("${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/commit/references/<file>")`:
| File | Content |
|------|---------|
| `references/conventional-commits.md` | Conventional commits specification |
| `references/recovery.md` | Recovery procedures |