Prepare Commit

Thoroughly prepare and validate changes before creating a commit.

Workflow

Step 1: Check for Unstaged Changes

git status

If there are unstaged changes:

ALWAYS use the AskQuestion tool to prompt the user. Show the user which files are unstaged, then use AskQuestion:

• Title: "Unstaged Changes Detected"
• Question: "The following files have unstaged changes: [list files]. Are these intentionally left unstaged?"
• Options:
  • id: "leave", label: "Yes, leave them unstaged"
  • id: "stage", label: "No, stage all changes"
  • id: "review", label: "Let me review"

Based on the response:

• "leave" → Continue to Step 2
• "stage" → Run git add -A then continue
• "review" → Show the diff and wait for guidance

Step 2: Review Staged Changes for Best Practices

git diff --staged

Review all staged changes and check for:

• Code quality: Clean, readable code following project conventions
• Security: No hardcoded secrets, API keys, or credentials
• Debug artifacts: No console.log, debugger, or commented-out code that shouldn't be committed
• Completeness: No TODO comments for things that should be done now
• Test coverage: Changes should have corresponding tests if applicable

If issues are found:

Categorize issues by severity:

• Critical issues: Security concerns (hardcoded secrets, API keys, credentials), sensitive data exposure
• Minor issues: Extra blank lines, console.log statements, debugger statements, minor formatting issues, TODO comments

Report each issue clearly with file, line reference, and severity.

For critical issues only:

ALWAYS use the AskQuestion tool:

• Title: "Critical Issues Found"
• Question: "Found critical security/data issues that should not be committed: [list issues]. How would you like to proceed?"
• Options:
  • id: "fix", label: "Fix the issues"
  • id: "abort", label: "Abort"

Do NOT offer "Proceed anyway" for critical issues.

Based on the response:

• "fix" → Fix each issue, then re-run this step
• "abort" → Stop the workflow

For minor issues only (or after critical issues are resolved):

ALWAYS use the AskQuestion tool:

• Title: "Minor Issues Found"
• Question: "Found the following minor issues in staged changes:\n\n[list issues]\n\nWould you like me to fix these?"
• Options:
  • id: "fix", label: "Yes, fix them"
  • id: "proceed", label: "No, proceed anyway"
  • id: "review", label: "Let me review first"
  • id: "abort", label: "Abort"

Based on the response:

• "fix" → Fix each minor issue automatically, then re-run this step
• "proceed" → Continue to Step 3 without fixing
• "review" → Show detailed diff of proposed fixes before applying
• "abort" → Stop the workflow

Step 3: Run Linter

npm run lint

If lint errors exist:

ALWAYS use the AskQuestion tool:

• Title: "Lint Errors Found"
• Question: "Linting found errors: [summary of errors]. How would you like to proceed?"
• Options:
  • id: "auto", label: "Fix automatically"
  • id: "manual", label: "Fix manually"
  • id: "proceed", label: "Proceed anyway (not recommended)"
  • id: "abort", label: "Abort"

Based on the response:

• "auto" → Run npm run lint -- --fix and re-check
• "manual" → Fix each error, then re-run lint
• "proceed" → Continue to Step 4 (not recommended)
• "abort" → Stop the workflow

Step 4: Run Tests

Use the unit-test-runner subagent to run tests, or run directly:

npm test

If tests fail:

ALWAYS use the AskQuestion tool:

• Title: "Test Failures"
• Question: "Some tests are failing: [summary of failures]. How would you like to proceed?"
• Options:
  • id: "fix", label: "Fix the tests"
  • id: "abort", label: "Abort"

Do NOT proceed with failing tests unless explicitly overridden by the user.

Based on the response:

• "fix" → Investigate and fix failing tests, then re-run
• "abort" → Stop the workflow

Step 5: Generate Commit Message

Analyze the staged changes to create a conventional commit message.

git diff --staged --stat
git diff --staged

Conventional Commits Format:

<type>: <short description>

Types:

Guidelines:

• Keep the message short and focused on the main idea
• Maximum 80 characters total
• Do NOT include scope in parentheses (no feat(auth):, just feat:)
• Use imperative mood ("add feature" not "added feature")
• Focus on the "what" at a high level, not implementation details
• NEVER add co-author trailers - no Co-authored-by: lines of any kind

Examples:

• refactor: migrate queries to suspense
• feat: add dark mode toggle
• fix: resolve login redirect loop

Step 6: Confirm and Commit

ALWAYS use the AskQuestion tool to present the generated commit message:

• Title: "Confirm Commit Message"
• Question: "Ready to commit with this message:\n\n[generated message]\n\nProceed?"
• Options:
  • id: "commit", label: "Commit"
  • id: "edit", label: "Edit message"
  • id: "abort", label: "Abort"

Based on the response:

• "commit" → Execute the commit
• "edit" → Ask user for modifications, then commit
• "abort" → Stop without committing

Execute the commit:

CRITICAL: NO CO-AUTHOR TRAILERS

Do NOT add any Co-authored-by trailers to the commit. The commit message must contain ONLY the type and short description - nothing else. No trailers, no co-author attribution, no additional metadata.

git commit -m "<type>: <short description>"

• Use ONLY the -m flag
• Do NOT use --trailer
• Do NOT use --author
• Do NOT append any Co-authored-by: lines
• The message should be exactly: <type>: <short description>

Verify success:

git status
git log -1 --oneline

Confirm the commit was created successfully.

Step 7: Offer to Push

After a successful commit, ALWAYS use the AskQuestion tool:

• Title: "Push Changes?"
• Question: "Commit created successfully. Would you like to push to remote?"
• Options:
  • id: "push", label: "Yes, push now"
  • id: "later", label: "No, I'll push later"

Based on the response:

• "push" → Run git push and confirm success
• "later" → End the workflow

If pushing:

git push

Confirm the push was successful and show the remote branch status.

Early Exit Conditions

Stop the workflow immediately if:

• User chooses "Abort" at any step
• Tests fail and user doesn't want to fix them
• Critical security issues are found in staged changes (e.g., API keys)

Notes

• This skill focuses on preparing a single, high-quality commit
• Optionally pushes to remote after commit if user confirms
• Always respect user choices at each confirmation step