Git Commit and Pull Request Guidelines

Related Skills: See incremental-commits for breaking multi-file changes into atomic commits.

When to Apply This Skill

Use this pattern when you need to:

• Write commit messages that follow conventional commit rules.
• Decide commit type/scope formatting and breaking-change notation.
• Draft PR descriptions as continuous narrative prose, opening with WHY.
• Add required user-facing changelog entries for feat:/fix: PRs.
• Review commit/PR text for anti-patterns like AI/tool attribution.

References

Load these on demand based on what you're working on:

• If working with changelog entries for feat:/fix: PRs, read references/changelog-entries.md
• If working with PR description structure, API examples, and visual communication, read references/pull-request-guidelines.md
• If working with GitHub issue linking, username verification, or merge strategy, read references/github-pr-operations.md

Conventional Commits Format

<type>[optional scope]: <description>

[optional body]

[optional footer(s)]

Commit Types

• feat: New features (correlates with MINOR in semantic versioning)
• fix: Bug fixes (correlates with PATCH in semantic versioning)
• docs: Documentation only changes
• refactor: Code changes that neither fix bugs nor add features
• perf: Performance improvements
• test: Adding or modifying tests
• chore: Maintenance tasks, dependency updates, etc.
• style: Code style changes (formatting, missing semicolons, etc.)
• build: Changes to build system or dependencies
• ci: Changes to CI configuration files and scripts

Scope Guidelines

• Scope is OPTIONAL: only add when it provides clarity
• Use lowercase, placed in parentheses after type: feat(transcription):
• Prefer specific component/module names over generic terms
• Your current practice is good: component names (EditRecordingDialog), feature areas (transcription, sound)
• Avoid overly generic scopes like ui or backend unless truly appropriate

When to Use Scope

• When the change is localized to a specific component/module
• When it helps distinguish between similar changes
• When working in a large codebase with distinct areas

When NOT to Use Scope

• When the change affects multiple areas equally
• When the type alone is sufficiently descriptive
• For small, obvious changes

Description Rules

• Start with lowercase immediately after the colon and space
• Use imperative mood ("add" not "added" or "adds")
• No period at the end
• Keep under 50-72 characters on first line

Breaking Changes & Version Bumps

Our monorepo uses a unified version scheme (8.Y.Z) where major version 8 is permanent:

• Patch (default): Every merged PR increments Z (e.g., 8.0.1 → 8.0.2)
• Minor: Add ! after type/scope: feat(api)!: change endpoint structure — increments Y, resets Z
• Major: Manual only. Reserved for "if ever needed." Do not use ! expecting a major bump.

Include BREAKING CHANGE: in the commit footer with details when using !.

Examples Following Your Style:

• feat(transcription): add model selection for OpenAI providers
• fix(sound): resolve audio import paths in assets module
• refactor(EditRecordingDialog): implement working copy pattern
• docs(README): clarify cost comparison section
• chore: update dependencies to latest versions
• fix!: change default transcription API endpoint

Commit Messages Best Practices

The "Why" is More Important Than the "What"

The commit message subject line describes WHAT changed. The commit body explains WHY.

Good commit (explains motivation):

fix(auth): prevent session timeout during file upload

Users were getting logged out mid-upload on large files because the
session refresh only triggered on navigation, not background activity.

Bad commit (only describes what):

fix(auth): add keepalive call to upload handler

The first commit tells future developers WHY the code exists. The second makes them dig through the code to understand the purpose.

Other Best Practices

• NEVER include Claude Code or opencode watermarks or attribution
• Each commit should represent a single, atomic change
• Write commits for future developers (including yourself)
• If you need more than one line to describe what you did, consider splitting the commit

What NOT to Include:

• Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.ai/code)
• Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
• Any references to AI assistance
• Generated with [opencode](https://opencode.ai)
• Co-Authored-By: opencode <noreply@opencode.ai>
• Tool attribution or watermarks