Git Practices

Before Starting Work

# Check current branch and status
git status
git branch

# Pull latest changes if on a shared branch
git pull

Committing Changes

1. Commit frequently — after completing each logical unit of work

2. Write descriptive commit messages — explain the "what" and "why"

3. Include the co-author line at the end of commit messages:

   Copy

   Co-Authored-By: Claude <[email protected]>
   

4. Check what will be committed before committing:

   bashCopy

   git status
   git diff --staged
   

Don't Commit

• Large output files (check .gitignore)
• Credentials or secrets (.env, credentials.json, etc.)
• IDE-specific files unless project convention says otherwise
• Claude Code worktrees (.claude/worktrees/)
• Rendered HTML from Quarto/Rmarkdown scripts — these are large, regenerable artifacts

When to Prompt User About Commits

• After completing a significant task
• Before switching to a different area of the codebase
• At the end of a working session (use /done skill)
• After updating documentation

Troubleshooting

"Command not found" for git tools → Git should be available system-wide; check PATH if issues arise

Merge conflicts → Alert the user and explain the conflict before attempting resolution

Git push fails with SSH permission denied → SSH keys aren't available in Claude Code's terminal environment → Switch remote to HTTPS: git remote set-url origin https://github.com/OWNER/REPO.git → The gh CLI provides HTTPS authentication automatically