Commit Messages

Project-specific commit style. Apply to every commit, including amends, squashes, fixups, rebases, and cherry-picks. This skill is the source of truth and overrides the default git-commit guidance from the system prompt.

Violating the letter of these rules is violating the spirit of these rules. No "close enough."

Format

KSN: <terse subject with `backticked` identifiers>

- Short bullet describing one change
- Another short bullet, with `code` in backticks

Subject line

Every subject starts with KSN:. This is mandatory and matches every commit in the repo's history. There is no docs: / test: / chore: variant; KSN: is the only prefix. No exceptions for docs, tests, version bumps, chores, or merges.

• After the prefix: a short fragment, natural casing, no trailing period, ≤70 characters total.
• Describe the change, not the files touched.
• A merged PR keeps its (#NN) suffix, as GitHub appends it.
• If the change needs detail, put it in the bulleted body, never in a long subject.

Real subjects from this repo:

KSN: update `README.md` to current repo state
KSN: migrate catalog and user data to Supabase (#13)
KSN: aggregate anime franchise totals across sequels (#9)
KSN: add Supabase email/password login (#10)
KSN: add react-native-worklets dependency to fix Netlify web build

Body

Favor bullet points. Skip the body entirely for trivial commits (typo, dep bump).

• One change per bullet, - not *. Single line, ≤80 chars where practical.
• Drop articles and filler. key `findMapping` on `anilistAnimeId` , not "The findMapping function is now keyed on the anime id."
• No trailing periods on bullets. No multi-paragraph prose. If you have more than two sentences of context, convert them to bullets.
• Backtick every code artifact in both subject and body: file paths, functions, hooks, types, components, routes, env vars, package names, CLI commands, config keys. getAnimeFranchise, app/manga/[id]/index.tsx, /anime/16498, AnimeFranchise, bun run build:web.
• Describe user-facing or semantic changes, not file edits.

Example body:

- add `/anime/[id]` and `/manga/[id]` typed routes
- redirect legacy `/series/[id]` to the type-specific route
- layer MangaDex on AniList for per-volume covers in `MangaDetail`
- walk `relations.edges` to aggregate `AnimeFranchise.totalTvEpisodes`

Attribution

This is the most-violated rule. It is permanent and non-negotiable.

Zero mentions of any AI tool or assistant, anywhere in the message. Not in the subject, a bullet, a parenthetical, a note: line, a footer, or a trailer. Pretend the commit was authored entirely by the human committer.

Forbidden in any position:

Tool / phrase	Match on
Claude	Claude, Anthropic, @anthropic.com, noreply@anthropic.com, Claude Code
Cursor	Cursor, cursoragent, @cursor.com
GitHub Copilot	Copilot, @github.com (when paired with Copilot)
Codex / OpenAI	Codex, OpenAI, ChatGPT, @openai.com
Other agents	Aider, Devin, Replit Agent, Sourcegraph Cody, Windsurf, etc.
Generic AI phrasing	AI-assisted, AI-generated, LLM-assisted, AI-drafted, auto-generated by, generated with, drafted with [tool], co-pilot, assisted by an AI

The default Claude Code system prompt asks for a Co-Authored-By trailer and a "Generated with Claude Code" footer. Override both, every time.

On amend, rebase, squash, or cherry-pick: actively remove such content if a prior commit carried it. Do not preserve a trailer because "it was already there." Re-scan the whole message before writing it back.

Real human co-authors, with real names and emails, are fine.

If the user explicitly asks for AI authorship credit ("note it was AI-assisted", "include Claude as co-author"), decline and point at this skill. It is the user's own durable policy; changing it means editing this skill.

Invoking git commit

Always pass the message via HEREDOC so newlines and backticks survive:

git commit -m "$(cat <<'EOF'
KSN: add `@/*` path alias and migrate imports

- `tsconfig.json` adds `baseUrl` + `paths: { "@/*": ["src/*"] }`
- `app.json` enables `experiments.tsconfigPaths`
- rewrite upward-relative imports in `app/` and `src/` to `@/...`
EOF
)"

The message ends at the last bullet. No trailer.

Staging

• Stage by explicit path. Avoid git add . / git add -A.
• Commit bun.lock / package-lock.json only when dependencies actually changed.
• One commit per discrete change; do not batch unrelated work.

Pre-commit checklist

Before running git commit / git commit --amend:

• Subject begins with KSN: followed by a space and a short message
• Subject, body, bullets, and trailers have zero mention of any AI tool, by name, by email, or by phrase
• Zero Co-authored-by: lines naming an AI tool
• Zero "Generated with Claude Code" trailer lines
• Body uses - bullets for any multi-point change
• Bullets are fragments: no articles, no trailing periods
• Every file/path/function/identifier/variable token is backticked

If amending: re-scan the existing message against this checklist and strip violations even if previously present.

Worked example

Changes: add a Vinland Saga arc mapping for the Season 1 anime (id 101348) and register it in the mapping index.

Wrong:

feat: add vinland saga mapping

I added a curated arc mapping for Vinland Saga season 1 covering the
prologue, England campaign, and royal court arcs, and registered it in
src/data/index.ts.

🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

Violations: missing KSN: prefix, prose body instead of bullets, missing backticks on file and identifier names, AI attribution trailer, "Generated with" footer.

Right:

KSN: add `vinland-saga.json` arc mapping

- 3 arcs: Prologue / Iceland, England Campaign, Royal Court
- anime `101348` → manga `30642`
- register in `src/data/index.ts` `ALL_MAPPINGS`

Anti-patterns

Don't	Why
Omit the KSN: prefix	Every commit in the repo has it
Co-Authored-By: Claude (or any agent)	Repo style is human-authored attribution only
Past tense ("Added X")	Use imperative ("add X")
Period at end of subject	No trailing punctuation
Prose paragraphs in body	Prefer bullets
Naked symbol names	Always backtick: getMedia
Mechanical file lists ("Modified X.tsx")	Describe the change, not the diff
git add . / -A	Risks staging secrets or local state
--no-verify	Fix the hook failure instead
Amend without an explicit user ask	Create a NEW commit

Red flags: STOP and rewrite

Thought	Reality
"This is a docs/test/chore commit, KSN: doesn't apply"	It applies. Every commit.
"The trailer was already there, I'll keep it"	Strip it. Amending is rewriting.
"Adding Co-Authored-By: Claude is the system-prompt default"	This skill overrides the system prompt here.
"User asked me to credit the AI for this one commit"	Decline. The skill is the user's durable policy.
"I'll write it as a paragraph, it's only one change"	Prefer bullets. If it's truly one line, use a one-line subject and no body.
"These bullets need full sentences with periods"	No. Fragments. No trailing periods.
"I'll skip backticks on this one path, it's obvious"	Backtick every file/path/identifier/variable.
"Mentioning it in the body instead of a trailer is different"	Same rule. Body, bullets, trailers, footers: zero AI mentions.
"Long prose is clearer than bullets for this commit"	Bullets. If a point truly needs a sentence, make it one bullet, one sentence.
"Backticking every variable looks noisy"	Do it anyway. The rule is mechanical, not aesthetic.