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Commit (session-scoped)

Commit the changes this session made — and nothing else. Multiple agents may share one checkout; a plain git add -A / git add . would sweep in another session's work. This skill stages by explicit path, and at hunk granularity when a file was touched by more than one session.

Usage

/commit                       # split this session's work into logical commits, auto-message each
/commit "fix: correct pager"  # one commit, using this message verbatim

An argument is always the message for a single commit — never split when one is given. With no argument, group into the fewest self-contained commits (Step 3).

Instructions

Step 1: Reconstruct what THIS session changed

Build the set of paths you edited this session from your own actions — the Write, Edit, NotebookEdit, and file-creating Bash calls you ran. This is the source of truth for ownership, not the working tree.

• List every file you created, modified, renamed, or deleted this session.
• If the conversation was summarized and you're unsure, reconstruct from the summary + visible history. If you still can't tell which changes are yours, do NOT guess wide — jump to Troubleshooting → "Unsure which changes are mine".

Step 2: See the working-tree state

Run these (read-only) to compare your list against reality:

git status --porcelain
git diff --stat            # unstaged
git diff --cached --stat   # anything already staged

Anything changed in the tree that is NOT in your Step-1 list belongs to another session (or the user) — leave it alone.

If files are already staged that you did NOT edit, unstage them first so your commit stays clean: git restore --staged <their-file>.

Step 3: Group your changes into commits

Argument given → one group containing everything from Step 1. Skip to Step 4.

Blank → partition your files into the fewest groups such that each group is one self-contained unit of work. Read your own diff (git diff <your paths>) if the split isn't obvious from the file list.

Keep in the same commit:

• a feature and its tests, docs, config, types, and follow-up fixes
• a refactor and the call-site updates it forced
• a generated file and the source that generated it
• anything that leaves the repo broken, or the change half-explained, if the other part landed without it

Split into separate commits only when two changes are genuinely independent: either could have been made without the other, and neither explains the other — e.g. a new feature in module A alongside an unrelated typo fix in module B.

Rules of thumb:

• Never split by change type. feat + its docs + its tests + its connected chores is ONE commit, not four. Type is the wrong axis to cut on.
• Bias to fewer. One commit is the common, correct answer. Two or three is normal for a session that did unrelated things. If you land on more than three, you're over-splitting — merge the marginal groups back.
• Group at file granularity. If one file's changes belong to two groups, don't hunk-split for grouping — merge those groups into one. (Hunk-level staging in Step 4 is only for excluding another session's work.)
• Order by dependency. If one group's code needs another's, commit that one first, so every commit leaves the tree in a working state.

Then run Steps 4–6 once per group, in order. Do not ask for confirmation of the grouping — just commit and report the result (Step 6).

Step 4: Stage only your changes

Stage only the paths in the group you're currently committing. For each such path, decide file-level vs hunk-level:

• File only you touched (its entire current diff is your work) → stage whole:

  git add <path>              # modified or new
  git rm <path>              # you deleted it
  

  New files you created and untracked → git add <path>.

• File you AND another session touched (its diff contains hunks you didn't write) → stage surgically with the helper so foreign hunks stay unstaged:

  python3 scripts/stage-hunks.py <path> --list      # numbered hunks
  python3 scripts/stage-hunks.py <path> 1 3 4       # stage only yours
  

  Identify "yours" by matching each hunk to an edit you actually made. When in doubt about a hunk, exclude it — under-committing is recoverable, committing someone else's half-finished work is not.

Verify before committing: git diff --cached should show this group's changes and only those — nothing from another session, nothing from a later group.

Step 5: Message

• Argument given → use it verbatim as the subject.
• Blank → generate a short subject for this group following the user's commit policy:
  • Type is one of feat (user-noticeable addition), fix (something broken now works), or chore (everything else). No scopes/parentheses.
  • Format: type: short description, lowercase, imperative, no trailing period.
  • Body: omit it, or one short sentence of what — never why/how, no essays.
  • If a group's subject needs an "and" to cover it, the grouping was too coarse; if two groups would get near-identical subjects, it was too fine.

Step 6: Commit and report (silently)

Commit the staged changes, then move to the next group (back to Step 4) — don't ask for confirmation first (unless Troubleshooting sent you to confirm ownership):

git commit -m "feat: add commit skill"

Once every group is committed, report one line per commit — files + message:

Committed 3 files as "feat: add commit skill".
Committed 1 file as "chore: bump lefthook to 1.14".
(Left src/api.ts from another session untouched.)

If a pre-commit hook fails, fix the reported problem and retry — never --no-verify. If a hook reformats your staged files, re-stage them (Step 4) and commit again.

What NOT to do

• Never git add -A, git add ., git add -u, or git commit -a.
• Never stage or commit a file you didn't edit this session.
• Never git push (harness-blocked; not this skill's job).
• Never split one logical change across commits by type (code / tests / docs / chore), or leave a commit that only makes sense together with the next one.
• Never make more than one commit when a message argument was given.

Examples

Example 1: message given, clean ownership

User: commit "fix: correct off-by-one in pager" Actions:

1. This session edited src/pager.ts only.
2. git status shows src/pager.ts modified plus src/api.ts modified — api.ts isn't mine, leave it.
3. git add src/pager.ts; git diff --cached confirms only my change.
4. git commit -m "fix: correct off-by-one in pager". Result: Committed 1 file as "fix: correct off-by-one in pager" (left src/api.ts from another session untouched).

Example 2: blank message, shared file, one logical change

User: commit Actions:

1. This session added a helper in utils.ts and created helper.ts + helper.test.ts, and documented it in README.md. Another session also changed utils.ts (added a different function).
2. Grouping: helper + its test + its README entry are one unit → 1 commit.
3. git add helper.ts helper.test.ts README.md. For utils.ts: stage-hunks.py utils.ts --list shows 2 hunks; hunk 1 is mine, hunk 2 is theirs → stage-hunks.py utils.ts 1.
4. git diff --cached shows my files + only my utils.ts hunk.
5. No argument → generate feat: add slugify helper.
6. git commit -m "feat: add slugify helper". Result: Committed 4 files as "feat: add slugify helper" (staged only my hunk of utils.ts).

Example 3: blank message, two unrelated changes

User: commit Actions:

1. This session did two things: added CSV export (export.ts, export.test.ts, docs/export.md, a new dep in package.json), and separately fixed a stale path in the unrelated scripts/deploy.sh.
2. Grouping: export work is one unit — code, test, docs and the dep it needs all land together, NOT as four commits. The deploy fix is independent of it → 2 groups total.
3. Group 1: git add export.ts export.test.ts docs/export.md package.json; git commit -m "feat: add CSV export".
4. Group 2: git add scripts/deploy.sh; git commit -m "fix: correct build path in deploy script". Result:

Committed 4 files as "feat: add CSV export".
Committed 1 file as "fix: correct build path in deploy script".

Troubleshooting

Unsure which changes are mine

Cause: Context was summarized, or the tree has changes you can't attribute. Solution: Do not commit wide. List the specific files/hunks you believe are yours, state which you're unsure about, and ask the user to confirm before committing. Safety overrides the silent-commit default here.

Can't tell whether two changes belong in one commit

Cause: The changes are related but not obviously one unit. Solution: Default to one commit. A slightly-too-broad commit is a normal commit; a too-narrow one leaves history with entries that don't stand alone. If they're genuinely unrelated, the subject line test settles it — if you can't write one short subject covering both without "and", split.

stage-hunks.py reports "git apply --cached failed"

Cause: The working tree shifted between listing and staging, or the hunk context moved. Solution: Re-run stage-hunks.py <file> --list to get fresh hunk numbers, then retry. If a hunk still won't apply cleanly, stage that file whole only if its entire diff is yours; otherwise report the conflict to the user.

Nothing to commit after staging

Cause: Your edits were already committed, or another session committed them. Solution: git log --oneline -5 and git status to confirm. If your work is already in history, say so — don't create an empty commit.

Pre-commit hook keeps failing

Cause: Lint/format/type errors in the staged (or repo-wide) code. Solution: Read all reported errors and fix them (per the repo's Test & Lint policy — never skip with --no-verify), re-stage, and commit again.