Commit Style

---
name: commit-style
description: Provides educational guidance on writing good git commit messages. Activates when users ASK QUESTIONS about commit message formats, styles, conventional commits, classic commits, atomic commit principles, or git best practices. Does NOT activate when users want to PERFORM a commit (use the commit-action skill instead).
---

# Git Commit Message Guidelines

This skill provides **educational context** about writing effective git commit messages.

## When to Activate

Activate this skill when the user **asks questions** about:
- How to write commit messages
- Commit message formats or styles
- Conventional commits vs classic commits
- What makes a good commit message
- Atomic commits
- Git best practices for commits

## When NOT to Activate

Do NOT use this skill when the user wants to **perform a commit**. The following are handled by the `commit` skill:
- "commit these changes"
- "let's commit"
- "make a commit"
- "commit this"

For action requests, the `commit` skill invokes the `/commit` workflow.

## Available Commit Styles

This plugin supports multiple commit styles. For detailed rules, examples, and anti-patterns, read the style files in the `styles/` directory:

- **Classic** (`styles/classic.md`) - Traditional git commit style following the "7 Rules"
- **Conventional** (`styles/conventional.md`) - Structured format for automation

## Quick Reference

| Aspect | Classic | Conventional |
|--------|---------|--------------|
| Subject case | Capitalized | lowercase |
| Type prefix | No | Yes (feat:, fix:, etc.) |
| Max subject | 50 chars | 50 chars (including type) |
| Body wrap | 72 chars | 72 chars |
| Mood | Imperative | Imperative |
| Automation | Manual | Changelog/semver friendly |

## Atomic Commits

An atomic commit represents a **single, complete, coherent unit of work**.

### Principles

1. **Single Responsibility:** One commit = one logical change
2. **Reversibility:** Can be reverted without side effects
3. **Completeness:** Leaves codebase in working state
4. **Describable:** Can be explained in one sentence without "and also"

### Red Flags (Non-Atomic)

- Multiple unrelated concerns in one commit
- Using "and" to connect separate ideas in message
- Mix of bug fix + new feature
- Changes across unrelated modules
- Difficult to revert cleanly

### Benefits

- **Easier code review:** Reviewers understand each change
- **Clean git history:** Meaningful, navigable history
- **Safe git bisect:** Find bugs efficiently
- **Simple reverts:** Undo specific changes without collateral damage

## Recommendations

- **Default to classic commits** for most projects
- **Use conventional commits** when you need:
  - Automated changelog generation
  - Semantic version bumping
  - Structured commit history for tooling
- **Always write atomic commits** regardless of style
- **Use `/commit`** to generate properly formatted messages

## Detailed Style Guides

For comprehensive rules, examples, and anti-patterns for each style, read the corresponding file in the `styles/` directory. The style files are the authoritative source for formatting rules.