Git Workflow Skill

Purpose

Manage git operations with best practices, generating meaningful commit messages, managing branches safely, creating comprehensive pull requests, and preventing common git mistakes.

Activation Triggers

Activate this skill when:

• User says "commit my changes"

• User mentions "create a branch"

• User asks to "create a PR" or "pull request"

• User says "push to remote"

• Before any destructive git operation

• User mentions git or version control

Core Capabilities

1. Smart Commits

Goal: Generate meaningful, consistent commit messages that explain WHY changes were made

Process:

• Analyze Changes — Run git status and git diff

• Understand Intent — What was added/modified/removed? What problem does this solve?

• Generate Commit Message using format: [type]: [concise description in present tense]

Commit Types:

• feat

• New feature

• fix

• Bug fix

• refactor

• Code restructuring without behavior change

• test

• Adding or updating tests

• docs

• Documentation changes

• chore

• Maintenance tasks (deps, config, etc.)

• style

• Code formatting (no logic change)

• perf

• Performance improvements

Message Guidelines:

• Present tense, imperative mood ("Add" not "Added")

• Focus on WHAT and WHY, not HOW

• Under 72 characters for first line

• No period at the end

Good examples:

feat: Add RSI indicator to market analysis fix: Handle division by zero in position sizing refactor: Extract strategy validation into separate function

Avoid: Vague messages ("updated files"), past tense ("Added new stuff"), or non-descriptive ("WIP", "asdfgh").

• Show and Confirm — Present proposed message, list of files, and ask for approval

• Execute and Verify — Stage files, commit, verify with git log -1 --oneline

2. Branch Management

Naming Convention: [type]/[description]

Type Purpose Example

feature/

New features feature/user-authentication

fix/

Bug fixes fix/login-timeout-error

refactor/

Code restructuring refactor/payment-processing

experiment/

Experimental work experiment/ml-price-prediction

hotfix/

Urgent production fixes hotfix/security-vulnerability

Key Operations:

• Create: git switch -c feature/name

• Switch: git switch feature/name

• List: git branch -v (or -a for remote)

• Delete (safe): git branch -d feature/old

• Delete remote: git push origin --delete feature/old

Safety: Before pushing to main/master, warn the user and recommend creating a feature branch with a PR instead.

3. Pull Request Creation

Process:

• Analyze all commits: git log main..HEAD --oneline and git diff main...HEAD

• Review changes — overall purpose, key changes, breaking changes, testing needs

• Generate PR description using this template:

Summary

[Brief overview of what this PR does and why]

Changes

• [Key change 1]
• [Key change 2]

Type of Change

• Bug fix
• New feature
• Breaking change
• Documentation update

Testing

• Unit tests pass
• Integration tests pass
• Manual testing completed

Code Quality

• Follows project style guidelines
• Self-review completed
• No debug code left
• Documentation updated

Related Issues

Closes #[issue number]

• Create PR: Use gh pr create --title "[Type]: Brief description" --body "..."

• Return PR URL with next steps (request reviewers, monitor CI, address feedback)

4. Safety Checks

Pre-Commit:

• No Secrets — Scan staged changes for api_key , secret , password , token . If found, warn and recommend .gitignore or environment variables. Abort by default.

• Tests Pass — Run test suite. Block commit if tests fail.

• Large Commit Warning — If 10+ files changed, suggest breaking into smaller commits.

Pre-Push:

• Branch Check — If on main/master, warn and recommend feature branch + PR workflow.

• Force Push Warning — If --force detected, issue critical warning about history rewriting, lost work, and broken PRs. Require explicit confirmation.

Pre-Merge:

• Check for conflicts: git merge --no-commit --no-ff [branch] then git merge --abort

• Verify CI status: gh pr checks

• Confirm approvals: gh pr view --json reviews

Workflow Example: Preventing Dangerous Operations

User: "Push my changes to main"

Response:

• Detect current branch is main

• Warn about risks: no code review, potential production breakage, no CI gate

• Recommend: create feature branch, push there, create PR, get review

• Offer alternatives: (1) Create branch + PR, (2) Run tests then push, (3) Cancel

Integration Points

• Works with review skill for pre-commit reviews

• Works with spec-driven skill for commit messages during execution

• Works with systematic-testing skill to verify tests before commit

Best Practices

• Commit Often — Small, frequent commits over large, infrequent ones

• One Concern Per Commit — Each commit represents one logical change

• Write Good Messages — Future you will thank present you

• Review Before Push — Always review your own changes first

• Use Branches — Never work directly on main

• Create PRs — Always use pull requests, even for solo projects

• Keep History Clean — Meaningful commits, not "WIP" or "fix"

Notes

• Always prioritize safety over convenience

• Default to the safer option when in doubt

• Prevent destructive operations with clear warnings

• Make it easy to do the right thing