Skills

formatting-commit-messages

Installation
SKILL.md

Commit Message Formatter (Conventional Commits)

When to use this skill

  • User asks to commit staged changes
  • User wants help writing a commit message
  • User mentions "conventional commits" or commit formatting
  • User asks for release-ready or changelog-friendly commits
  • User wants to ensure commits follow team standards

Workflow

  • Check for staged changes using git diff --cached
  • Analyze the nature of the changes (new feature, bug fix, refactor, etc.)
  • Determine appropriate type prefix
  • Identify scope from affected files/modules
  • Check for breaking changes
  • Generate formatted commit message
  • Present message for user approval
  • Execute commit if approved

Conventional Commits Format

<type>[optional scope][!]: <description>

[optional body]

[optional footer(s)]

Type Prefixes

Type When to Use
feat New feature for the user
fix Bug fix for the user
docs Documentation only changes
style Formatting, missing semicolons (no code change)
refactor Code change that neither fixes nor adds feature
perf Performance improvement
test Adding or correcting tests
build Changes to build system or dependencies
ci CI configuration changes
chore Other changes that don't modify src or tests
revert Reverts a previous commit

Breaking Changes

  • Add ! after type/scope: feat(api)!: remove deprecated endpoints
  • OR add BREAKING CHANGE: footer in the body

Instructions

Step 1: Analyze Staged Changes

Run the following to get staged diffs:

git diff --cached --stat
git diff --cached

Step 2: Determine Commit Type

Analyze the changes to determine the appropriate type:

  • New files in src/ with new functionality → feat
  • Modified files fixing incorrect behavior → fix
  • Changes only to *.md, *.txt, or docs folder → docs
  • Only whitespace/formatting changes → style
  • Code restructuring without behavior change → refactor
  • Performance optimizations → perf
  • New or updated test files → test
  • Changes to package.json, webpack.config.*, tsconfig.* → build
  • Changes to .github/workflows/, CI configs → ci
  • Dependency updates, config tweaks → chore

Step 3: Identify Scope

Derive scope from the primary affected area:

  • src/components/Button.tsx → scope: button
  • src/api/users.ts → scope: api or users
  • lib/utils/ → scope: utils
  • Multiple unrelated areas → omit scope

Step 4: Detect Breaking Changes

Look for indicators of breaking changes:

  • Removed public functions or exports
  • Changed function signatures (parameters, return types)
  • Renamed public APIs
  • Changed default behavior
  • Removed configuration options

Step 5: Compose the Message

Subject line rules:

  • Use imperative mood: "add" not "added" or "adds"
  • No capital letter at start
  • No period at the end
  • Max 50 characters (hard limit: 72)

Body (if needed):

  • Wrap at 72 characters
  • Explain what and why, not how
  • Separate from subject with blank line

Footer (if needed):

  • BREAKING CHANGE: <description>
  • Fixes #123 or Closes #456
  • Reviewed-by: Name <email>

Step 6: Present and Commit

Present the formatted message to the user:

**Suggested commit message:**

feat(auth): add OAuth2 login support

Implement OAuth2 authentication flow with Google and GitHub providers.
Users can now sign in using their existing accounts.

Closes #142

If approved, execute:

git commit -m "<subject>" -m "<body>" -m "<footer>"

Or for simple commits:

git commit -m "<type>(<scope>): <description>"

Examples

Simple Feature

feat(cart): add quantity selector to cart items

Bug Fix with Issue Reference

fix(auth): prevent token refresh race condition

Multiple simultaneous requests could trigger parallel refresh attempts.
Added mutex lock to ensure single refresh execution.

Fixes #287

Breaking Change

feat(api)!: migrate to v2 response format

BREAKING CHANGE: API responses now use camelCase keys instead of snake_case.
All clients must update their parsing logic.

Documentation Update

docs(readme): add installation instructions for Windows

Refactor

refactor(utils): extract date formatting into separate module

Validation

Before committing, verify:

  • Type accurately reflects the change
  • Scope is specific but not overly narrow
  • Subject is in imperative mood
  • Subject is under 50 characters
  • Breaking changes are properly marked
  • Related issues are referenced

Error Handling

  • No staged changes: Run git status to confirm. Prompt user to stage files first.
  • Commit fails: Check git status for conflicts or hooks blocking commit.
  • Unsure about a command: Run git commit --help for options.

Resources

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