writing-commit-messages

Files (1)

• SKILL.md

SKILL.md (first lines)

ALWAYS use this exact template:

```
<icon> <description>

[optional body]
```

- Icon and description separated by a space
- Use the actual emoji character (e.g. ✨), never the `:shortcode:` text form
- Start the description with an uppercase letter, imperative mood
- Keep the subject line under 72 characters
- If the subject alone is not enough to understand the change (what changed, or why), add a body. Skip the body when the title is clear.
- When the change needs a body, keep the subject general (name the change, not its details) and put the specifics in the body.

## Steps

1. Draft the message from the staged diff using the template above and the content rules and icon reference below.
2. Load the removing-ai-tells skill and apply it to the draft.
3. Return the cleaned message, and nothing else.

Done when the returned message has been through the removing-ai-tells skill.

## Content rules

Source the message from the diff alone: every claim in the subject and body must be visible in the staged changes. Conversation history, prior requests, and the reason the user is committing now are not part of the message.

Write in imperative mood: "Add" not "Added". The verb names what the commit does to the code or config (Add, Bind, Remove), not what a user does with the result. The description says _what_ changed — the diff already shows the how, don't restate it. The body explains the _why_, but only where the diff itself shows it (a replaced value, a removed workaround, a renamed concept). When the diff carries no reason, state what changed and stop; an invented reason is worse than none. Always add a body for breaking changes, security fixes, data migrations, and reverts.

Never include secrets or PII.

## Icon reference

Pick the icon whose description matches the change.

- 🐛 Fix a bug
- ✨ Introduce new features
- 📝 Add or update documentation
- 🎨 Improve structure / format of the code
- ♻️ Refactor code
- ⚡️ Improve performance
- ✅ Add, update, or pass tests
- 👷 Add or update CI build system
- 💚 Fix CI build
- ⏪️ Revert changes
- 🔥 Remove code or files
- 🚑️ Critical hotfix
- 🚀 Deploy stuff
- 💄 Add or update the UI and style files
- 🎉 Begin a project
- 🔒️ Fix security issues
- 🔐 Add or update secrets
- 🔖 Release / version tags
- 🚨 Fix compiler / linter warnings
- 🚧 Work in progress
- ⬇️ Downgrade dependencies
- ⬆️ Upgrade dependencies
- 📌 Pin dependencies to specific versions
- 📈 Add or update analytics or track code
- ➕ Add a dependency
- ➖ Remove a dependency
- 🔧 Add or update configuration files
- 🔨 Add or update development scripts
- 🌐 Internationalization and localization
- ✏️ Fix typos
- 💩 Write bad code that needs to be improved
- 🔀 Merge branches
- 📦️ Add or update compiled files or packages
- 👽️ Update code due to external API changes
- 🚚 Move or rename resources (files, paths, routes)
- 📄 Add or update license
- 💥 Introduce breaking changes
- 🍱 Add or update assets
- ♿️ Improve accessibility
- 💡 Add or update comments in source code
- 🍻 Write code drunkenly
- 💬 Add or update text and literals
- 🗃️ Perform database related changes
- 🔊 Add or update logs
- 🔇 Remove logs
- 👥 Add or update contributor(s)
- 🚸 Improve user experience / usability
- 🏗️ Make architectural changes
- 📱 Work on responsive design
- 🤡 Mock things
- 🥚 Add or update an easter egg
- 🙈 Add or update a .gitignore file
- 📸 Add or update snapshots
- ⚗️ Perform experiments
- 🔍️ Improve SEO
- 🏷️ Add or update types
- 🌱 Add or update seed files
- 🚩 Add, update, or remove feature flags
- 🥅 Catch errors
- 💫 Add or update animations and transitions
- 🗑️ Deprecate code that needs to be cleaned up
- 🛂 Work on code related to authorization, roles and permissions
- 🩹 Simple fix for a non-critical issue
- 🧐 Data exploration/inspection
- ⚰️ Remove dead code
- 🧪 Add a failing test
- 👔 Add or update business logic
- 🩺 Add or update healthcheck
- 🧱 Infrastructure related changes
- 🧑‍💻 Improve developer experience
- 💸 Add sponsorships or money related infrastructure
- 🧵 Add or update code related to multithreading or concurrency
- 🦺 Add or update code related to validation
- 🧹 Commit changes related to miscellaneous chores
- 👇 Squash commits
- 🫥 Fixup commits

## Examples

Clear from the title — no body needed:

```
🐛 Resolve null pointer in order calculation
✨ Add sync data option to troubleshooting menu

From supagetto/README.ai, MIT.

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