Git

Manage git workflows with conventional commit enforcement, automatic secret scanning, branch strategy, and GitHub PR creation.

What This Skill Does

The Challenge: Git workflows break down when teams use inconsistent commit messages, accidentally commit secrets, push directly to main, or skip PR review processes. Poor git hygiene creates unmaintainable history and security risks.

The Solution: Git skill enforces conventional commit format, runs pre-commit secret detection, manages branch strategy, and automates PR creation with structured templates — producing clean, auditable git history with zero secret leaks.

Activation

Implicit: Activates when committing code, creating branches, pushing changes, or managing PRs.

Explicit: Activate via prompt:

/git commit and push these changes as a feature commit

Capabilities

1. Conventional Commits

Enforce structured commit message format for changelog automation.

Format:

<type>(<scope>): <description>

[optional body]

[optional footer]

Commit types:

Type	Version Bump	Use For
`feat`	minor	New features
`fix`	patch	Bug fixes
`docs`	none	Documentation
`refactor`	none	Code restructuring
`test`	none	Test additions
`chore`	none	Build, deps, config
`perf`	patch	Performance improvements
`BREAKING CHANGE`	major	Breaking API changes

Examples:

feat(auth): add OAuth2 login with GitHub
fix(checkout): handle empty cart 500 error
docs(api): update authentication guide
chore(deps): upgrade Stripe SDK to 14.x

2. Secret Detection

Scan staged files for credentials before committing.

Detected patterns:

API keys and tokens (sk_live_, ghp_, AKIA, etc.)
Private keys (-----BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY-----)
Database connection strings with credentials
.env files accidentally staged

Action on detection: Block commit, identify file and line, prompt for remediation.

3. Branch Strategy

Enforce branch naming and protection rules.

Naming conventions:

feat/add-oauth-login        # Features
fix/checkout-500-error      # Bug fixes
chore/upgrade-stripe-sdk    # Maintenance
docs/update-api-guide       # Documentation
release/v2.1.0              # Release branches

Protected branches: Never push directly to main or master. Always create PR.

4. PR Creation

Automated PR with structured template via GitHub CLI.

gh pr create \
  --title "feat(auth): add OAuth2 login with GitHub" \
  --body "$(cat <<'EOF'
## Summary
- Add GitHub OAuth2 authentication flow
- Store OAuth tokens securely in httpOnly cookies
- Handle account linking for existing email users

## Test Plan
- [ ] Login with GitHub account
- [ ] Verify token refresh works after expiry
- [ ] Test account linking with existing user
EOF
)"

Prerequisites

Git 2.30+ installed
GitHub CLI (gh) for PR creation
Repository with remote origin configured

Configuration

Pre-commit hook (recommended):

# .git/hooks/pre-commit
#!/bin/sh
# Run secret detection
git diff --cached --name-only | xargs grep -rE \
  "(sk_live_|sk_test_|ghp_|AKIA[A-Z0-9]{16})" && \
  echo "Potential secrets detected!" && exit 1

.gitignore essentials:

.env
.env.local
*.env
.claude/secrets/

Best Practices

1. Never commit directly to main Every change goes through a PR. Even solo projects benefit from PR review history.

2. Atomic commits One logical change per commit. Easier to revert, bisect, and cherry-pick.

3. Commit early, commit often Small commits are safer and easier to review than large commits that mix concerns.

Common Use Cases

Use Case 1: Feature Branch Workflow

Scenario: Implementing new dashboard analytics feature.

Workflow:

git checkout -b feat/dashboard-analytics
Implement changes
git add src/dashboard/ (specific files, not git add .)
Secret detection scan
git commit -m "feat(dashboard): add weekly metrics chart"
git push origin feat/dashboard-analytics
Create PR with checklist

Output: Clean PR ready for review.

Use Case 2: Hotfix Deployment

Scenario: Production bug needs immediate fix.

Workflow:

git checkout -b fix/payment-500-error main
Apply minimal fix
git commit -m "fix(payments): handle null cart in checkout"
Fast-track PR review
Merge and tag release

Output: Isolated hotfix with clear commit history.

Troubleshooting

Issue: Pre-commit hook blocking legitimate API keys in tests Solution: Use mock/example keys in test fixtures (sk_test_example, test_key_here). Never real keys.

Issue: Merge conflicts on shared files Solution: Rebase feature branch before PR: git rebase main. Resolve conflicts per-file.

Cook - Implementation that generates commits
Fix - Bug fix commits
Plans Kanban - Track what’s committed per phase

/git — Git workflow management
/ckm:git — Alias for git skill