Commit Message

HARD GATE — HARD GATE — Commits must follow Conventional Commits spec (type(scope): description). Do NOT use vague messages like 'fix' or 'updates.' The message must explain the 'why,' not the 'what.'

Modes

• Default: standard Conventional Commits message
• --fix-type: Forces type=fix. Use when commit type is unambiguous.

What "last chat" means

• Primary source of truth: Read state.yaml vcs.kind. Git uses git status, git diff, and git diff --cached; Jujutsu uses jj status, jj diff, and jj log -r @. Run in the repo root.
• Context: use the current conversation to summarize intent and to spot breaking API/behavior changes that diff alone may not show.
• If the user tracks a session baseline (e.g. branch, tag, or git stash create at start), you may git diff <baseline>..HEAD plus uncommitted diffs; otherwise use only the index and working tree.

Quick workflow

1. Inventory — List changed paths; group by feature vs chore vs docs vs test-only.
2. Decide commit shape — One atomic commit is ideal. If the diff mixes unrelated concerns, recommend multiple commits (each with its own type/scope) before suggesting one message.
3. Classify for semantic release — fix → patch, feat → minor, breaking → major.
4. Write the message — type(optional-scope)!: description (see REFERENCE.md). Use ! or a BREAKING CHANGE: footer when behavior contracts change.
5. Note defensive-code categories touched — from CONVENTIONS.md: Rate limit | Retry with backoff | Circuit breaker | Timeout | Graceful degradation
6. Note fix-ratio contribution — Each fix: commit counts toward metrics.commit_ratio.fix in specs/state.yaml. After release-branch, session-state recalculates the ratio automatically. A high fix rate (>30%) triggers a deploy + smoke-test suggestion.
7. Deliver — Output:
   • Proposed full commit message (title + optional body + footers).
   • Release bump this commit would drive: patch | minor | major | none.
   • Optional native command: Git git commit -m; Jujutsu jj commit -m. Never omit -m or run destructive commands unless asked.

Checklist before finalizing

• Audit pass confirmed (HARD GATE — Issue #182): In active epic flow, bash scripts/lib/assert-epic-gate.sh commit passes.
• Type matches the dominant user-visible outcome (feat vs fix vs perf, etc.).
• Scope is a short noun in parentheses if it helps (e.g. fix(api): …).
• Breaking changes are explicit (! and/or BREAKING CHANGE: in the body/footer).
• Description is imperative, lowercase start after the prefix, no trailing period in the title line.
• NO Co-authored-by or Co-Authored-By footers — P1 rule (CONVENTIONS.md § Git Attribution). All commits must appear as if authored solely by the human user. The git hook and land-branch.sh both block these.

When not to invent a bump

If the repo uses a custom @semantic-release/commit-analyzer preset, note that your bump is heuristic and they should match .releaserc / release.config.*. See REFERENCE.md.

Further reading

• REFERENCE.md — Message shape, footers, release mapping, squashing notes.

Handoff

Gate: READY -> next: release-branch Writes: state.yaml handoff.next_skill = release-branch