Git Workflow Standards

When to Use

• Writing or reviewing commit messages
• Creating branches for features, fixes, or releases
• Preparing pull request descriptions
• Squashing or cleaning up commit history
• Establishing git conventions for a project
• Auditing an existing project's commit history and branch strategy for convention compliance
• Retrofitting conventional commits, PR templates, or changelog practices to an existing repo

Commit Messages

Follow the Conventional Commits specification. This enables automated changelog generation, semantic versioning, and clear history.

Format

<type>(<scope>): <subject>

<body>

<footer>

Rules

• Subject line: Imperative mood, lowercase, no period, max 72 characters.
• Body: Wrap at 80 characters. Explain what and why, not how. Separate from subject with a blank line.
• Footer: Reference issues, breaking changes, or co-authors.

Types

Scope

Optional, but encouraged. Use the module, component, or area affected:

• feat(api): add user search endpoint
• fix(auth): handle expired refresh tokens
• build(deps): update fastapi to 0.115
• docs(readme): add deployment instructions

Examples

Single-line (small, self-explanatory changes):

fix(cors): allow credentials in preflight responses

With body (changes that need context):

feat(cache): add IndexedDB caching for dashboard data

Store API responses in IndexedDB keyed by endpoint and query params.
Serve cached data immediately on page load, then refresh in the
background. Reduces perceived load time for repeat visits.

With breaking change:

feat(api)!: change auth from API key to OAuth2

Migrate all endpoints to require Bearer token authentication.
API key header is no longer accepted.

BREAKING CHANGE: Clients must update to use OAuth2 tokens.
All existing API keys are invalidated.

Closes #142

Anti-patterns

• update stuff - Vague, no type, no scope, no useful information
• fix bug - Which bug? What was the symptom?
• WIP - Never commit with WIP; use git stash or draft branches
• address review comments - Describe what actually changed
• Giant commits touching unrelated files - Split into focused commits

Commit Granularity

• Each commit should represent one logical change.
• If you can describe the commit with "and" (e.g., "fix login and update styles"), split it into two commits.
• Test suite should pass on every commit (enables git bisect).
• Prefer many small commits during development, squash into logical units before merging.

Branch Naming

<type>/<short-description>

Rules:

• Lowercase, kebab-case.
• Short but descriptive (3-5 words max).
• Include ticket number if applicable: feat/PROJ-123-user-search.

Pull Requests

Title

Follow the same conventional commit format as the squash/merge commit:

feat(api): add user search endpoint

Description Template

## What

Brief description of what this PR does.

## Why

Context on why this change is needed. Link to issue or ticket.

## How

High-level description of the approach taken.

## Testing

How this was tested. Include commands to verify, test output, or screenshots.

## Checklist

- [ ] Linter passes with no errors (`ruff check .` / `eslint .`)
- [ ] Formatter applied (`ruff format .` / `prettier --write .`)
- [ ] Type checker passes (`mypy .` for Python, `tsc --noEmit` for TypeScript)
- [ ] Tests pass
- [ ] Documentation updated
- [ ] No secrets or credentials committed

Changelog

When maintaining a CHANGELOG.md, follow the Keep a Changelog format. See the release-management skill for changelog automation from conventional commits and release cadence guidance.

# Changelog

## [Unreleased]

### Added
- User search endpoint with fuzzy matching (#142)

### Fixed
- Token refresh handling for expired sessions (#138)

### Changed
- Auth migrated from API key to OAuth2 (#140)

## [1.1.0] - 2026-03-15

### Added
- Dashboard caching with IndexedDB

Categories: Added, Changed, Deprecated, Removed, Fixed, Security.

Pre-Commit Checklist

Run these before every commit:

Python projects:

ruff format .        # format
ruff check --fix .   # lint with auto-fix
mypy .               # type check
pytest               # tests

Web projects:

prettier --write .   # format
eslint . --fix       # lint with auto-fix
tsc --noEmit         # type check
npm test             # tests

Consider automating this with a pre-commit hook or lint-staged.

Git Hygiene

• Write meaningful messages on every commit, even during early development.
• Use .gitignore before the first commit to avoid committing generated files.
• Never commit secrets, credentials, or environment files.
• Never commit code that fails linting or type checking.
• Use git stash for work-in-progress rather than WIP commits.
• Rebase/squash feature branches before merging to keep main history clean.
• Tag releases using semantic versioning: v1.2.0 (see release-management skill for full SemVer conventions).

Release Tagging

Use annotated tags for all releases. Annotated tags store author, date, and message — essential for audit and tooling:

git tag -a v1.5.0 -m "Release v1.5.0"
git push origin main --follow-tags

Tag Rules

• Prefix with v: v1.5.0, not 1.5.0.
• Tags are immutable — never delete and re-create. Fix with a new PATCH release.
• Tag only commits where all CI checks pass.
• Use the conventional commit type chore(release) for the version-bump commit:

chore(release): v1.5.0

For full semantic versioning rules (when to bump MAJOR vs MINOR vs PATCH), release workflows, hotfix procedures, and changelog automation, see the release-management skill.