Git Workflows Skill

When to Activate

Activate this skill when:

• Making git commits
• Creating or merging branches
• Initializing repositories
• Resolving merge conflicts
• Reviewing git history

Conventional Commits Format

<type>: <brief description>

<optional body>

<optional footer>

Commit Types

Quick Reference

# Check status
git status
git diff --stat

# Stage and commit
git add .
git commit -m "feat: add new feature"

# View history
git log --oneline -5
git log --graph --oneline --all

# Undo operations
git restore <file>              # Discard changes
git restore --staged <file>     # Unstage
git reset HEAD~1                # Undo last commit (keep changes)

Commit Examples

Feature

git commit -m "feat: Add dark mode toggle

- Implement theme switching logic
- Add localStorage persistence
- Update CSS variables"

Bug Fix

git commit -m "fix: Correct timezone handling bug

Fixes off-by-one error in date calculations.

Closes #123"

Breaking Change

git commit -m "feat!: Replace XML config with YAML

BREAKING CHANGE: XML configuration no longer supported.
See docs/migration.md for upgrade instructions."

Branching Strategy

Feature Branches

# Create and switch
git checkout -b feature/user-auth

# Work and commit
git add .
git commit -m "feat: add JWT authentication"

# Merge back
git checkout main
git merge feature/user-auth
git branch -d feature/user-auth

Branch Naming

feature/feature-name    # New features
fix/bug-description     # Bug fixes
experiment/new-idea     # Experiments
release/v1.0.0          # Releases

Repository Setup

# Initialize new repo
git init

# Create .gitignore
cat > .gitignore << 'EOF'
secrets.json
*.log
__pycache__/
.DS_Store
.venv/
node_modules/
.env
EOF

# Initial commit
git add .
git commit -m "chore: initialize repository"

Stashing Changes

# Stash current work
git stash push -m "WIP: auth feature"

# List stashes
git stash list

# Apply most recent
git stash pop

# Apply specific stash
git stash apply stash@{1}

Undoing Changes

Git Restore (Recommended)

git restore file.py           # Discard changes
git restore --staged file.py  # Unstage

Git Reset

git reset --soft HEAD~1  # Undo commit, keep staged
git reset HEAD~1         # Undo commit, keep unstaged
git reset --hard HEAD~1  # Undo commit, discard (DANGEROUS)

Git Revert (Safe for Shared History)

git revert abc1234  # Create new commit undoing changes

Merge Conflicts

# After conflict:
git status  # See conflicted files

# Edit files to resolve:
# <<<<<<< HEAD
# Your changes
# =======
# Incoming changes
# >>>>>>> feature-branch

# Complete merge
git add resolved-file.py
git commit

Best Practices

DO ✅

• Use conventional commit format
• One logical change per commit
• Keep subject under 50 characters
• Use imperative mood ("Add" not "Added")
• Add body for complex changes

DON'T ❌

• Use vague messages ("Update files")
• Combine multiple concerns
• Use past tense ("Added feature")
• End subject with period

Troubleshooting

Committed to wrong branch

git log --oneline -1  # Note commit hash
git checkout correct-branch
git cherry-pick abc1234
git checkout wrong-branch
git reset --hard HEAD~1

Lost commits

git reflog  # Find lost commit
git checkout abc1234
git checkout -b recovery-branch

Related Resources

See AgentUsage/git_guide.md for complete documentation including:

• Breaking change handling
• Dev/main branch strategy
• Semantic versioning integration
• Automation tools