Git cli

Helper for using the Git CLI to inspect, stage, commit, branch, and synchronize code changes. Use when the user wants to understand or perform Git operations from the command line, including safe status checks, diffs, branching, stashing, and syncing with remotes.

Git CLI Skill — How to Work

Use this skill when the user asks about Git from the command line: what changed, staging/committing, branching, push/pull, stashing, history, tags, merge/rebase, or cloning.

Your Workflow

1. Confirm context: Ensure Git is on PATH and the user is in (or will run commands in) a repo. If unsure, suggest git status or run scripts/is-repo.sh from the skill directory.
2. Safety first: Prefer read-only commands (git status, git diff, git log). Do not suggest destructive commands (git reset --hard, git clean -fdx, git push --force) unless the user explicitly asks and understands the risk. For recovery, use git reflog to find a commit before suggesting reset/checkout.
3. Give the right level of detail:
   • Quick answer: Use the Quick Reference table below and reply with the exact command(s).
   • Step-by-step or edge cases: Point to or quote from reference/ (e.g. reference/workflows.md, reference/troubleshooting.md).
   • Automation / repeatable checks: Use or adapt scripts in scripts/ and tell the user how to run them.
   • Templates (commit message, .gitignore): Use or copy from assets/.

Quick Reference (use this first)

Task	Command
State & diff	git status · git diff · git diff --staged · git diff --stat
Stage / unstage	git add <path> or git add . · git restore --staged <path>
Commit	git commit -m "message"
Branch	git branch · git branch -a · git switch -c new · git switch existing
Sync remote	git fetch · git pull · git push -u origin <branch> then git push
Stash	git stash · git stash list · git stash apply / git stash pop
History	git log --oneline --decorate --graph -n 20 · git blame <file>
Clone / init	git clone <url> · git init · git remote add origin <url>
Remotes	git remote -v · git remote show origin · git branch -vv
Discard (destructive)	git restore <file> (working tree) · git restore --staged <file> (unstage)
Amend	git commit --amend --no-edit or -m "message"
Tags	git tag · git tag v1.0 · git push origin v1.0 or --tags
Merge / rebase	git merge <branch> · git rebase <branch> · conflict → fix → git add → git commit or git rebase --continue

Where to Look

Need	Location
Full command list, options, examples	reference/commands.md
Step-by-step workflows (branch, release, conflict)	reference/workflows.md
Errors, recovery, detached HEAD, .gitignore	reference/troubleshooting.md
Run checks (is repo, status summary, branch info)	scripts/ — run from repo root
Commit message or .gitignore template	assets/

Scripts (run from repository root)

• scripts/is-repo.sh — Exit 0 if current dir is a Git repo, else 1. Use to confirm context before suggesting commands.
• scripts/status-summary.sh — Short status + branch + last commit. Use when user asks "what’s my current state?"
• scripts/branch-list.sh — Local and remote branches with upstream. Use when user asks about branches or push target.

On Windows: run in Git Bash or WSL (e.g. bash scripts/status-summary.sh).

Assets

• assets/commit-msg-template.txt — Template for conventional or structured commit messages; suggest when user asks for commit message format.
• assets/gitignore-common.txt — Common .gitignore patterns; suggest when user has many untracked files or asks for .gitignore examples.

When the user needs a diagram (e.g. branch/merge flow), describe it in text or point to reference; only create or reference images in assets/ if the user explicitly asks for a visual.