git-commit-helper

Generate conventional commit messages from git diffs and staged changes. Use when: (1) user asks to write/generate/commit a commit message, (2) running git commit and needs a message, (3) user asks "what should my commit message be?" or "help me commit", (4) preparing changes for a PR and the commit message follows Conventional Commits format. NOT for: running git commands directly (use exec for that), rebasing, or resolving merge conflicts.

terrycarter1985@terrycarter1985

Install

openclaw skills install @terrycarter1985/git-commit-helper

Git Commit Helper

Generate high-quality Conventional Commit messages from staged or unstaged diffs.

Quick Start

Get the diff: git diff (unstaged) or git diff --cached (staged)
Analyze the changes and classify the type (see Types below)
Write a concise message following the format
Present to user or pass to git commit -m

Commit Message Format

text

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

<body>

type (required): one of the Types listed below
scope (optional): affected area/module, e.g. auth, api, db
subject (required): imperative mood, ≤72 chars, no trailing period
body (optional): what & why, not how; wrap at 72 chars

Types

Type	Meaning
feat	New feature
fix	Bug fix
docs	Documentation only
style	Formatting, no logic change
refactor	Code change, no feature/fix
perf	Performance improvement
test	Adding or correcting tests
build	Build system or dependency changes
ci	CI configuration changes
chore	Maintenance, no production code change
revert	Reverting a previous commit

Steps

Run git diff --cached first; if empty, fall back to git diff
Classify the change type using the table above
Identify scope from filenames/paths when obvious
Write the subject line in imperative mood
If the diff is large (>50 lines), add a body summarizing key changes
Present the final message to the user

Script

Use scripts/analyze_diff.py to extract structured info from a diff:

bash

python3 scripts/analyze_diff.py <diff-file>
# or pipe from stdin:
git diff --cached | python3 scripts/analyze_diff.py

Outputs JSON with: changed files, added/removed lines, likely commit type, and suggested scope.

Examples

Small fix:

text

fix(auth): handle null token in middleware

Feature:

text

feat(api): add pagination to /v1/users endpoint

Adds cursor-based pagination with limit param. Defaults to 20 per page.
Requires auth header.

Docs:

text

docs(readme): update installation steps for v2

Rules

Always use imperative mood ("add", not "added" or "adds")
Subject ≤72 characters
No period at end of subject
Use ! after type/scope for breaking changes: feat(api)!: remove v1 endpoints
Prefer specificity over generic "update files"