Rename Git Commits

Rewrite commit messages in git history. Non-interactive methods for Windows/MSYS environments. Safe patterns without PTY.

When to use

• Fix typo in commit message
• Change lowercase to capitalized ("update" → "Update")
• Add missing context
• Remove sensitive info

Safety rules

⚠️ Never rewrite commits that are pushed and cloned by others — breaks their history.

If commits are already on GitHub and others may have them:

• ✅ Create a new commit with fix
• ❌ Don't force push shared branches

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Method 1: Last commit (before push)

git commit --amend -m "Update: proper capitalization"

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Method 2: Multiple commits (before push, no PTY needed)

Works on Windows/MSYS without interactive editor:

# 1. Create backup branch
git branch backup-main

# 2. Reset to commit BEFORE the ones you want to change
git reset --hard COMMIT_BEFORE_TARGET

# 3. Cherry-pick each commit without auto-commit
git cherry-pick --no-commit TARGET_COMMIT

# 4. Commit with corrected message
git commit -m "Update: new correct message"

# 5. Repeat for next commit
git cherry-pick --no-commit NEXT_COMMIT
git commit -m "Update: another correct message"

# 6. Verify
git log --oneline -5

# 7. If OK, force push
git push --force-with-lease origin main

Example — fix last 2 commits:

git branch backup
git reset --hard HEAD~2
git cherry-pick --no-commit HEAD@{2}
git commit -m "Update openplanet-plugin-dev to v2.1.0 - merged skills.md, emoji, all quirks"
git cherry-pick --no-commit HEAD@{1}
git commit -m "Update openplanet-plugin-dev to v2.2.0"
git push --force-with-lease origin main

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Method 3: Already pushed — create follow-up commit (safest)

When force push is too risky, add a note:

git commit --allow-empty -m "Update: correct previous commit messages (capitalization)"
git push origin main

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Method 4: Single older commit (before push)

Using interactive rebase with non-interactive editor:

# Set non-interactive editor
GIT_SEQUENCE_EDITOR="sed -i 's/^pick/reword/'" git rebase -i COMMIT_HASH^

# Then provide new message via EDITOR
EDITOR="sed -i '1s/.*/Update: new message/'" git rebase --continue

Note: This may not work on all MSYS setups. Method 2 (cherry-pick) is more reliable.

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Quick reference

Goal	Command
Amend last commit	git commit --amend -m "New message"
Show last N commits	git log --oneline -N
Fix multiple commits	cherry-pick --no-commit + re-commit
Undo all local changes	git reset --hard origin/main
Safe force push	git push --force-with-lease origin main

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Remember

• ❌ update skill — lowercase first letter
• ✅ Update skill — capital first letter
• ❌ feat: add feature — conventional commit prefix
• ✅ Add feature — plain English, no prefix
• After push: either amend + force-push (dangerous on shared branches) OR new empty commit (safe)