git-workflow

Essential Git patterns for effective version control, eliminating redundant Git guidance per agent.

bobmatnyc 73 20 Updated 7mo ago

Resources

GitHub

Install

npx skillscat add bobmatnyc/claude-mpm-skills/git-workflow

Install via the SkillsCat registry.

About this skill

We need to produce a summary of the skill, following rules: objective factual tone, no marketing language, no superlatives, no calls to action. Natural prose, no bullet points, no headings, no markdown formatting. At most 60 words. Only the summary text, no extra quotes. So we need to output a plain text paragraph up to 60 words, describing what the skill does, what problem it solves, when to use it. We must not include any markdown formatting, no bullet points, no headings. Just plain text. Let's craft about 55 words.

SKILL.md

Git Workflow

Essential Git patterns for effective version control. Eliminates ~120-150 lines of redundant Git guidance per agent.

Commit Best Practices

Conventional Commits Format

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

<body>

<footer>

Types:

feat: New feature
fix: Bug fix
docs: Documentation only
refactor: Code change that neither fixes bug nor adds feature
perf: Performance improvement
test: Adding or updating tests
chore: Build process, dependencies, tooling

Examples:

feat(auth): add OAuth2 authentication

Implements OAuth2 flow using Google provider.
Includes token refresh and validation.

Closes #123

fix(api): handle null response in user endpoint

Previously crashed when user not found.
Now returns 404 with error message.

perf(db): optimize user query with index

Reduces query time from 500ms to 50ms.

Atomic Commits

# Good: Each commit does one thing
git commit -m "feat: add user authentication"
git commit -m "test: add auth tests"
git commit -m "docs: update API docs for auth"

# Bad: Multiple unrelated changes
git commit -m "add auth, fix bugs, update docs"

Branching Strategy

Git Flow (Feature Branches)

# Create feature branch from main
git checkout main
git pull origin main
git checkout -b feature/user-authentication

# Work on feature with regular commits
git add src/auth.py
git commit -m "feat(auth): implement login endpoint"

# Keep branch updated with main
git checkout main
git pull origin main
git checkout feature/user-authentication
git rebase main  # Or: git merge main

# Push and create PR
git push -u origin feature/user-authentication

Trunk-Based Development

# Work directly on main with short-lived branches
git checkout main
git pull origin main
git checkout -b fix/null-pointer
# Make small change
git commit -m "fix: handle null in user query"
git push origin fix/null-pointer
# Merge immediately via PR

Common Workflows

Updating Branch with Latest Changes

# Option 1: Rebase (cleaner history)
git checkout feature-branch
git fetch origin
git rebase origin/main

# Resolve conflicts if any
git add resolved_file.py
git rebase --continue

# Option 2: Merge (preserves history)
git checkout feature-branch
git merge origin/main

Undoing Changes

# Undo last commit (keep changes)
git reset --soft HEAD~1

# Undo last commit (discard changes)
git reset --hard HEAD~1

# Undo changes to specific file
git checkout -- file.py

# Revert a commit (creates new commit)
git revert abc123

# Amend last commit
git add forgotten_file.py
git commit --amend --no-edit

Stashing Work

# Save current work temporarily
git stash

# List stashes
git stash list

# Apply most recent stash
git stash pop

# Apply specific stash
git stash apply stash@{0}

# Create named stash
git stash save "WIP: authentication feature"

Cherry-Picking Commits

# Apply specific commit from another branch
git cherry-pick abc123

# Cherry-pick multiple commits
git cherry-pick abc123 def456

# Cherry-pick without committing
git cherry-pick -n abc123

Resolving Conflicts

# When conflicts occur during merge/rebase
# 1. Check conflicted files
git status

# 2. Edit files to resolve conflicts
# Look for conflict markers:
<<<<<<< HEAD
Your changes
=======
Their changes
>>>>>>> branch-name

# 3. Mark as resolved
git add resolved_file.py

# 4. Continue operation
git rebase --continue  # or git merge --continue

Viewing History

# Compact log
git log --oneline -10

# Graphical log
git log --graph --oneline --all

# Commits by author
git log --author="John Doe"

# Commits affecting specific file
git log -- path/to/file.py

# See changes in commit
git show abc123

# Compare branches
git diff main..feature-branch

Branch Management

# List branches
git branch -a  # All branches (local + remote)

# Delete local branch
git branch -d feature-branch  # Safe delete (merged only)
git branch -D feature-branch  # Force delete

# Delete remote branch
git push origin --delete feature-branch

# Rename branch
git branch -m old-name new-name

# Track remote branch
git checkout --track origin/feature-branch

Advanced Operations

Interactive Rebase

# Edit last 3 commits
git rebase -i HEAD~3

# Options in editor:
# pick = use commit
# reword = change commit message
# edit = stop to amend commit
# squash = combine with previous commit
# fixup = like squash but discard message
# drop = remove commit

Bisect (Find Bug Introduction)

# Start bisect
git bisect start
git bisect bad  # Current version has bug
git bisect good v1.0.0  # This version was good

# Git checks out middle commit
# Test if bug exists
git bisect bad  # if bug exists
git bisect good  # if bug doesn't exist

# Git narrows down until finding first bad commit
git bisect reset  # Return to original branch

Blame (Find Who Changed Line)

# See who last modified each line
git blame file.py

# Ignore whitespace changes
git blame -w file.py

# Show specific line range
git blame -L 10,20 file.py

Git Hooks

# Pre-commit hook (runs before commit)
# .git/hooks/pre-commit
#!/bin/bash
npm run lint
npm test

# Pre-push hook (runs before push)
# .git/hooks/pre-push
#!/bin/bash
npm run test:integration

Best Practices

✅ DO

Commit frequently with atomic changes
Write clear, descriptive commit messages
Pull before push to avoid conflicts
Review changes before committing (git diff --staged)
Use branches for features and fixes
Keep commits small and focused

❌ DON'T

Commit sensitive data (use .gitignore)
Commit generated files (build artifacts, node_modules)
Force push to shared branches (git push --force)
Commit work-in-progress to main
Include multiple unrelated changes in one commit
Rewrite public history

.gitignore Patterns

# Dependencies
node_modules/
venv/
__pycache__/

# Build outputs
dist/
build/
*.pyc
*.o
*.exe

# IDE
.vscode/
.idea/
*.swp

# Secrets
.env
*.key
*.pem
secrets.yml

# OS
.DS_Store
Thumbs.db

# Logs
*.log
logs/

Quick Command Reference

# Status and diff
git status
git diff
git diff --staged

# Commit
git add .
git commit -m "message"
git push

# Branch
git branch
git checkout -b branch-name
git merge branch-name

# Update
git pull
git fetch

# Undo
git reset HEAD~1
git checkout -- file
git revert commit-hash

# History
git log
git log --oneline
git show commit-hash

Remember

Commit often - Small commits are easier to review and revert
Descriptive messages - Future you will thank present you
Pull before push - Stay synchronized with team
Use branches - Keep main stable
Review before commit - Check what is being committed

git-workflow

Resources

Install

Git Workflow

Commit Best Practices

Conventional Commits Format

Atomic Commits

Branching Strategy

Git Flow (Feature Branches)

Trunk-Based Development

Common Workflows

Updating Branch with Latest Changes

Undoing Changes

Stashing Work

Cherry-Picking Commits

Resolving Conflicts

Viewing History

Branch Management

Tags

Advanced Operations

Interactive Rebase

Bisect (Find Bug Introduction)

Blame (Find Who Changed Line)

Git Hooks

Best Practices

✅ DO

❌ DON'T

.gitignore Patterns

Quick Command Reference

Remember

Categories

Install

git-workflow

Resources

Install

Git Workflow

Commit Best Practices

Conventional Commits Format

Atomic Commits

Branching Strategy

Git Flow (Feature Branches)

Trunk-Based Development

Common Workflows

Updating Branch with Latest Changes

Undoing Changes

Stashing Work

Cherry-Picking Commits

Resolving Conflicts

Viewing History

Branch Management

Tags

Advanced Operations

Interactive Rebase

Bisect (Find Bug Introduction)

Blame (Find Who Changed Line)

Git Hooks

Best Practices

✅ DO

❌ DON'T

.gitignore Patterns

Quick Command Reference

Remember

Categories

Install

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