---
name: ape-commit
description: >
  Defines how to write and format git commit messages. Use this skill whenever
  the user asks you to write, draft, suggest, or format a git commit message,
  summarize changes into a commit, or help stage and describe code changes.
  Trigger even for casual requests like "write me a commit for this" or "what
  should my commit say".
---

# Commit Message Style

## Format

```
<short summary line>

- <change>
- <change>
- <change>
```

## Rules

### Summary line (first line)
- One line only
- Short and crisp -- aim for under 72 characters
- Use the imperative mood: "Add feature" not "Added feature" or "Adds feature"
- No trailing period
- Describe *what* the commit does, not *how*

### Blank lines
- Always exactly one blank line between the summary line and the bullet list (never omit it)
- No blank lines between bullet list items -- the list must be tight and contiguous (single newline after each item, never an empty/blank line)
- No trailing blank lines at the end of the commit message

### Bullet points
- Each bullet describes a single, specific change
- Short and crisp -- one line per bullet
- Keep bullet items contiguous with no blank lines between them
- Start each bullet with a verb in the imperative mood (Add, Fix, Remove, Update, Rename, Move, Extract, etc.)
- No trailing periods
- No fluff or filler words

### Never include
- Blank lines between bullet list items (loose lists)
- Co-author lines (no `Co-authored-by:` trailer)
- `Generated by Claude` or any AI attribution
- Redundant context already obvious from the diff

## Examples

**Good:**

```
Add user authentication middleware

- Add JWT validation to protected routes
- Return 401 on missing or expired token
- Extract auth logic into separate middleware file
- Add unit tests for token validation
```

```
Fix null pointer crash on empty cart checkout

- Guard against null items array before totalling
- Add early return when cart has no items
- Log warning when checkout attempted on empty cart
```

**Bad (do not do this):**

```
Updated some stuff and fixed a few things that were broken and also added
some new features to the codebase

- I made some changes to the auth file because it was crashing

- Also fixed the cart thing
- Co-authored-by: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
```