joncrangle/.dotfiles

Overview

This skill enforces safe, consistent Git workflows for committing, pushing, and creating pull requests. It runs automated safety checks to prevent secrets, large files, or build artifacts from being committed and guides users to write Conventional Commits and structured PRs. Use it whenever you interact with Git to maintain repository hygiene and clear history.

How this skill works

All git operations are performed through the git_safe tool to ensure controlled actions (status, diff, log, add, commit, push). Before any commit, the skill inspects staged changes via git_safe(action: "diff", target: "--cached") to detect secrets, large/binary files, and common build artifacts and will unstage and warn when problems are found. It enforces a Conventional Commit format and produces a PR title/body template that includes Why, What, and Verification sections.

When to use it

• When you want to commit staged changes or run git status/diff/log
• Before creating a pull request or pushing code to a remote
• When reviewing git history to ensure commit message consistency
• When you need to enforce repository safety checks for secrets and large files
• When preparing a PR that needs a clear title and verification checklist

Best practices

• Always run git operations through git_safe to apply checks and logging
• Scan staged changes for secrets (.env, *_KEY, *_SECRET, password, token) and unstage any matches immediately
• Reject or remove large (>10MB) and binary files from commits; use LFS if needed
• Avoid committing build artifacts (dist/, node_modules/, .DS_Store); add them to .gitignore
• Use Conventional Commit format: type(scope): description and keep descriptions concise
• Populate PR body with Why, What, and Verification checkboxes before opening

Example use cases

• Commit a set of dotfile updates while ensuring no API keys or .env content are included
• Create a PR for a Neovim configuration change with a matching Conventional Commit title
• Run git status and git log through the safe tool to review staged changes and history
• Push install scripts only after automatic checks remove build artifacts and large files
• Review repository history to refactor commit messages into consistent Conventional format