contextual-commit

To write git commit messages that capture implementation reasoning, use Conventional Commit format with structured action lines like intent, decision, rejected, constraint, and learned. This preserves the why behind code changes by documenting architectural tradeoffs and session knowledge alongside the diff.

Conventional commits standardize git commit messages with structured types and scopes. You need structured action lines like intent, decision, and rejected when you want to preserve implementation reasoning, document tradeoffs, and prevent context from disappearing after a development session ends.

To commit staged changes without fabricating context, use git diff evidence as the source of truth and distinguish between changes with known session context and changes without it. Avoid fabricating motivations or constraints when reasoning is not available from the conversation or diff.

Contextual-commit works with both staged and unstaged work. When staged changes are present, they serve as the source of truth for commit scope analysis. The Skill distinguishes between changes with known session context and changes without it to avoid fabricating motivations.

The best way to document architectural tradeoffs in a git commit is to use Conventional Commit format with structured action lines for decisions, rejected options, and constraints. This captures why a technical approach was chosen over alternatives directly in the commit body.

Your commit message loses context after an AI coding session ends because standard commits capture only code changes, not reasoning. Using structured action lines like intent, learned, and constraint preserves implementation context, rejected options, and constraints directly in the commit body.