caveman-commit - SKILL.md Agent Skill

name: caveman-commit description: Use when writing git commit messages, especially when ARCS Caveman mode is active. Produces Conventional Commits with terse, intent-preserving prose. Subject ≤50 chars; body only when the "why" isn't obvious from the diff.

Skill: caveman-commit

When

Writing git commit messages. Terse, exact, Conventional Commits. Why over what.

Flow

flowchart TD
    A[Read diff] --> B[Classify: feat/fix/refactor/perf/docs/test/chore]
    B --> C["Write subject: type(scope): imperative ≤50"]
    C --> D{Why obvious from diff?}
    D -->|yes| E[Subject only — done]
    D -->|no| F[Write body: why + context]
    F --> G{Breaking/security/migration?}
    G -->|yes| H[MUST include body]
    G -->|no| E
    H --> E

Format Rules

Element	Rule
Subject	`<type>(<scope>): <imperative>` ≤50 chars (hard cap 72)
Types	feat, fix, refactor, perf, docs, test, chore, build, ci, style, revert
Mood	Imperative: "add", "fix", "remove" — not past/present tense
Body	Wrap 72 chars, bullets `-`, skip if subject self-explanatory
Issues	End of body: `Closes #42`, `Refs #17`

Never Include

"This commit does X", "I", "we", "now" — diff says what
AI attribution (unless explicitly requested)
Emoji (unless project history uses them)
Trailing period on subject

Always Include Body For

Breaking changes, security fixes (cite CVE), data migrations, reverts (name SHA)

Constraints

Output message as code block only — do not run git commit
"Stop caveman-commit" or "normal mode" → revert to verbose style