Git Log - Commit Messages & Documentation

VerifiedSafe

Generate structured commit messages and maintain git log documentation for consistent project history.

Sby Skills Guide Bot
DevelopmentIntermediate
7/23/2026
Claude Code
#git#commit-messages#conventional-commits#changelog#documentation

Recommended for

Automated summary

Generates Conventional Commits-style commit messages from staged or unstaged changes and maintains a detailed git log documentation file for a project.

Strengths

  • Provides a step-by-step workflow from inspecting git status/diff to writing the commit message.
  • Includes project-specific commit types and scopes for the VRP toolkit.
  • Supplies a template and commands for updating a structured GIT_LOG.md after each commit.
  • Offers a quick reference for common git history and commit commands.

Limitations

  • The scopes and examples are tailored to the VRP toolkit, so other projects need adaptation.
  • It documents the git log manually rather than automating history generation.
  • It does not cover branching, merging, rebasing, or conflict resolution.
When to use it

Use it when you are about to commit changes and want a consistent Conventional Commits message plus an updated project git log entry.

When not to use it

Avoid it for complex git operations like rebase, merge conflict resolution, or release management that require dedicated Git workflows.

Security analysis

Safe
Quality score84/100

This skill provides standard git workflow guidance and documentation templates. It does not instruct destructive, exfiltrating, obfuscated, or safety-disabling actions; the commands shown are normal git operations for status, commit, branch, log, and undo.

No concerns found

How this analysis is made

Examples

Generate commit message from staged changes
Analyze my staged changes with git diff --staged and propose a Conventional Commits message for the VRP toolkit, including a body if needed.
Update GIT_LOG.md after commit
I just committed a feat(architecture) change. Extract the commit hash, author, date, and changed files, then add a new entry to .claude/GIT_LOG.md following the skill's template.
Review recent git history
Review the last five commits and summarize the recent changes so I can update the project's git log documentation.

name: git-log description: Generate appropriate commit messages and maintain git log documentation. Use when preparing to commit changes, reviewing git history, or maintaining project change documentation. Provides commit message generation, git log maintenance, and quick command reference.

Git Log - Commit & Documentation

Generate structured commit messages and maintain comprehensive git log documentation for the VRP toolkit project.

When to Use

Use this skill when:

  • Preparing to commit changes to the repository
  • Reviewing git history to understand recent changes
  • Maintaining the project's change documentation
  • Need quick reference for common git commands
  • Want to ensure consistent commit message formatting

Core Workflow: Commit & Log

Step 1: Analyze Changes

Before committing, analyze the current changes:

git status
git diff --staged  # If changes already staged
git diff           # If changes not staged

Key questions to answer:

  • What files were modified/added/deleted?
  • What is the nature of changes (feature, bug fix, docs, refactor)?
  • What scope is affected (e.g., architecture, setup, migration)?

Step 2: Generate Commit Message

Based on the changes, generate a commit message following Conventional Commits format:

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

Common types for this project:

  • feat: New feature or functionality
  • fix: Bug fix
  • docs: Documentation changes
  • refactor: Code refactoring (no behavior change)
  • test: Adding or updating tests
  • chore: Maintenance tasks, dependency updates
  • style: Code style changes (formatting, etc.)

Common scopes for this project:

  • architecture: Changes to overall architecture
  • migration: File migrations from SDR_stochastic
  • setup: Project setup, installation, dependencies
  • alns: ALNS algorithm changes
  • pdptw: PDPTW problem definition
  • data: Data layer changes
  • visualization: Visualization tools
  • tutorials: Tutorial notebooks

Subject guidelines:

  • Use imperative mood: "add" not "added" or "adds"
  • First letter lowercase
  • No period at end
  • Keep under 50 characters if possible

Body (optional but recommended):

  • Explain what changed and why
  • Use bullet points for multiple changes
  • Reference issues or related work

Examples:

feat(architecture): implement unified Solver interface for problem-algorithm separation

- Create VRPProblem, VRPSolution, Solver abstract base classes
- Implement ALNSSolver adapter pattern
- Update quickstart tutorial to demonstrate new interface
chore: update migration progress (9/9 files)

- Update CLAUDE.md completed tasks section
- Add migration entry to MIGRATION_LOG.md
- Update progress statistics

Step 3: Maintain Git Log Documentation

After committing, update the git log documentation file (.claude/GIT_LOG.md):

File structure:

# Git Log - VRP Toolkit Project

*Comprehensive record of all commits with detailed information.*

## Recent Commits (newest first)

### 2026-01-01 - feat(architecture): implement unified Solver interface
**Hash:** 4569fa1
**Author:** [Author Name]
**Date:** 2026-01-01 12:34:56

**Changes:**
- Created base.py module with abstract base classes
- Implemented adapter pattern for backward compatibility
- Updated quickstart tutorial

**Files modified:**
- vrp_toolkit/algorithms/base.py
- vrp_toolkit/algorithms/alns/solver.py
- tutorials/01_quickstart.ipynb

---

### 2025-12-31 - chore: update migration progress (9/9)
**Hash:** 9590014
**Author:** [Author Name]
**Date:** 2025-12-31 10:20:30

**Changes:**
- Updated CLAUDE.md with completed migration status
- Added final migration entry to MIGRATION_LOG.md

**Files modified:**
- .claude/CLAUDE.md
- .claude/MIGRATION_LOG.md

Update process:

  1. Extract commit information: git log -1 --pretty=format:"%H|%an|%ad|%s" --date=iso
  2. Get changed files: git show --name-only --pretty=format:"" HEAD
  3. Format entry using template above
  4. Add to top of "Recent Commits" section in .claude/GIT_LOG.md
  5. Keep only last 20-30 commits in main section (archive older ones if needed)

Step 4: Execute Commit

Provide the user with exact commands to execute:

# Stage changes
git add [file1] [file2] ...

# Commit with generated message
git commit -m "feat(architecture): implement unified Solver interface

- Create VRPProblem, VRPSolution, Solver abstract base classes
- Implement ALNSSolver adapter pattern
- Update quickstart tutorial to demonstrate new interface"

# Push to remote (if desired)
git push

Quick Command Reference

Status & Diff

git status -s          # Short status
git diff               # Unstaged changes
git diff --staged      # Staged changes
git diff HEAD~1        # Compare with previous commit

Commit Operations

git commit -am "msg"   # Stage tracked files and commit
git commit --amend     # Amend last commit
git commit --amend --no-edit  # Amend without changing message

Branch Operations

git checkout -b feature-name  # Create and switch branch
git switch -c feature-name    # Modern equivalent
git branch -d branch-name     # Delete local branch

History & Log

git log --oneline -10         # Last 10 commits, one line
git log --oneline --graph --all  # Graphical history
git show HEAD                 # Show last commit details

Undo & Reset

git restore --staged file.py  # Unstage file
git restore file.py           # Discard unstaged changes
git reset --soft HEAD~1       # Undo commit, keep changes

Integration with Other Skills

update-progress: After updating CLAUDE.md and MIGRATION_LOG.md, use git-workflow to commit the documentation updates.

migrate-module: After migrating files, use git-workflow to commit the migrated code.

build-session-context: Read GIT_LOG.md to understand recent changes when starting a session.

update-task-board: Use GIT_LOG.md to track completion of development tasks.

Project-Specific Patterns

Migration Commits

git add vrp_toolkit/problems/pdptw.py
git commit -m "feat(migration): migrate instance.py to pdptw.py

- Extract generic Instance class
- Add type hints and docstrings
- Create basic test suite"

Progress Update Commits

git add .claude/CLAUDE.md .claude/MIGRATION_LOG.md
git commit -m "chore: update migration progress (5/9 files)

- Mark instance.py migration as completed
- Update progress statistics
- Add detailed migration entry"

Tutorial/Example Commits

git add tutorials/01_quickstart.ipynb
git commit -m "docs: add quickstart tutorial

- Show basic instance creation
- Demonstrate ALNS solving
- Include visualization examples"

GIT_LOG.md Maintenance

Initial Setup

If .claude/GIT_LOG.md doesn't exist, create it with the structure above.

Regular Updates

After each commit, update GIT_LOG.md with the new commit information.

Archive Strategy

  • Keep last 20 commits in "Recent Commits" section
  • Move older commits to "Archive" section at bottom
  • Consider monthly archives if volume is high

Automation Notes

When AI uses this skill, it should:

  1. Analyze current git changes
  2. Generate appropriate commit message
  3. Show user exact commands to execute
  4. After commit, update GIT_LOG.md with new entry
  5. Keep GIT_LOG.md organized and readable

Troubleshooting

Empty Commit Message

If commit message seems generic, ask:

  • What specific functionality was added/fixed?
  • Which files were most significantly changed?
  • What problem does this change solve?

Multiple Change Types

If changes include mixed types (e.g., feat and fix):

  • Create separate commits if possible
  • If must combine, use most significant type and explain in body

Missing GIT_LOG.md

If file doesn't exist, create it with current commit history:

# Get last 20 commits for initial log
git log --oneline -20

From the file to a first result

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1. Download the file

Download SKILL.md

From the root of a test project, save the file as .skill-downloads/git-log-commit-messages-documentation-mrx3y02x/SKILL.md, or use the command below. This folder is for inspecting the skill before installation.

Command for macOS/Linux or WSL: requires a POSIX shell and curl. On Windows without WSL, use the download button and create the folder manually.

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Read SKILL.md before using it. If it references scripts or external services, inspect them and prepare the required access in your test environment.

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Claude Code
test -f '.skill-downloads/git-log-commit-messages-documentation-mrx3y02x/SKILL.md' && test -s '.skill-downloads/git-log-commit-messages-documentation-mrx3y02x/SKILL.md' && mkdir -p '.claude/skills' && test ! -e '.claude/skills/git-log' && cp -R '.skill-downloads/git-log-commit-messages-documentation-mrx3y02x' '.claude/skills/git-log'

OpenSkills

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Official OpenSkills installation
openskills install './.skill-downloads/git-log-commit-messages-documentation-mrx3y02x'

openskills read 'git-log-commit-messages-documentation-mrx3y02x'

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For an agent that reads AGENTS.md, then sync the index. This command changes AGENTS.md: review the diff before using it.

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Read .skill-downloads/git-log-commit-messages-documentation-mrx3y02x/SKILL.md and apply its instructions to this example: [describe a test input]. Identify any missing files, dependencies or access. Produce the result requested by the skill without inventing data or running unreviewed scripts.

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