Process Checklists

[4eckd]

Process Checklists

COMMIT_CHECKLIST.md

Commit Checklist

Before Committing

Code Quality

• Code follows project style guidelines (.editorconfig, .prettierrc.json)
• All tests pass locally
• No unnecessary debug code or commented code
• No sensitive information (tokens, passwords, emails)

Documentation

• Updated relevant documentation
• Added/updated code comments where needed
• Updated CHANGELOG (if applicable)

Git Hygiene

• Staged only relevant files (git status review)
• Commit message follows conventions (see below)
• No unintended files in staging area

Commit Message Format

Convention

():

[optional body]

[optional footer]

Types

• feat: New feature
• fix: Bug fix
• docs: Documentation changes
• style: Code style (formatting, no logic change)
• refactor: Code refactoring
• perf: Performance improvements
• test: Adding/updating tests
• chore: Maintenance (dependencies, build, etc.)
• ci: CI/CD changes
• security: Security-related changes

Examples

feat(labels): add deployment visibility labels

Add 3 new labels for deployment tracking:
- READY-FOR-DEPLOY
- PRODUCTION
- STAGING

Refs #123

---

fix(workflows): correct label sync token fallback

The GH_PAT secret fallback to GITHUB_TOKEN was not working
correctly in the matrix strategy. Fixed environment variable
scope.

Closes #456

---

docs(processes): add commit checklist

Create comprehensive commit checklist to standardize
- commit practices across the organization.
- Scope Examples
- labels: Label system
- workflows: GitHub Actions
- docs: Documentation
- templates: Issue/PR templates
- governance: Governance docs
- automation: Automation scripts

Special Cases

• Multiple Authors
• git commit -m feat(labels): add new category

Co-authored-by: Jane Doe <jane@example.com>
Co-authored-by: Claude Sonnet 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>"
Breaking Changes
git commit -m "feat(labels): restructure label categories

BREAKING CHANGE: Label names changed to include emoji prefixes.
Child repositories must update references.

Migration: See docs/migrations/2026-01-label-restructure.md"
Security Fixes
git commit -m "security(workflows): fix token exposure in logs

Fixes CVE-XXXX-XXXX by removing sensitive output from workflow logs.

Credit: @security-researcher

After Committing

• Review commit in git log --oneline -1
• Verify co-authors shown in GitHub (after push)
• Check CI/CD status (if applicable)
• Monitor for workflow triggers (if changed workflow-triggering files)

Amending Commits

⚠️ Only amend if:

• Commit not yet pushed
• Commit created by you in this session
• Small typo or formatting fix

Amend last commit

git commit --amend --no-edit

Amend and change message

git commit --amend -m "new message"

Common Mistakes

❌ Don't:

❌ Commit directly to master (use branches)
❌ Include multiple unrelated changes
❌ Use vague messages ("fix", "update", "changes")
❌ Commit generated files (unless explicitly needed)
❌ Commit with failing tests

✅ Do:

• Create feature branch for each change
• Keep commits atomic (one logical change)
• Write clear, descriptive messages
• Reference issues/PRs when applicable
• Run tests before committing

Resources:
Conventional Commits
How to Write a Git Commit Message
Contributing Guidelines

Additional Checklists:

Create similar comprehensive checklists for:

• PULL_REQUEST_CHECKLIST.md (based on existing template)
• MERGE_CHECKLIST.md (reviewer perspective)
• ISSUE_CHECKLIST.md (issue creation and triage)
• DISCUSSION_CHECKLIST.md (GitHub Discussions best practices)
• COMMENT_CHECKLIST.md (constructive feedback guidelines)
• RELEASE_CHECKLIST.md (versioning, changelog, release notes)