Instruction file imported from benwilcock/rhdh-lab (.cursor/rules/git-github.mdc). Copyright stays with the author.

Git & GitHub Conventions

Commit Messages

Write clear, detailed commit messages that explain why the change was made, not just what changed.

Format

<short summary in imperative mood, max ~72 chars>

<optional body: explain motivation, context, trade-offs, or anything
non-obvious about the change. Wrap lines at ~72 chars.>

Guidelines

• Use imperative mood: "Add feature" not "Added feature" or "Adds feature"
• First line is a concise summary; add a blank line then a body for anything non-trivial
• Reference related docs or issues when relevant (e.g. "See docs/architecture.md")
• Group related changes into a single commit; separate unrelated changes into distinct commits

Email & Identity

This repository uses a GitHub noreply email to keep the author's personal email private.

• NEVER change user.email in git config
• NEVER use a personal email address in commits
• The repo-level config is already set; do not override it

Secret Safety

Before every commit:

1. Run git diff --staged and review for secrets, credentials, personal paths, or tokens
2. NEVER commit files matching: .env, *-credentials.yaml, *.pem, *.key
3. NEVER commit hardcoded passwords, API keys, tokens, or personal absolute paths (e.g. /Users/..., /home/...)
4. Use ${ENV_VAR} references for all secrets; set real values only in the gitignored .env
5. If in doubt, check .gitignore covers the file before staging

Submodule: rhdh-local

• rhdh-local/ is a git submodule tracking the upstream RHDH Local project
• modified: rhdh-local (untracked content) in git status is normal -- do not try to fix it
• NEVER stage or commit changes inside rhdh-local/
• To update the submodule: cd rhdh-local && git checkout main && git pull origin main && cd .. then commit the new SHA in rhdh-lab

Force Push

• NEVER force push to main unless the user explicitly requests it
• When rewriting history (e.g. email changes, squashing), always use --force-with-lease first; only fall back to --force if lease fails due to the rewrite itself