---

name: Conventional Commits description: Guidelines for writing conventional commit messages that follow project standards and trigger automated releases

Conventional Commits Skill

This skill provides comprehensive guidance on writing conventional commit messages for the vm0 project. All commits must follow the Conventional Commits format to ensure consistent history and enable automated versioning via release-please.

Quick Reference

Format

<type>[optional scope]: <description>

[optional body]

[optional footer(s)]

Core Rules (STRICT REQUIREMENTS)

1. Type must be lowercase - feat: not Feat: or FEAT:
2. Description must start with lowercase - add feature not Add feature
3. No period at the end - fix user login not fix user login.
4. Keep title under 100 characters - Be concise
5. Use imperative mood - add not added or adds

Common Types (Quick List)

Type	Purpose	Release?
feat:	New feature	✅ Minor bump
fix:	Bug fix	✅ Patch bump
docs:	Documentation	❌ No release
refactor:	Code refactoring	❌ No release
test:	Tests	❌ No release
chore:	Build/tools	❌ No release

Pro tip: If you want a refactor to trigger a release, use fix: refactor ... instead.

When to Load Additional Context

• Need detailed type definitions? → Read types.md
• Confused about what triggers releases? → Read release-triggers.md
• Want to see good and bad examples? → Read examples.md

Quick Validation Checklist

Before committing, verify:

• ✅ Type is lowercase and valid
• ✅ Description starts with lowercase
• ✅ No period at the end
• ✅ Under 100 characters
• ✅ Imperative mood (add, fix, update)
• ✅ Accurately describes the "why" not just the "what"

Special Rules for Documentation App

Changes to turbo/apps/docs should use feat(docs): or fix(docs): instead of docs(...):

Why? The turbo/apps/docs directory IS the documentation application. Updates to it are features/fixes to the docs product, not just documentation changes to code. Using feat(docs) or fix(docs) triggers a proper release.

Change Type	Commit Type	Example
Add new docs page	feat(docs):	feat(docs): add codex provider documentation
Fix broken link	fix(docs):	fix(docs): correct model selection link path
Update content	feat(docs):	feat(docs): update quick start instructions

❌ docs: add integration guide (won't trigger release) ✅ feat(docs): add integration guide (triggers release)

Common Mistakes to Avoid

❌ Fix: Resolve database connection timeout. (capitalized type, has period) ❌ added user auth (missing type, wrong tense) ❌ feat: Add user authentication system with OAuth2... (capitalized description, too long) ❌ docs: update quick start (for turbo/apps/docs changes - use feat(docs) instead)

✅ fix: resolve database connection timeout ✅ feat: add user authentication ✅ docs(api): update endpoint documentation (for inline code docs, not turbo/apps/docs) ✅ feat(docs): add new integration page (for turbo/apps/docs changes)

Integration with Workflow

This skill should be triggered whenever:

1. Creating a commit message
2. Validating an existing commit message
3. Planning what changes should go into a single commit
4. Deciding if changes should trigger a release

The commit message should focus on why the change was made, not what was changed (git diff shows the what).