incremental-commits

# Incremental Commits ## Overview Work in bite-sized steps, not one large change. Small commits keep the diff reviewable at code_review and make revisions cheap. ## The Process 1. Before coding, turn the task into a short ordered list of steps. Each step is ONE action worth 2–5 minutes: - "Write the failing test" — a step - "Run it and watch it fail" — a step - "Write minimal code to pass" — a step - "Run the tests, all green" — a step - "Commit" — a step 2. Commit after each green step on your task branch. 3. Each commit is one logical change: the test and the code that satisfies it belong together; unrelated changes never share a commit. 4. Commit message: imperative summary line; explain WHY in the body when it is not obvious from the diff. ## Rules of Thumb - Never accumulate a large uncommitted change — if the diff is hard to describe in one sentence, you missed a commit point. - A step should end with an independently verifiable state (test green, build passing). - Setup/scaffolding folds into the step whose deliverable needs it; don't commit empty skeletons. - If a step balloons mid-way, stop, commit what is green, and re-slice the rest. ## Quick Reference | Situation | Commit boundary | |-----------|-----------------| | Test + code that satisfies it | One commit together | | Two unrelated behaviors | Two commits | | Refactor + behavior change | Separate commits (refactor first, while green) | | Setup/scaffolding | Folded into the step that needs...