/commit-gate

name: commit-gate
description: The only path to a commit. Routed to when the user invokes /commit or otherwise instructs codeArbiter to persist staged changes. Nine gated phases — permission, branch, classification, verification (test/lint/secrets), behavioral proof, diff review, selective stage, message, commit. Nothing reaches version control without clearing every gate; "it looks good" is not authorization.

commit-gate

The only permitted path to a commit. Bypassing it is a hard-rule violation. Routed to when the user invokes `/commit` or any equivalent instruction to persist staged changes.

Pre-flight

Read these, or STOP and surface the gap — never guess a command:

• `{{PROJECT_DIR}}/.codearbiter/tech-stack.md` — test, lint, and secrets-scan invocations. Stop if missing; do not guess.
• A git repository must be present and `git status` available.
• The `tdd` skill must have cleared all six phases for any new or modified feature code in the staged set. If `tdd` is incomplete, STOP and surface the gap.

Phase 1 — Permission · gate: BLOCK

Confirm the user explicitly authorized this commit. Speculative commits are prohibited.

Explicit instructions: "commit", "commit this", "go ahead and commit", "create the commit". Ambiguous signals — "looks good", "that should work" — are NOT authorization. Record the instruction text for the report.

Gate: explicit user authorization is on record. Inferred or assumed permission does not pass.

Phase 2 — Branch · gate: BLOCK

Run `git branch --show-current`. If the branch is `main`, `master`, or any protected branch, STOP and instruct the user to create a feature branch. Record the branch name for the report.

Gate: the working branch is not protected.

Phase 3 — Classification · gate: BLOCK

Read the staged set (`git diff --cached --name-only` and `--stat`). Classify the change into a commit type:

• `feat` — new capability or behavior
• `fix` — corrects a defect
• `test` — tests only
• `refactor` — restructures without behavior change
• `docs` — documentation only
• `chore` — build, tooling, dependency updates
• `ci` — pipeline changes

Derive the scope from the staged paths. If the staged set spans more than one type, split it — stage and commit each type separately.

Flag any staged **database migration** (per `_hooklib.is_migration_path`) here — it carries a mandatory migration-review routing in Phase 4 (the H-14 gate), independent of the commit type.

Gate: the staged set is type-homogeneous with a single type and scope.

Phase 4 — Verification · gate: BLOCK

Read the test, lint, and secrets-scan commands from `tech-stack.md`. Then:

• Run the test command. ALL tests green. Any failure blocks.
• Run lint, and the type-check if the project is statically typed. Zero errors.
• Run the secrets scan on ALL staged files, regardless of commit type. Any finding blocks.
• **Security gates (mandatory routing):** if the staged diff touches crypto/TLS or secret patterns, route it through `crypto-compliance` and/or `secret-handling` (`{{PLUGIN_ROOT}}/skills/`) — they scan against `security-controls.md` and, on pass, record the diff-bound marker `.codearbiter/.markers/security-gate-passed` (via `hooks/security-pass.py`). This is not optional: the PreToolUse commit hook **H-09b/H-10b blocks the commit** until that gate pass is recorded AND covers every sensitive line being committed.
• **Migration gate (mandatory routing):** if the staged set contains a database migration (Phase 3 flags it; the detection rule is `_hooklib.is_migration_path` — default migration globs, extendable/narrowable via a `migration-paths` block in `security-controls.md`), dispatch the `migration-reviewer` agent (`{{PLUGIN_ROOT}}/agents/migration-reviewer.md`). **On a genuine PASS only**, record the content-bound marker `.codearbiter/.markers/migration-gate-passed` by running `python3 "{{PLUGIN_ROOT}}/hooks/migration-pass.py" || python "{{PLUGIN_ROOT}}/hooks/migration-pass.py"`. This is not optional: the PreToolUse commit hook **H-14 blocks the commit** until the pass is recorded AND covers every migration file being committed (by content digest, no freshness window — an edit to a reviewed migration re-blocks). This closes the bare-`/commit` / small-lane gap from issue #77. On a BLOCK, do not record the pass.
• **CI/deploy review (mandatory routing, no marker gate):** if the staged set touches a CI/CD workflow (`_hooklib.is_ci_path` — defaults extendable via a `ci-paths` block in `security-controls.md`) or a deployment/IaC manifest (`_hooklib.is_deploy_path` — `deploy-paths` block), dispatch the `security-reviewer` agent (`{{PLUGIN_ROOT}}/agents/security-reviewer.md`). This is the enforcement point the advisory `post-write-edit` reminders **H-15/H-16** point to, and it closes the bare-`/commit` / small-lane gap for CI/deploy (the `/review`, `/pr`, `/checkpoint`, and sprint lanes already dispatch it). Unlike crypto/secret/migration there is **no commit-block marker** — a CI workflow runs only once merged and IaC bites only on apply, so a BLOCK-level finding halts the commit via Phase 6 review, but routine CI/deploy edits are not gated per-commit. Act on the findings by severity; do not record a marker.

Record each result (PASS / BLOCK) for the report.

Gate: test, lint, secrets scan, and (when crypto/secret is touched) the security gate all PASS. Any failure halts the commit until fixed and re-run.

Phase 5 — Behavioral proof · gate: BLOCK

Apply the shared fresh-run discipline in `{{PLUGIN_ROOT}}/includes/fresh-verification.md`, with **the spec's acceptance criterion** as the target — prove the behavior against the spec, not against a self-report.

• Identify the proving command or observable: the acceptance criterion from `{{PROJECT_DIR}}/.codearbiter/specs/<slug>.md` (or the task's verification in the plan). If none exists, derive the smallest command that exercises the claimed behavior.
• Run it fresh in this phase, read its output and exit code, and