Git Workflow¶

Claude Code integrates tightly with Git, handling commits, pull requests, branch management, and code review. This guide covers how to use Claude Code effectively for your Git workflow.

Committing Changes¶

Claude Code writes excellent commit messages by analyzing staged changes. Simply ask it to commit:

"commit these changes" "commit with a message about the auth fix"

Claude will: 1. Run git diff to understand what changed 2. Draft a commit message summarizing the "why" not just the "what" 3. Stage relevant files and create the commit

Tips for better commits: - Make focused changes before committing — Claude writes better messages for cohesive changesets - Tell Claude the intent if it is not obvious from the diff: "commit — this fixes the race condition in the queue processor" - Claude follows conventional commit style if your CLAUDE.md specifies it

```markdown

In your CLAUDE.md¶

Git conventions¶

Use conventional commits: feat:, fix:, chore:, docs:
Keep subject line under 72 characters ```

Creating Pull Requests¶

Ask Claude to create a PR and it will analyze all commits on your branch, write a title and description, and use the gh CLI:

"create a PR for this branch" "open a pull request targeting the develop branch"

Claude generates a PR with: - A concise title (under 70 characters) - A summary section with bullet points - A test plan section

You can guide the PR content:

"create a PR — mention that this is a breaking change for the v2 API"

Branch Management¶

Claude can create and switch branches:

"create a branch called feature/user-settings" "switch to the main branch" "create a new branch for this bugfix"

For feature work, a good pattern is:

"create a branch called fix/login-null-check, fix the bug in login.ts:42, then commit and create a PR"

Reviewing Pull Requests¶

Claude can review PRs by reading the diff and providing feedback:

"review PR #42" "review the changes in this PR and look for security issues"

You can also point Claude at a GitHub URL:

"review https://github.com/org/repo/pull/42"

Claude will examine the diff, check for bugs, security issues, style problems, and provide specific feedback with file and line references.

Resolving Merge Conflicts¶

When you hit merge conflicts, Claude can help resolve them:

"resolve the merge conflicts in src/auth.ts" "I have merge conflicts after rebasing — help me resolve them"

Claude will: 1. Read the conflicting files 2. Understand both sides of the conflict 3. Produce a resolution that preserves the intent of both changes 4. Explain what it chose and why

Important: Always review conflict resolutions before committing. Claude does well with straightforward conflicts but complex semantic conflicts may need your judgment.

Best Practices¶

Keep commits atomic. Ask Claude to commit after each logical change rather than batching unrelated work:

"commit the database migration separately from the API changes"

Use CLAUDE.md for Git conventions. If your team has specific branch naming, commit message, or PR conventions, document them:

```markdown

Git workflow¶

Branch naming: feature/, fix/, chore/
Always rebase onto main before creating a PR
PR descriptions must reference the Jira ticket ```

Review before pushing. Claude will not push to a remote unless you explicitly ask. Use this as a checkpoint:

"show me what will be pushed" "diff against origin/main"

Do not force-push to shared branches. Claude will warn you if you attempt to force-push to main or master. Listen to the warning.

Common Git Tasks — Quick Reference¶

Task	Prompt
Commit staged changes	"commit these changes"
Commit with context	"commit — this fixes the timeout bug"
Create a PR	"create a PR"
Create a PR to specific base	"create a PR targeting develop"
Review a PR	"review PR #42"
Resolve conflicts	"resolve merge conflicts"
Check what will be pushed	"diff against origin/main"
Amend last commit	"amend the last commit with these changes"