Tidy Commits

Tidy an existing branch into a clear, reviewable commit story while preserving the intended final tree.

Quick start

For local branch history cleanup only — for ordinary new commits use the repo's normal commit workflow.

Inspect state → refuse unclear or unrelated working-tree changes → create a backup ref → plan base..HEAD (keep / squash / fixup / reword / reorder / split / drop) → show the plan and exact commands → rebase non-interactively → verify the final tree and tests before any push.

Preflight

• Determine the base with repo evidence: PR base, origin/HEAD, or the user-provided base.
• Fetch first: git fetch --prune --all.
• Require a clean, understood state. If git status shows a rebase, merge, cherry-pick, or mixed unrelated changes, stop and ask.
• Record current state with git log --oneline --decorate --stat <base>..HEAD, git diff --stat <base>...HEAD, and nearby branch context.
• Create a backup ref, for example:
  • git branch backup/tidy-commits-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S) HEAD