# Problem 010: manage-problem SKILL.md commit-message convention fails `@commitlint/config-conventional` subject-case rule **Status**: Parked **Reported**: 2026-05-17 **Origin**: internal **Priority**: 6 (Medium) — Impact: Minor (2) x Likelihood: Possible (3) **Effort**: M — upstream `@windyroad/itil` SKILL.md examples + possibly commitlint config amendment **WSJF**: 6.0 = (6 × 2.0) / 2 **Type**: technical ## Description `/wr-itil:manage-problem` SKILL.md documents a commit-message convention of the shape `docs(problems): P — ` in its examples block (lines 858-865). Adopter projects that use `@commitlint/config-conventional`'s default `subject-case` rule reject every commit attempt formed by this convention because the subject begins with `P` (uppercase `P` → `pascal-case`), which the rule disallows alongside `sentence-case`, `start-case`, and `upper-case`. The working shape that consistently lands in `@commitlint/config-conventional`-defaulted projects is `docs(problems): P — ` (lowercase verb first, then ticket ID). The verb-first shape passes `subject-case` because the subject starts with a lowercase verb token. Today's `/wr-itil:work-problems` AFK loop on `dry-aged-deps` confirmed this three times in three consecutive iters: - **Iter 1** (P004 park): first commit attempt `docs(problems): P004 parked — upstream-blocked on windyroad/agent-plugins#123` rejected by commitlint subject-case. Reworded to `docs(problems): park P004 — upstream-blocked on windyroad/agent-plugins#123` (commit `b107ce1`) succeeded. - **Iter 2** (P007 park): same iter-1 lesson applied pre-commit; `docs(problems): park P007 — upstream-blocked on @windyroad/risk-scorer` (commit `872821c`) landed cleanly on first commit attempt. - **Iter 3** (P005 park): same; `docs(problems): park P005 — upstream-blocked on @windyroad/voice-tone` (commit `5346d81`) landed cleanly. The 7 existing successful project commits all follow the ` P` shape (`close P002`, `close P008`, `capture P009`, `park P004`, `park P007`, `park P005`, `transition P009`), confirming the convention is project-wide and stable. User direction during the `/wr-itil:work-problems` Step 2.5 surfacing: **"Approve + amend upstream SKILL"** (2026-05-17 AskUserQuestion). ## Symptoms - First commit attempt of any `/wr-itil:manage-problem` status-transition or capture commit rejected by `commitlint`'s `subject-case` rule on adopter projects using `@commitlint/config-conventional` defaults. - Recovery: reword subject to ` P — ` (lowercase verb first); commit succeeds. - AFK orchestrators sub-contracting iter dispatch via `claude -p` lose 1 turn + ~30 seconds wall-clock per affected commit on the rejection-and-retry cycle. ## Workaround Manually use the ` P` shape (lowercase verb first) for all problem-ticket commits regardless of what SKILL.md examples show. Project memory note + repeated agent training reinforce the shape across sessions. ## Impact Assessment - **Who is affected**: Every adopter project that uses `@commitlint/config-conventional` defaults (the de-facto standard Conventional Commits config in the npm ecosystem). Maintainer of `@windyroad/itil` is unaffected if their own commitlint config disables `subject-case` or has been desensitised to the rejection pattern. - **Frequency**: Almost certain — every problem-ticket transition or capture commit hits the SKILL example's pattern; only agent-learned override or project-side memory note prevents the rejection. - **Severity**: Minor (2) — friction-only, no correctness risk. Burns 1 turn + 1 commit-cycle worth of wall-clock per affected commit. - **Analytics**: Session-log scan — count of commitlint `subject-case` rejections in pre-commit hook output is a usable proxy. ## Root Cause Analysis ### Initial hypothesis The SKILL.md examples were authored against a commitlint config that disabled or relaxed `subject-case` (e.g., the wr-itil monorepo's own config). Adopter projects inherit `@commitlint/config-conventional`'s defaults, which enforce `subject-case` per the rule's "never these casings" semantic. ### Investigation Tasks - [x] Re-rate Priority and Effort at next /wr-itil:review-problems (2026-05-30: Impact 2 × Likelihood 3 = 6, Effort M, auto-transitioned Open → Known Error per root-cause+workaround documented) - [ ] Confirm root cause: inspect `@windyroad/itil`'s own commitlint config; check whether `subject-case` is disabled or set to `[2, 'always', 'lower-case']` upstream — **upstream-side task; not accessible from this adopter repo. Belongs to whoever works [windyroad/agent-plugins#137](https://github.com/windyroad/agent-plugins/issues/137).** - [ ] Decide upstream fix scope: amend SKILL.md examples ONLY, OR also amend the wr-itil monorepo's commitlint config to match the documented shape — **upstream-side decision; tracked on #137.** - [x] File upstream report via `/wr-itil:report-upstream P010` (already user-approved direction) — filed 2026-05-17 as [windyroad/agent-plugins#137](https://github.com/windyroad/agent-plugins/issues/137); see `## Reported Upstream`. ### Re-check 2026-07-11 (parking assessment) - Upstream issue [#137](https://github.com/windyroad/agent-plugins/issues/137) remains **OPEN** with no maintainer response since it was filed (last activity 2026-05-17). - The latest published `@windyroad/itil` SKILL (v0.57.2) **still carries the offending pascal-case example** — `docs(problems): P known error — …` at SKILL.md lines ~847/1080 leads the subject with `P`, which `@commitlint/config-conventional`'s default `subject-case` rule rejects. (Sibling examples `open P` / `close P` at lines 1079/1082 are already verb-first, so upstream is only partially converged.) - No local fix exists in this repo: the fix target is the upstream SKILL.md documentation, not any file under `dry-aged-deps`. This project is already mitigated by convention (project memory note enforces the working ` P` shape). The remaining value of the fix is for other adopters. - **Conclusion**: genuinely upstream-blocked with the report already filed → park (below). Un-park when #137 resolves. ## Dependencies - **Blocks**: smooth `/wr-itil:manage-problem` first-commit acceptance in any adopter project using `@commitlint/config-conventional` defaults - **Blocked by**: upstream `@windyroad/itil` SKILL.md (and possibly commitlint config) revision ## Related - **Reported upstream**: [windyroad/agent-plugins#137](https://github.com/windyroad/agent-plugins/issues/137) (2026-05-17) - **P004**, **P007**, **P005** — the three same-day park commits whose retry/no-retry sequences confirmed the ` P` working shape. - **/wr-itil:manage-problem** SKILL.md lines 858-865 — the examples block to be amended. - **`@commitlint/config-conventional`** — [github.com/conventional-changelog/commitlint/tree/master/%40commitlint/config-conventional](https://github.com/conventional-changelog/commitlint/tree/master/%40commitlint/config-conventional) — defines the default `subject-case` rule with `[2, 'never', ['sentence-case', 'start-case', 'pascal-case', 'upper-case']]` shape. - Session log: 2026-05-17 `/wr-itil:work-problems` deviation-approval AskUserQuestion. User answer: "Approve + amend upstream SKILL". (captured via /wr-itil:capture-problem during /wr-itil:work-problems Step 2.5 surfacing; expand at next investigation) ## Parked - **Reason**: `upstream-blocked` — the fix path is entirely in upstream `@windyroad/itil` (the SKILL.md commit-message examples, and possibly the wr-itil monorepo's commitlint config). No file in this adopter repo (`dry-aged-deps`) can carry the fix. This project is already mitigated by convention (project memory enforces the working ` P` shape), so the remaining value is for other adopters. User direction 2026-05-17 pinned scope to "amend upstream SKILL" — no local mitigation is in scope. - **Un-park trigger**: upstream issue [windyroad/agent-plugins#137](https://github.com/windyroad/agent-plugins/issues/137) resolves — i.e. the published `@windyroad/itil` SKILL.md commit-message examples are amended to the verb-first ` P — ` shape (currently still pascal-case at SKILL v0.57.2 lines ~847/1080). On un-park: `git mv` back to `.known-error.md`, verify the updated SKILL example passes `@commitlint/config-conventional`'s `subject-case` rule, then transition to `.verifying.md` per ADR-022. - **Parked since**: 2026-07-11 - **External-root-cause detection (P063)**: already-noted check passed — the `## Reported Upstream` section (set during `/wr-itil:report-upstream P010` on 2026-05-17, upstream URL ) is the audit-trail anchor; the parking-path detection did not re-fire the prompt. ## Reported Upstream - **URL**: https://github.com/windyroad/agent-plugins/issues/137 - **Reported**: 2026-05-17 - **Template used**: problem-report.yml (problem-first shape) - **Disclosure path**: public issue - **Cross-reference confirmed**: yes — upstream issue body includes `Downstream tracking: dry-aged-deps problem ticket P010 ... at commit b63b536` and the adopter repo URL. - **Gate audit trail**: `wr-voice-tone:external-comms` PASS verdict (no voice/tone violation); `wr-risk-scorer:external-comms` PASS verdict (no Confidential Information class matched; one factual-accuracy advisory `Cocoa/dry-aged-deps` → `voder-ai/dry-aged-deps` applied before submission). `gh issue create` invoked with `BYPASS_RISK_GATE=1` per P007's documented workaround — the subagent sandbox lacks Bash to compute the canonical SHA256 marker key, so the PostToolUse hook's marker filename never matched the gate's recomputed key. Both subagent PASS verdicts pre-dated the bypass and are recorded here for retro inspection.